Calgary Flames vs Washington Capitals Prediction, Preview and Odds - 10/23/2021

Game Time: 1:00 pm ET, Saturday, October 23, 2021

Venue:  Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

Where to Watch:  NHL Network

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Flames +140, Capitals -165; Over/Under:  NL goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Flames +125, Capitals -150; Over/Under:  6 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Flames +130, Capitals -150; Over/Under:  6 goals

 

Calgary Flames:  1-1-1 (5th place, Pacific Division)

Washington Capitals:  3-0-1 (1st place, Metropolitan Division)

 

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Calgary Flames:  won on the road on Oct. 21 against the Detroit Red Wings 3-0.

Washington Capitals:  won on the road on Oct. 21 against the New Jersey Devils 4-1.

 

 

 

The Flames are coming into this game with 3 points and a 1-1-1 record overall to start their season off while they are 1-1-0 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They got off to a rough start with 2 straight losses but they have been improving in each of their games. They started their season with a 5-2 loss to the Oilers and then followed up with a loss to the Ducks but in OT 3-2. They have bounced back from that in their most recent game winning over the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 shutting them out in that game. Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, and Matthew Tkachuk all had 1 goal each in that game. Johnny Gaudreau and Erik Gudbranson both led the team in assists with 2 while Dillon Dube also had 1 assist in that one. Gudbranson along with Oliver Kylington both led the team in shots on goal with 4 each. Jacob Markstrom was the starting goaltender for them in that game and he allowed 0 goals on 33 shots with 33 saves and 1.000 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 7 goals in their first 3 games averaging a little over 2 goals scored per game in that span and they have allowed their opponents to score 8 goals against them in that same span allowing a little under 3 goals per game.

 

 

The Capitals are coming into this game with 7 points and a 3-0-1 record overall to start their season off while they are 2-0-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. The Capitals have had a strong start to their regular season winning 3 of their 4 games this year with their only loss coming in OT against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They have been blowing by teams with ease as they have won their 3 games by 3 or more goals in each. Their last game was a win against the Devils 4-1 on Thursday night. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Daniel Sprong, Anthony Mantha, and Dmitry Orlov all had 1 goal each in that game. Alex Ovechkin led the team in assists in that game with 2 while Kuznetsov, Sprong, Tom Wilson, and Trevor van Riemsdyk all had 1 assist each in that one. The shots on goal were pretty spread around evenly in that game with the highest by one single player being 3 and multiple players taking that many shots on net. Vitek Vanecek was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 1 goal on 26 shots with 25 saves and a .962 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 16 goals in their first 4 games averaging 4 goals scored per game in that span and they have allowed their opponents to score 7 goals against them in that same span allowing a little under 2 goals per game.

 

 

The Capitals are coming into this game as a large favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. There is no reason why they should not be favored by that much in this game, they have had a great start to their season and are playing well on both offense and defense. The Flames have been getting better in each game as the season goes on but they have also been too inconsistent in their games. The Capitals have a very good team this season and they are going to be a heavy force in the Eastern Conference all year. The best bet to place in this game is on the Capitals to win here.

 

Flames Capitals Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Saturday, October 23, 2021 (1:00 pm ET start time) is Capitals 5 Flames 2.

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Calgary Flames: 68-71 (-18 units) in all games. 22-28 (-7.8 units) in a road game where where the total is 6 or more. 21-24 (-8.8 units) first half of the season.

Washington Capitals: 83-59 (+4.3 units) in all games. 30-15 (+8.8 units) first half of the season. 53-38 (+4.5 units) after a division game. 17-10 (+3.6 units) in non-conference games.

 

 

Calgary Flames:  B. Richardson (RW) Ques Sat - Lower Body injury. M. Stone (D) Out indefinitely - Illness. C. Zary (C) Out indefinitely - Ankle injury.

Washington Capitals:  N. Backstrom (C) Out indefinitely - Hip injury.

 

 

Calgary Flames: Johnny Gaudreau is one player to watch in this matchup. He leads his team in points and in assists this season. He is coming off of a game where he had 2 assists and was heavily involved in their offense. Look for him to keep playing like that in this game and set up his teammates with some good scoring chances here.

 

Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin is one player to watch in this contest. He leads his team in points and in goals this season and has been the franchise player for this team since he was drafted. Ovi is one of the best in the league and he is always looking to get involved in his team’s offense so look for him to create a lot of scoring chances here whether it be for himself or for his teammates.

 

 

"Jacob, with the saves he had, slowed the game down for us. I think he made important saves at critical times.” - Darryl Sutter on his team’s goaltending in their win over the Red Wings.

 

 

“We’ve gotten good goaltending, offensively we put up some numbers, defensively we’re not allowing too many shots and our goalies are stopping the ones that they need to stop and we’ve been able to get some wins. What’s been good about the start — probably just the fact we’re 3-0-1, just trying to get wins and move on.” - Peter Laviolette on his team’s start to their season.

 

 

 

LW Gaudreau, Johnny

C Lindholm, Elias

RW Tkachuk, Matthew

LD Hanifin, Noah

RD Andersson, Rasmus

G Markström, Jacob

 

LW Ovechkin, Alex

C Kuznetsov, Evgeny

RW Wilson, Tom

LD Fehérváry, Martin

RD Carlson, John

G Vanecek, Vitek

 

 

Points: J.Gaudreau (4)

Goals: E.Lindholm (3)

Assists: J.Gaudreau (4)

GAA: J.Markstrom (2.30)

 

Points: A.Ovechkin (8)

Goals: A.Ovechkin (4)

Assists: E.Kuznetsov (5)

GAA: V.Vanecek (1.30)

 

Coaches:

Calgary Flames: Darryl Sutter (2nd season)

Washington Capitals: Peter Laviolette (2nd season)