Find out why Nazem Kadri, among others, will find the score sheet in a wide-open renewal of Flames vs. Avalanche, per our NHL betting picks.
NHL
The Calgary Flames are coming off a back-and-forth 4-3 loss at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks. My Avalanche vs. Flames predictions see another high-scoring game in the cards against one of the league’s fastest and most dynamic teams.
Let’s take a closer look at my NHL picks for March 14.
My Flames pick: Over 5.5 (-120 at BET99)
My Flames analysis
The Calgary Flames are not a prolific offensive team by any stretch, but their offense has performed noticeably better on home soil.
They have scored 2.72 goals per game in Calgary compared to 2.32 on the road, where they have only out-paced the Nashville Predators.
It’s a good thing as they’ll need every boost they can get to keep up with the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado has really ramped it up offensively of late, ranking sixth in scoring chances and second in goals over the last 10 games.
Valeri Nichushkin is healthy again while newcomers Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle, among others, make the Avs a much deeper and more layered offense. They now have real depth and firepower behind the big guns up top.
Slowing them down will be a big challenge for the Flames, who’ve allowed the sixth-most high-danger chances over their past 10 games. It’s hard to imagine things improving with defensive stalwart Mikael Backlund injured.
This is a matchup where the Flames will likely have to come out of their structure a little bit and be more aggressive on the offensive end to keep up.
That was the case in recent meetings. The two sides have played three times over the past season and a half. All three games featured six goals or more and 25 were scored in aggregate, good for an average of 8.33 per contest.
Look for the offenses to win out again in this one.
Over 5.5
Nazem Kadri Over 0.5 points
Valeri Nichushkin Over 0.5 points
Nazem Kadri is Calgary’s best and most consistent weapon. He does his best work in Calgary, where he’s hit the scoresheet at a healthy 64% clip.
Kadri enters play having piled up 12 points over his last 10 home games, with four multi-point efforts along the way. Pretty good!
The Flames will need the wheels to keep churning for Kadri in this potentially high-scoring affair. Kadri’s had no problem producing against his former team, recording four points over the span of a three-game point streak.
On the other side, Valeri Nichushkin is a likely candidate to get in on the fun. He has 23 points through 28 games and a fantastic role on the Top-6 as well as No. 1 power play unit.
That PP1 role should come in handy against a Flames team that has taken the second-most minor penalties over the last 10 games.
It’s also worth noting Nichushkin has an incredible track record against Calgary, tallying 13 points over the last nine head-to-head meetings.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Odds courtesy of BET99
Nazem Kadri has points in six of his last seven home games. Find more NHL betting trends for Flames vs. Avalanche.
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Todd Cordell is a data-driven betting analyst. He uses numbers to help identify value across a wide variety of sports, with NHL being his specialty. Shot props, in particular, have proven to be a very fruitful market. Todd has served as a betting analyst in the public sphere for many years, most recently with theScore covering the NHL and MLB.
When not writing about sports betting, Todd stays busy analyzing the New Jersey Devils with a fine-tooth comb for InfernalAccess, his Devils-centric blog. Todd attended Sheridan College and graduated in 2014 with a diploma in print journalism.
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