Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/21/2022

Time: 4 p.m. ET

Venue: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB

Where to watch: ESPN+

DraftKings: Check back later

BetMGM: Check back later

Caesars: Check back later

Jets: 22-19-8

Flames: 29-13-6

I'm not going to lie. It is very weird to be sitting here toward the end of February and looking at the Winnipeg Jets going, what in the world is going on with this team?

I get the whole situation with Paul Maurice him resigning and wanting to go in a different direction both for himself and for the team. I get it. I also think that when Maurice resigned before the turn of the calendar year, there were plenty of talks that not much was going to change when it came to Winnipeg.

Clearly, the one thing that hasn't changed is Winnipeg’s inability to win games. And here we are coming out of the Olympic break with a few more games before we get to that point, and if the playoffs were to start today, Winnipeg would not even be in the playoffs.

Connor Hellebuyck has done everything that he possibly can to win games in net. Even though he has lost seven more games than he would like this year, Hellebuyck base numbers are actually still pretty good and would be taken across any team in the National Hockey League that actually needed goaltending.

The good news for the Jets is that Kyle Connor has emerged as one of the best scoring wingers in the game this season, and that has been well deserved with his All-Star selection this past couple of weeks ago. Connor is sitting at 29 goals, one more for miss first thirty-goal season as a pro, and Blake Wheeler has also played very well this season when called upon.

And one has to think things are not going well for Winnipeg when they are losing to the Edmonton Oilers in any fashion right now. The Jets are coming off a four to two loss to Edmonton on Saturday, watching Connor McDavid just light them up for three points as if it was nothing. The Oilers put 40 shots on Hellebuyck, while Winnipeg only had 24.

Right now it is not an ideal situation for the Jets to be in, but there is plenty of time to get things right and they have the talent to do so. So does their opponent.

The Calgary Flames are, wait for it, on fire. Nine straight victories for Calgary and all of a sudden the flames are atop the Pacific division and have surpassed the Vegas Golden Knights in what has been a truly remarkable stretch for this group.

But the one constant that I always come back to with Calgary at the end of the day, is will they be good enough to win in the playoffs? That tends to be the biggest question with this team every year. You go back to the year they won the Pacific division in 2019, and they didn't even make it out of the first round in five games to the not-yet powerhouse Colorado Avalanche.

But the flames not only have been playing 10 times better as of late, but they also went out and added Tyler Toffoli in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens to add some secondary scoring to what's been a tremendous offensive season in Calgary. Johnny Gaudreau is on pace for his first 100 point season of his career, Andrew Mangiapane has 25 goals this season and does not know how to score at home which is hilarious, and Jacob Markstrom is having the best season of his career as Calgary's starting goaltender.

The flames are coming off a 2-1 win Saturday against the Seattle cracking, spoiling Mark Giordano's return to Calgary since he was picked in the expansion draft by Seattle this summer. Elias Lindholm had a goal and an assist, as did Matthew Tkachuk, which was more than enough to defeat Phillip Grubauer after a strong performance in net.

I'm still not entirely sure if this kind of performance is going to be sustainable for Calgary, but at the moment the results far outweigh the means and you have to roll in a situation like this. Calgary has been incredible, every bit of that team has been incredible and it doesn't seem like there's any slowing them down.

I don't have any doubt that Winnipeg might be looking to bounce back and have a much better performance. I am going to love this goaltending matchup, and I think that Winnipeg will play them tough. However, Calgary is just too good right now and any team at any time can go up to Calgary and try and end that winning streak that they have. Until the formidable team comes along and knocks them off I don't see it happening. Flames 3-1

The Jets are 52-42 off an under the past three seasons.

The Flames are 42-49 after playing a division game.

Jets:

Paul Stastny -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler

Kyle Connor -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Adam Brooks

Kristian Vesalainen -- Adam Lowry -- Kristian Reichel

Jansen Harkins -- Dominic Toninato -- Austin Poganski

Josh Morrissey -- Dylan DeMelo

Brenden Dillon -- Neal Pionk

Logan Stanley -- Nate Schmidt

Connor Hellebuyck

Flames:

Johnny Gaudreau -- Elias Lindholm -- Matthew Tkachuk

Andrew Mangiapane -- Mikael Backlund -- Blake Coleman

Milan Lucic -- Sean Monahan -- Tyler Toffoli

Dillon Dube -- Adam Ruzicka -- Trevor Lewis

Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson

Oliver Kylington -- Christopher Tanev

Nikita Zadorov -- Erik Gudbranson

Jacob Markstrom

Points: Kyle Connor -- 54

Goals: Kyle Connor -- 29

Assists: Blake Wheeler -- 28

Goalie: Connor Hellebuyck -- 17-17-7, 2.82 GAA, .913 SV%

Points: Johnny Gaudreau -- 63

Goals: Andrew Mangiapane -- 25

Assists: Johnny Gaudreau -- 43

Goalie: Jacob Markstrom -- 22-10-5, 2.09 GAA, .927 SV%