NHL Game Night Betting: Calgary vs Detroit

The Detroit Red Wings are fresh off a huge win. Not only did they beat their long time rival, the Chicago Blackhawks, but they earned two more crucial points, putting them one ahead of their opponent tonight for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The win also came on the road in a very tough building to play in, so the confidence is running high in Detroit, and that has to scare the top few seeds in the Western Conference. Despite how they’ve played this year, I know that Detroit is the last team I want to play in the first round of the playoffs.

With just one point separating the Flames and Red Wings, and with each team only having 17 games remaining in the regular season, you know that this is going to be an all our war tonight. With that being said, every contest is going to be crucial when it comes to making the postseason as six teams are within 7 points of the Red Wings for that spot. Any major slip-ups and you can go from the playoffs to the golf course before you know it.

Both teams have been playing good hockey of late and with a win tonight, either the Flames or the Red Wings will have their third straight victory. Things actually couldn’t be any tighter between these two playoff hopefuls as they have split their two meetings this year, with the road team winning each contest. The overall series has been tight as well, with Detroit winning six of the last 10 matchups. They’ve had a little more success at home, winning six of nine at the Joe Louis Arena, where the action will take place tonight at 7 PM EST.

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Here are some NHL betting trends for this huge Western Conference matchup tonight:

• Over is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in Detroit.
• Home team is 14-6 in the last 20 meetings.
• Flames are 2-8 in the last 10 meetings in Detroit.
• Underdog is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.

Flames fans should be getting a some confidence back in their team as their team leader, Jarome Iginla, appears to be heating up after an impressive Olympic games. The Flames captain recorded his second hat trick of the season and also dished out an assist in the 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild from Xcel Energy Center last game.

Detroit seems to have its big horses rolling as well, with Pavel Datsyuk notching the game winner on a breakaway that capped a five-goal eruption in the second period against Chicago. The only concern for Detroit heading into tonight’s game is that Datsyuk is suffering from flu-like symptoms and is questionable, but I’ve got money on their Russian sniper suiting up for this big game.

The NHL betting line on this game has the Flames as a +165 road dog while the Red Wings are going off at -200 in the sportsbook. This might be a good spot to play a road dog getting a healthy number seeing as how the Flames have already taken one at the Joe Lou this year. Either way you decide, this is going to be a must watch hockey game, so enjoy!