San Jose Sharks vs. Calgary Flames Prediction, Preview, and Odds

The Calgary Flames (32-26-15, 5th Pacific) will host the San Jose Sharks (19-38-15, 8th Pacific) inside Scotiabank Saddledome at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Flames lead the season series 2-0, with both wins coming at San Jose.

Sharks eager to get back in the win column

San Jose will close out a three-game road trip on Saturday against the Flames. The Sharks opened the road trip with a 5-4 overtime loss to the Oilers before losing 7-2 at Vancouver on Thursday. The Sharks fell to 0-5-3 in their last eight games, and they have not won in regulation since Feb. 20.

Andrew Agozzino scores his first goal with the Sharks �� pic.twitter.com/zPtk4Z0uHm

— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) March 24, 2023

Andrew Agozzino and Tomas Hertl scored San Jose’s goals on Thursday, but couldn’t prevent being swept by the Canucks in their four matchups this season.

The Sharks have been battling a lot of injuries to their supporting cast recently, in addition to trading players away at the trade deadline several weeks ago.

Sharks coach David Quinn commented on San Jose’s lineup after the game. Per The Associated Press, Quinn said, “When you make so many changes, some of the things that are happening out there are not really the fault of the new players. They just haven’t been accustomed to playing the way you want to play and that can happen. But it’s the guys that have been here that have to keep this thing together and understand that we’ve got a season to finish and we’ve got to do a better job finishing on a strong note.”

Leading point scorers Erik Karlsson and Logan Couture are among the current healthy players in San Jose’s lineup. Karlsson leads San Jose with 88 points including 66 assists, which ranks fourth in the NHL. Couture leads the current San Jose roster with 24 goals.

San Jose is 25 in the league in goals with 2.85 per game. They average 29.8 shots on goal, which is also 25. They’re 27 in power play percentage and 16 in faceoff percentage.

Defensively, the Sharks allow 3.82 goals per game, which is 30. They allow 31.8 shots on goal per game. Their penalty kill percentage of 83% ranks sixth.

Kaapo Kahkonen is expected in goal for San Jose on Saturday. He has a record of 8-17-6 with 3.88 goals allowed per game and a save percentage of .879.

San Jose is 13-18-5 on the road.

Calgary suffers another close loss

Calgary is in the midst of a three-game homestand, which started with a 3-2 loss to Las Vegas on Thursday. It was Calgary’s 27 loss by one goal, which is the most in the NHL. As a result, Calgary’s playoff hopes are slipping away, as the Flames now find themselves six points behind Winnipeg for the Western Conference’s second wild card spot.

Per The Associated Press, Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson said after Thursday’s game, “We’re in every game, and we have a chance to win every game we’re playing, so it obviously makes it more frustrating that we lose and it feels like we’re always losing by that one goal. I don’t know how many games I’ve played back in my head thinking that ‘Ah, I should have scored that’ or ‘How did we not score that’ and we would have been in a different situation, but it’s the reality.”

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) March 24, 2023

Calgary fell behind 2-0 midway through the first period until a Calgary goal by Milan Lucic cut the lead in half. After a scoreless second period, Vegas stretched its lead to 3-1 before a Nazem Kadri goal rounded out the scoring. The Flames are now 0-18-3 this season when they trail entering the third period.

Tyler Toffoli and Elias Lindholm have led the charge for Calgary this season. Toffoli is tops on the team with 29 goals and 65 total points. Lindholm leads the Flames with 40 assists.

The Flames rank second in shots on goal, but only average 3.12 goals per game to show for it. They allow 27.3 shots on goal and 3.08 goals per game. Calgary is 11 in penalty kill percentage.

Jacob Markstrom is expected in goal for Calgary. He is 19-20-10 with 2.98 goals allowed per game and a save percentage of .889.

Defenseman Chris Taney has missed Calgary’s last two games with an upper body issue, and his status for Saturday is questionable.

The Flames are 16-15-4 at home. 

Best Bets for this Game

Full-Game Side Bet

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The Sharks haven’t won since March 6, but I like them to cover +1.5 goals on Saturday. San Jose's road record is actually much better than its home record. The Sharks are just 6-20-10 at home, but they have 13 wins on the road. For Calgary, it's the opposite, as the Flames have 14 losses at home but just 11 on the road. Markstrom is expected in goal for Calgary, but the Flames have lost his last three games in goal, so the door is open for the Sharks to make this a game. Calgary ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of goals scored and goals allowed, and while that ranks better than San Jose, it shouldn't be good enough to run away with this game. Besides, three of the San Jose’s last five games have gone into overtime, so it’s not unreasonable to think they’ll keep this one close, too.

I'll take San Jose +1.5.

Prediction: San Jose +1.5

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Full-Game Total Pick

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I like the over in this game. Calgary averages a ton of shots on goal without a ton to show for it this season, but I expect a lot of those shot attempts to find the back of the net against the San Jose goaltenders than rank third from last in goals allowed. The over has hit in four of Calgary’s last five games. San Jose has an over/under split on the season of 41/28 in favor of the over, which has hit in four out of the Sharks’ last six games. The Sharks are getting eager to end their losing streak and is going up against a Calgary team that is fifth from last in save percentage.

I’ll siding with the over.

Prediction: Over

Matt relies on his real-world sports experience and strong understanding of analytics to make accurate predictions for StatSalt & Winners & Whiners. He studied Sport Management in college before earning his Masters in Business Administration, which gives him a trustworthy background in both game strategy and statistical analysis. A former high school basketball scout before joining StatSalt &Winners & Whiners, Matt specializes in college basketball game analysis. He’s also covered college basketball for the Associated Press on ESPN.com. If you’re looking for credible, accurate predictions – whether it’s on the hardwood or any other sport – Matt’s analysis is one you should trust.