Welcome to NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are happening and gives our predictions for each one, breaking down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play in. Today we’re looking at the Calgary Flames against the Nashville Predators. Be sure to check out more NHL predictions every day there’s hockey this 2024-25 season.
NHL Predictions
Calgary Flames (13-10-5) vs Nashville Predators (7-15-6)
Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: ESPN+, BSSO, SNW
Head-to-head: Calgary leads 1-0
Calgary hosted Nashville on November 15th, handling the Predators a 2-0 shutout loss. This was the beginning of a perfect 4-0 home stand for the Flames. Since that time, the Flames have been playing much worse, especially on the road. Nashville has been a massive disappointment and currently sits second-last in the entire league with just 20 points. Let’s take a look at how each team is playing and predict what to expect as these two teams face off for the second time this season.
Flames Bring Dismal Road Record To Nashville
The Calgary Flames are just 3-7-4 on the road this season, compared to 10-3-1 on home ice. It’s not uncommon for a team to be better on home ice during the season, but this difference is unexplainable and unacceptable. Calgary has now lost 8 straight road games. The Flames are not only losing on the road but also losing badly. Calgary has a -21 goal differential on the road this season, compared to a +9 on home ice. On home ice, the Flames seem to be the surprisingly competitive team that plays a tight defensive game and can compete against the best teams in the league through their effort. On the road, they look like the team everyone expected to see this season, an inexperienced team without top-end talent destined to finish near the bottom of the league.
The Flames currently find themselves just outside of the playoffs in the Western Conference. This is largely due to the play of their goaltending tandem. Rookie Dustin Wolf and career backup Daniel Vladar have given the Flames top-ten goaltending through the first quarter of the season. If Calgary is going to make the playoffs, they will need to find more offence. They need more out of their veterans and could use increased production from youngsters like Matthew Coronato and Connor Zary as they step into larger roles. Calgary will look to get a much-needed road win tonight, and Nashville could be the perfect team to do it against.
Nashville Continues To Disappoint
Nashville spent the offseason making big splashes, landing free agents Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei, and Jonathan Marchessault. They also resigned goaltender Juuse Saros, signaling to the league that the Predators were looking to contend. However, things in Nashville couldn’t be worse after the first quarter of the season. They sit near the bottom of the league and in early November, GM Bary Trotz made a massive public statement that if his team didn’t start to improve he would “start our rebuild plan”. Since those comments, Nashville hasn’t improved and Trotz has started making moves. He’s moved out backup goaltending Scott Wedgewood, placed defenceman Dante Fabbro on waivers, and traded Philip Tomasino to Pittsburgh for a 4th-round draft pick. Although these moves don’t scream full rebuild, it’s clear the Predators aren’t going to sit idle while they continue to underperform.
Nashville is struggling to score goals, despite adding offensive stars in Stamkos and Marchessault. The Preds currently sit last in the league with just 61 goals on the season. Nashville is being led by the usual suspects in stud defenceman Roman Josi and all-star Filip Forsberg. Defensively, the team hasn’t faired much better, sitting 24th in the league in goals against. This is largely due to the fact they are giving up a ton of chances to their opponents. Their starting goaltender Juuse Saros has faced a league-high 668 shots. Nashville is in the midst of a seven-game losing streak and it’s hard to point to positives heading into this game. This team shouldn’t be playing this poorly and should be winning more, but at this point in the season, you usually are who you are, Nashville might be able to get a win tonight, but it seems like this season is heading towards the lottery.
NHL Predictions Flames and Predators
It’s hard to come up with a reason for either team to win this contest. Nashville has lost 7 straight games and the Flames have lost 8 straight road games, but someone has to win. Based on what the teams have produced so far this season, we’re expecting a low-scoring contest which means the game should stay close.
We’re picking our winner in the contest based on team vibes. Things in Nashville can’t get much worse, so it might be hard to get motivated for a Tuesday night game against Calgary. The Flames on the other hand are just one point out of the playoffs and should be desperate to get this road win. For that reason, we’re picking the Flames to outlast the Predators in a close game.
Prediction: Flames win 3-2
Prop Bets of The Night
BET365 has the Predators as the favourite so it’s worth taking a look at the Flames at +225 on the money line or at +148 with a +1.5 spread to lose by less than 2 goals.
With two of the lowest scoring teams in the league it’s also worth taking the under on goal totals at +176 for under 6 goals.
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Main Photo: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
The post NHL Predictions: Dec. 10 Calgary Flames vs. Nashville Predators appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.