by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Jan 27, 2023
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Venue: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Where to watch: ROOT-NW, SNW, SN1, TVAS
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Kraken -115, Flames -105
FanDuel: Kraken -120, Flames +100
BetMGM: Kraken -115, Flames -105
Caesars: Even
Season record
Flames: 23-17-9
Kraken: 28-14-5
We’ve hit the halfway mark in the NHL season. Yes, you read that right. We’re really hit that halfway mark that quickly. If you blinked, you probably missed a lot of good things happen in the hockey world. And with football about to be out of the way, look for our champion handicappers to get back on the rink. Oskeim Sports is on a 13-5-0 run in the NHL over the last 30 days, as is Will Rogers. Sean Murphy has also cashed in with a 16-10-0 run in the last month. Make sure you’re following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to get on this winning action!
Flames - Kraken preview, prediction and analysis
The Calgary Flames will be playing the Seattle Kraken on Friday, January 27 in Seattle, Washington.
The Calgary Flames lost against the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday, January 26 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary with a score of 5-1. The Calgary Flames currently rank 5th in the Pacific Division.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored the lone goal for the Flames, who lost for the third time in five games. The bigger problem here was using Jacob Markstrom in a game against Chicago in which he lost by four goals to the worst team in the league.
The Calgary Flames have won five of their last 10 games.
The Seattle Kraken won against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, January 25 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington with a score of 6-1. The Seattle Kraken currently rank 1st in the Pacific Division.
Jared McCann had a goal and two assists, Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, and Adam Larsson, Vince Dunn, Yanni Gourde and Jordan Eberle each had two assists for the Kraken (28-14-5), who are 2-0-1 in their past three games. Martin Jones made 19 saves.
"We played 60 minutes and made it hard right away from the start," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "We played a real direct game, did everything pretty quick. We sustained that through, for sure through the first 40 minutes, and you know for the majority of the 60 minutes we didn't give up very much because of that."
Bjorkstrand gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead at 7:57 of the first period on a rebound in the slot while falling backward.
"We wanted to be ready from the start," Bjorkstrand said. "I thought we were. They're coming off a back to back. We hadn't played a game for I think three days (2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday), so we should be fresh, and I thought we showed that we were."
Alex Wennberg made it 2-0 at 9:46 with a power-play goal. He tapped in the puck near the left post after McCann's shot deflected off the stick of Eberle.
McCann pushed it to 3-0 with another power-play goal at 5:55 of the second period, finishing a cross-ice pass from Eberle in the left face-off circle.
Eeli Tolvanen made it 4-0 at 7:50 with a one-timer from the high slot, and Bjorkstrand extended it to 5-0 at 16:15 after he was left all alone in the right circle.
"We haven't liked the results, obviously (Seattle is 1-5-1 against Vancouver in its history)," Hakstol said. "I said before the game the results from last year mean nothing to this group, I maybe overstated that a little bit. They're the nearest team, but the most important thing is, this is game three this year, and we [hadn't won]. We had one point up in Vancouver. These are a critical two points."
The Seattle Kraken have won seven of their last 10 games.
Prediction
With the Flames on the second night of a back-to-back, I'm not sure what more the Flames can do at this point to stay afloat. It seems like they take two steps back every time. Now against the playoff-bound Kraken, it's not getting any easier. Kraken 5, Flames 2
The Calgary Flames lost against the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday, January 26 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary with a score of 5-1. The Calgary Flames currently rank 5th in the Pacific Division.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored the lone goal for the Flames, who lost for the third time in five games. The bigger problem here was using Jacob Markstrom in a game against Chicago in which he lost by four goals to the worst team in the league.
The Calgary Flames have won five of their last 10 games.
The Seattle Kraken won against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, January 25 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington with a score of 6-1. The Seattle Kraken currently rank 1st in the Pacific Division.
Jared McCann had a goal and two assists, Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, and Adam Larsson, Vince Dunn, Yanni Gourde and Jordan Eberle each had two assists for the Kraken (28-14-5), who are 2-0-1 in their past three games. Martin Jones made 19 saves.
"We played 60 minutes and made it hard right away from the start," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "We played a real direct game, did everything pretty quick. We sustained that through, for sure through the first 40 minutes, and you know for the majority of the 60 minutes we didn't give up very much because of that."
Bjorkstrand gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead at 7:57 of the first period on a rebound in the slot while falling backward.
"We wanted to be ready from the start," Bjorkstrand said. "I thought we were. They're coming off a back to back. We hadn't played a game for I think three days (2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday), so we should be fresh, and I thought we showed that we were."
Alex Wennberg made it 2-0 at 9:46 with a power-play goal. He tapped in the puck near the left post after McCann's shot deflected off the stick of Eberle.
McCann pushed it to 3-0 with another power-play goal at 5:55 of the second period, finishing a cross-ice pass from Eberle in the left face-off circle.
Eeli Tolvanen made it 4-0 at 7:50 with a one-timer from the high slot, and Bjorkstrand extended it to 5-0 at 16:15 after he was left all alone in the right circle.
"We haven't liked the results, obviously (Seattle is 1-5-1 against Vancouver in its history)," Hakstol said. "I said before the game the results from last year mean nothing to this group, I maybe overstated that a little bit. They're the nearest team, but the most important thing is, this is game three this year, and we [hadn't won]. We had one point up in Vancouver. These are a critical two points."
The Seattle Kraken have won seven of their last 10 games.
Prediction
With the Flames on the second night of a back-to-back, I'm not sure what more the Flames can do at this point to stay afloat. It seems like they take two steps back every time. Now against the playoff-bound Kraken, it's not getting any easier. Kraken 5, Flames 2
Betting trends
Flames are 1-8 after winning 4 or 5 of their last six games this season.
Flames are 51-49 against division opponents the last 3 seasons.
Kraken are 11-4 after a division game this season.
Kraken are 17-10 revenging a loss as a favorite this season.
Projected lines
Flames:
Dillon Dube -- Elias Lindholm -- Tyler Toffoli
Milan Lucic -- Nazem Kadri -- Jonathan Huberdeau
Andrew Mangiapane -- Mikael Backlund -- Blake Coleman
Jakob Pelletier -- Trevor Lewis -- Walker Duehr
Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson
Nikita Zadorov -- MacKenzie Weegar
Connor Mackey -- Michael Stone
Dan Vladar
Dillon Dube -- Elias Lindholm -- Tyler Toffoli
Milan Lucic -- Nazem Kadri -- Jonathan Huberdeau
Andrew Mangiapane -- Mikael Backlund -- Blake Coleman
Jakob Pelletier -- Trevor Lewis -- Walker Duehr
Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson
Nikita Zadorov -- MacKenzie Weegar
Connor Mackey -- Michael Stone
Dan Vladar
Kraken:
Ryan Donato -- Alex Wennberg -- Jared McCann
Eeli Tolvanen -- Yanni Gourde -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Andre Burakovsky -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Daniel Sprong -- Morgan Geekie -- Brandon Tanev
Vince Dunn -- Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak -- Will Borgen
Carson Soucy -- Cale Fleury
Martin Jones
Ryan Donato -- Alex Wennberg -- Jared McCann
Eeli Tolvanen -- Yanni Gourde -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Andre Burakovsky -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Daniel Sprong -- Morgan Geekie -- Brandon Tanev
Vince Dunn -- Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak -- Will Borgen
Carson Soucy -- Cale Fleury
Martin Jones
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
