Nashville Predators @ Calgary Flames - January 4, 2025

Oh man, it’s game day and I can already feel the excitement buzzing through my veins! The Nashville Predators are heading to the Scotiabank Saddledome to take on the Calgary Flames, and I can tell you right now that this is a matchup we don’t want to miss. Let me break it down for you!

First off, we’ve got Nashville coming in with a record of 12-20-7. It’s been a tough season so far, but they did manage a strong win against the Canucks last outing, securing a 3-0 victory. That kind of performance should boost their confidence heading into this clash against Calgary. On the flip side, the Flames come in with a better record of 18-13-7 but just suffered a loss against another team recently; clearly they’re looking to bounce back.

When we talk about offense, Calgary’s got an edge on paper—averaging about 2.6 goals per game with nearly 30 shots taken each night. Their shooting percentage isn’t too shabby either at around 9%. However, let’s not overlook our boys in gold—the Predators have been fighting hard despite only averaging about 2.4 goals per game. Yeah, I know it doesn’t sound great, but if they bring their A-game like they did last time out, they might just surprise us all.

Now let’s look at special teams! Calgary’s power play clicks at just under 21%, which is decent—but what really stands out here is their penalty kill sitting around 71%. That leaves them vulnerable when up against Nashville’s struggling power play (just over 18%), so both teams will need to capitalize on these opportunities if they want an edge.

Defensively speaking, both teams have had their ups and downs. Nashville has managed an impressive penalty kill rate of around 84%, while Calgary has seen struggles with theirs at just above 71%. With how much pressure these two offenses can generate—especially during power plays—this could very well be a deciding factor for who comes out on top.

So what do I predict? Well folks, I’m sticking with my gut here—I believe that our Predators are going to pull off an upset tonight! The odds may favor Calgary slightly as they’ve been consistent at home and are favorites on paper (-101), but Nashville has something brewing and it’s time for them to turn things around.

Here’s my hot take: I think Nashville wins this one and covers the spread! Additionally, given both teams’ recent performances and defensive stats, I’m leaning towards the total being UNDER the projected line of 6.5 goals.

Get ready for an intense showdown tonight as I’ll be rocking my lucky jersey while cheering loudly from home—because no matter what happens on that ice tonight, you know we bleed those colors! Let’s go Preds!