NHL Hockey Betting: Calgary Flames at Ottawa Senators
A matchup of Canadian teams is on tap for Wednesday as the Calgary Flames head to the nation’s capital to take on the Ottawa Senators. Both teams qualified for the playoffs last year and had high expectations for this year. Unfortunately, they’ve both struggled out of the gate and need to get their house in order quickly. The problem is a bit more dire for the Calgary Flames as they play in the tougher division in the deeper conference. They’re tied for last place in the Pacific Division with the hapless Anaheim Ducks. They’re already 8 points out of the final playoff spot in the West–and 9 games into the season that’s not a good thing. The Senators are in better shape just two points out of the final playoff spot but they need to turn things around now as there’s no way to assume that their conference rivals will keep up this slow pace for much longer.
In both cases it really hasn’t been a matter of injuries causing the poor start. Both teams have players that are sidelined but not to the extent that they can blame that for their underachievement. Ottawa has been without defenseman Marc Methot who has been recovering from a concussion but he should be back in the lineup tonight. They’ve also been without last year’s late season hero, goaltender Andrew Hammond though he’s back on the roster now. The Senators are giving him time to recuperate completely but you’ll likely see him soon if Ottawa continues to struggle at keeping the puck out of their net.
Calgary has a less dire industry situation than that. Right now the only major component of the team sidelined by injury is defenseman TJ Brodie but he’s been activated off injured reserve and could play as early as tonight. The problems in Calgary aren’t as bad as what the Anaheim Ducks are experiencing but in the same vein–it’s a matter of the players that are expected to contribute just not getting the job done.
Given the similarities between these teams this is essentially a coin flip game. For that reason, the betting play is on the team with the better price and that’s Calgary.
BET CALGARY FLAMES +135 OVER OTTAWA SENATORS
