{"id":485611,"date":"2026-03-22T11:37:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T15:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=485611"},"modified":"2026-03-22T11:37:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T15:37:37","slug":"nhl-predictions-calgary-flames-tampa-bay-lightning-march-22nd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/03\/22\/nhl-predictions-calgary-flames-tampa-bay-lightning-march-22nd\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Calgary Flames vs Tampa Bay Lightning, March 22nd"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word On Hockey<\/em> look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/span><\/a> visiting the Calgary Flames<\/span>. Don\u2019t forget to check out more NHL Predictions as our writers continue this series throughout the 2025\u201326 season.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions with Tampa Bay Lightning at Calgary Flames<\/b><\/h2>\n

Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)<\/p>\n

How to Watch<\/a>: ESPN+,\u00a0 Sportsnet West, The Spot<\/h3>\n

Location: Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta<\/p>\n

2025\u201326 Season Series: First Meeting<\/p>\n

The Lightning (42-21-4, second in Atlantic Division) head west to face a Calgary Flames squad battling to stay out of the basement \u00a0(28-34-7), seventh in the Pacific. Tampa enters off an offensive outburst, beating the NHL-worst Canucks, 6-2. Nikita Kucherov moved into second place in the NHL scoring race with 114 points, one behind Edmonton\u2019s <\/span>Connor McDavid<\/a>. <\/span>Calgary, off a two-game win streak, looks to not have the lights in their stadium turned out early against the offensive-heavy Bolts. The Flames will try doing their usual routine: hanging around and \u00a0be annoying, as they refuse to fully commit to either rebuilding or contending.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Credit Image: \u00a9 Andrew J. Kramer\/Cal Sport Media<\/span><\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Lightning Outlook<\/b><\/h3>\n

Tampa continues to be one of the NHL\u2019s most dangerous offensive teams, averaging 3.57 goals per game while allowing 2.75. The engine, as always, is Nikita Kucherov<\/a><\/span>, who is once again in the triple-digit point phase of the season. Thanks to his elite playmaking and ability to make defenders question their career choices, the Bolts are in the hunt to make up the four-point difference between them and the Buffalo Sabres for first place. Brandon Hagel<\/a> (32 goals, 33 assists)<\/span>\u00a0and Jake Guentzel<\/a> (30 goals, 41 assists) <\/span>provide strong secondary scoring. In net, Andrei Vasilevskiy<\/a><\/span> remains the great equalizer when he\u2019s locked in. He’s won three of his last four starts.<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Lightning Keys to Victory<\/b><\/h3>\n

NHL Predictions thinks the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> needs to survive the first 10 minutes. Western road trips plus Calgary\u2019s home crowd can lead to chaotic starts, and Tampa doesn\u2019t want to be chasing early. Second, clean puck management. Calgary thrives on turnovers and counterattacks, so limiting neutral-zone mistakes is critical. Finally, special teams. Tampa\u2019s power play, 22%, 13th in the league, should be able to exploit Calgary\u2019s inconsistent penalty kill. If Kucherov gets space, it\u2019s basically a cheat code. Finally, their penalty kill% (82%, eighth in the league) needs to keep cool away from their home heat in Florida.<\/p>\n

Calgary Flames Outlook<\/b><\/h3>\n

Calgary has been\u2026 Calgary. Competitive, structured, and just unpredictable enough to ruin a contender\u2019s night. They average 2.46 goals per game while allowing 3.06, making them a classic \u201ccoin flip\u201d team.\u00a0Mikael Backlund<\/a> (15 goals, 23 assists) keeps the Flames in the game, leading them in scoring. Kevin Bahl\u00a0<\/span><\/span>anchors the blueline and logs heavy minutes, but needs more D-men to, well, play D. In goal, Dustin Wolf<\/a> (19 wins and 25 losses) needs to make a better case why he should start over Devin Colley (8-9.) Calgary will need a strong performance because Tampa doesn\u2019t usually ask politely before scoring.<\/p>\n

Calgary Flames Keys to Victory<\/b><\/h3>\n

NHL Predictions thinks the Calgary Flames need to pressure Tampa\u2019s defence. The Lightning can be vulnerable when forced into quick decisions, so an aggressive forecheck will create chances. Second, win the middle of the ice. Calgary needs to limit Tampa\u2019s controlled entries; if Kucherov is gliding in with time, it\u2019s already too late. The Flames’ power play, 15.8%, 31st in the league, isn’t going to shine, but their penalty kill, 81.0%, 10th in the league, can keep them in the game. Lastly, opportunistic scoring. Calgary won\u2019t get as many chances as Tampa, so finishing efficiency is key. Basically: fewer \u201calmost\u201d goals, more actual goals.<\/p>\n

Prediction & <\/b>Final Thoughts<\/b><\/h3>\n

This matchup comes down to consistency versus opportunism. Calgary will make it physical, and probably closer than Tampa would like. But over 60 minutes, Tampa\u2019s firepower, and Vasilevskiy\u2019s ability to watch his goal replay on the scoreboard, should tilt the ice. This game sees a high-powered Eastern contender enter the home of a scrappy Western team, a building that always feels louder than expected. Tampa will try to impose structure and skill, while Calgary aims to drag things into the mud and win ugly. Either way, expect big saves, a few defensive \u201clearning experiences,\u201d and at least one goal where everyone\u2014including the goalie\u2014needs a commercial break to give the refs time to decipher what happened.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Lightning 6, Flames 2<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

Prop Bets of the Night<\/b><\/h3>\n

(Always check lineup news and betting lines before locking in wagers.)<\/p>\n

Lightning Prop:<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

Nikita Kucherov Over 1.5 Points \u2014 At this point, betting on Kucherov to have a multi-point night is less gambling and more routine maintenance.<\/p>\n

Flames Prop:<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

Morgan Frost as an anytime goal getter.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word On Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the Tampa Bay Lightning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5453,"featured_media":458382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,22,4547,4548,4524],"tags":[6015,6391],"class_list":["post-485611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lightning","category-flames","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-calgary-flames-predictions","tag-tampa-bay-lightning-predictions"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5453"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485611"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":485636,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485611\/revisions\/485636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}