Calgary Flames vs. Dallas Stars - 12/22/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Calgary Flames vs Dallas Stars

Date: Sunday, December 22, 2019

Location: American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX

TV: FSSW/RSN

Odds/Point Spread: Flames (+131) Stars (-145)

Total/Over-Under: 5

American Airlines Center is the site where Ben Bishop and the Dallas Stars (20-13-4, 3rd in the Central Division) will take on the Calgary Flames (18-14-5, 4th in the Pacific Division) on Sunday. The moneyline on this contest has the Flames coming in at +131 and the Stars are at -145. The total is set at 5. The Flames are covering 44.1% of the time, having gone 15-19 SU. Dallas is covering 52.8% of the time, going 19-17 straight up.

The Calgary Flames head into this game holding a record of 18 wins and 14 defeats, which puts them at 4th in the Pacific Division. During the year thus far, they have scored a total of 96 goals which ranks 14th in the Western Conference and 26th in the league. Their goal differential is -16, which puts them at 26th in the league. The Flames have compiled a total of 41 points, which ranks 14th in the league and 8th in the Western Conference. When discussing shots at the opposing goalie, they have compiled a total of 1,148 which ranks 4th in the West and 9th in the league. As a unit, Calgary has racked up a total of 579 hits which means they have an average of 15.6 per game. They have compiled a total of 415 blocks for the year. The man in net for Calgary is David Rittich from Jihlava, Czechoslovakia. He is 27 years old and has racked up 1,692 minutes protecting the goal for the campaign. Rittich is surrendering an average of 2.77 goals per game which places him at 13th among Western Conference goalies and 25th in the NHL among goaltenders. During this season, he's surrendered 78 goals. His save % is .913 which places him at 15th among Western Conference goalies.

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The Calgary Flames will need a bounce back game after taking a 4 - 3 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens their last time out. The Flames had an average offensive output in this loss. For this outing, they converted 3 of the 27 shots they put on goal. In addition, they had 1 power play chance and were able to net 1 goal on that try. Calgary had 6 penalty minutes in this game. The Corsi for the Flames was 54 and the Corsi against was 71 which earned them a Corsi percentage of 43.2%. Their Fenwick was 41 and the Fenwick against was 56, which earned them a Fenwick percentage of 42.3%. They took 31 face-off wins at even strength and lost 28 attempts to control the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone came in at 46.4% and they had a PDO of 97.4 for this one. In terms of their opponent's stats, the Montreal Canadiens tallied a total of 43 shots. They ended the game with 4 minutes in the box and they had 2 power play opportunities.

The Stars are the team on the other side of the ice and for the campaign they sit with 20 wins and 13 defeats. When talking about goal differential, they are sitting 4th in the Western Conference and 12th in the league with +8. They have compiled a total of 98 goals for the year which ranks them 10th in the West. Dallas has a team save % of .923 which has them 1st in the league, meaning they are a tough group to score against. They have a team shooting percentage of 8.6% putting them at 12th in the Western Conference. In net for Dallas is Ben Bishop who is having an average year by surrendering 2.29 goals per contest and that has him 4th in the Western Conference and 8th in the NHL. In the 1,390 minutes he's played this season, he has allowed 53 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .926, which puts him at 6th in the Western Conference and 10th in the NHL.

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The Dallas Stars faced off against the Florida Panthers in an outing where the Stars ended up taking the loss by a final score of 7 - 4. For this outing, Dallas had a 48.3% Corsi rating. They ended up with that by earning a Corsi of 42 while their opponent had a Corsi of 45. Their Fenwick percentage was 44.1% by earning a Fenwick of 30 and the Panthers ending the game with a 38 Fenwick. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Dallas played and they showed up in this game. They had a PDO at even strength of 94.8 and they had an oZS percentage of 47.8%. The Stars netted 4 goals of the 31 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 3 power play chances in this one and were able to notch 1 out of those attempts. Concerning their opponent, the Panthers had 4 power play chances and ended up scoring 1 goal. Dallas gave up 33 shots on goal and the Panthers earned a total of 6 penalty minutes.

Who will win tonight's NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Calgary (+131)

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