Our NHL betting picks see the Calgary Flames crushing the San Jose Sharks behind the sharp Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri tonight.
NHL
Trying to work their way into one of the West’s Wild Card spots, the Calgary Flames host the NHL-worst San Jose Sharks on Sunday night.
Calgary entered the midseason break having lost three straight, while the Sharks hope for better fortunes coming out of the break as they have just one win in their last 11 games.
Our Flames vs. Sharks predictions and NHL picks expect the home team to pick up an important win in comfortable fashion on February 23 before embarking on what could be a make-or-break six-game road trip.
My Flames pick
Flames -1.5 (+105 at BET99)
My Flames analysis
The Calgary Flames open the day three points back of the Vancouver Canucks for the second and final Wild Card spot in the West. The Flames have the third-most home wins in the Pacific Division but have struggled recently, going 1-4-1 in their last six.
If they intend to overtake the Canucks, they’re going to have to start putting the puck in the net. Calgary ranks 30th in scoring, putting up just 2.64 goals per game. Only two teams score less: the Anaheim Ducks, and Sunday’s opponent, the San Jose Sharks.
Over the last eight games prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off, Calgary scored 18 total goals, scoring three goals or more in a game just three times. But if there is a team that could help any offense get right, it’s the Sharks, owners of the league’s worst goals against average of 3.72.
They entered the break after a crushing 8-3 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Stars. During this recent 1-9-1 skid, that GAA has ballooned to a full 5.00, with no team even touching the 3.8 plateau over that span.
Calgary has dominated this head-to-head against San Jose, winning three straight and eight of the last nine overall. San Jose has also lost five straight on the road, and has picked up just two road wins over the last 13, going 2-11-0 ATS.
In Calgary’s last eight wins over the Sharks, the margin of victory has been at least two goals seven times. Look for the Flames to snap out of their funk in a big way.
Flames -1.5
Jonathan Huberdeau anytime goal
Nazem Kadri 1+ points
Jonathan Huberdeau went into the break as one of the better offensive players for the Flames, scoring twice and picking up five points in his last five games. A date with the Sharks might just be a good jumpstart for him coming out of the break. In Calgary’s 3-1 win over San Jose this year, Huberdeau bagged two goals.
We’ll wrap with Nazem Kadri, who has been produced consistently against San Jose since joining the Flames. Kadri has recorded at least a point in seven of eight games, tallying five goals and 12 points. He also has points in five straight games.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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San Jose has lost 15 straight games against Western Conference opponents. Find more NHL betting trends for Flames vs. Sharks.
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Eric has been involved in sports media in many different capacities since graduating from journalism school in 1999, back when getting your own column in a newspaper was still considered a thing. He doubled down and graduated from broadcast journalism school five years later, which led to a move to Toronto and a career with The Sports Network (TSN). From behind-the-scenes production work, he moved into the digital realm, where he had his own hoops column (At the Buzzer), while regularly live streaming and chatting with fans during broadcasts as the character known as LeBlog James. He was also a key contributor to TSN and CTV’s Olympic programming during the 2012 London Games.
Eric eventually found his way into the sports betting field in 2016 and has been a mainstay ever since. He was tagged on Twitter as a Top 10 NBA sharp during the 2021 season and has been interviewed about basketball and his handicapping process on shows from Vancouver to India. Eric is now a jack-of-all-sports at Covers, where his predictions span the alphabet soup: NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, F1, WNBA, Euro, and Copa.
When making picks, he focuses on finding value first and foremost, and ensuring readers have all the information they need to make an informed choice.
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