Flames/Oilers:

The Calgary Flames are looking to get back on track as they enter the Battle of Alberta against the Edmonton Oilers tonight.

After a seven game win streak including a sweep of the Southeast, the Calgary Flames have found themselves flailing into three straight losses which required extra time. It is clear that the rhythm is a little shook, and that the streaky nature is starting to show again. Today, they will be at a disadvantage as they face a team that has beat them in five straight games.

I don’t think any more needs to be said about how bad Edmonton’s season is so far, but one thing for sure is that they have rebounded well in games that feel like must win situations. They also have a huge matchup advantage against the Flames, seeing from which both are high puck possession teams but Edmonton has much bigger and rougher bodies. Plus, McDavid often finds a plethora of open ice against the Flames system.

I think this will be a strong rebound effort by Edmonton where they win convincingly.

Oilers moneyline -135 3*

Sabres/Canucks:

The Buffalo Sabres will fly into Vancouver to face the Canucks in a matchup that most will likely not have their eyes on. Essentially, these are two lottery draft teams going up against each other, but it appears that both are motivated coming off very impressive wins.

The Vancouver Canucks are coming off a 6-2 win against a downward spiraling Kings team, where most of the scoring was seen in the first period. Other than that, the Canucks have been in overall awful rhythm for quite a few weeks now. Vancouver is 6-15 since December 7th, and have showed their true rebuilding colors down the stretch.

Don’t get me wrong. Buffalo is even worse of a team overall, but they appear to have hit a switch (even if temporary). Since their blowout loss in Dallas a few days ago, the Sabres have beat both the Flames and Oilers. Every bad team will have their share of streaks of competence, and right now Buffalo and Arizona are enjoying a little bit of gel. I expect Buffalo to keep doing the right teams and get the right mix of offense and defense while they are currently in the zone.

Sabres moneyline +130 2*

Rangers/Sharks:

The heavily struggling New York Rangers will try to find answers against the San Jose Sharks tonight.

New York has not been doing much right on offense nor defense, but last game’s 6-3 loss may be a wake up call that they need to tighten up. Playing a run and gun team against west coast teams does not work, and San Jose will make that known very early in the game.

The Sharks switched gears a little bit in the past two games. Both games saw explosions of eight or more goals, which is unusual from a defensive team that has seen a 17-29 Over to Under ratio this season. I expect them to resort to more of a puck possession game tonight against a team that likes to move the puck fast.

I can see a dump and chase rinse and repeat cycle all game long tonight.

UNDER 5.5 -115 2*