Devils vs Flames

Nico Hischier and the New Jersey Devils limp into Calgary on the heels of a 4-1 loss to Carolina, while the Flames have strung together home wins over Chicago and the Islanders to build a modest but meaningful surge before the Olympic break. With Ondrej Palat day-to-day and depth wingers Zack MacEwen and Stefan Noesen on injured reserve, New Jersey’s forward group is thinner than the names on the roster page suggest, just as Calgary is navigating life without key pieces like Blake Coleman and several depth forwards but still rolling four competitive lines. Historically, Hischier has been a real problem for the Flames with well over a point per game in his career against them, yet Nazem Kadri has answered on the other side with consistent production versus New Jersey and now anchors a deeper center spine in front of a Flames blue line that’s defending better than the Devils’ leaky group. With Calgary 13-7-2 at home and New Jersey just 12-13-0 on the road, and with the Flames’ tighter defensive profile (2.94 goals against per game) compared to the Devils’ negative goal differential in a season where both are scrapping on the fringes of the wild-card race, the plus-money home side at +105 offers the better blend of win probability and value than laying -125 with an inconsistent road favorite. I grade Flames (+105) on the moneyline as a B+ pick for combining a solid situational edge with respectable underdog odds. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 19/01/2026 09:47

Both teams’ recent form points more toward another grind than a track meet: the Devils just managed one goal against Carolina after a brief scoring uptick, while Calgary’s two-game win streak has been driven more by structure and goaltending than offensive explosions, holding Chicago and the Islanders to three and two goals respectively. On the season, these clubs are nearly twins offensively at 2.58 goals per game apiece, but the Flames suppress a bit more with only 2.94 against per game, and their top-10 penalty kill (around 83%) is a good matchup against a league-average Devils power play that may again be missing Palat plus depth finishers. Calgary’s injury list is heavier on useful forwards than on high-end talent, and New Jersey’s attack is still too reliant on Hischier and Jesper Bratt to consistently crack structured teams on the road, especially in a tough Western building where the Flames have excelled defensively. With both sides sitting below the league median in goals for and hovering around 5.5 total goals in their average game, I expect a tight, playoff-tinged tempo from two bubble teams that can’t afford to trade chances, making Under 6 at -125 a reasonable position; I grade this total as a B, acknowledging the juice but backed by season-long scoring profiles and recent trends. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 19/01/2026 09:47

Given how often Calgary plays close, low-event games at the Saddledome and how frequently New Jersey’s defensive lapses show up without turning into outright blowouts, the profile of this matchup leans strongly toward a one-goal result rather than a runaway either way, which nudges me to the Flames +1.5 puckline even at a steep -225 price. Calgary’s overall goal differential is in the mid-teens negative while New Jersey’s sits even worse, a sign that both teams are living in the land of tight margins rather than routinely burying opponents, and the Flames’ strong home record paired with more reliable team defending suggests they’re unlikely to be run out of their own building. New Jersey’s forward injuries thin out their middle six and special-teams options, while Calgary’s absences (notably Coleman and young winger Sam Honzek) hurt some scoring punch but haven’t stopped them from grinding out wins behind Dustin Wolf and a blue line led by MacKenzie Weegar. With both clubs hovering just outside the playoff spots in their conferences and treating every point as vital, the incentive is there to lock things down late rather than chase an extra goal, which further favors the dog on the puckline; I’ll grade Flames +1.5 (-225) as a C+ pick, safer in probability than in payout and best suited as a conservative leg in parlays rather than a standalone wager. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 19/01/2026 09:47