Plenty of Offense
The Calgary Flames have been one of the league’s best offensive teams this season. They should be even better once Alex Tanguay starts producing consistently.
The Flames continue a six-game homestand Friday night as they try to end a five-game losing streak to the Northwest Division rival Colorado Avalanche.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Calgary -138 money line favorites (NHL Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 6 goals (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 64% of bets for this game have been placed on Calgary -138 (View NHL Bet Percentages).
Tanguay scored the tying and go-ahead goals – his first two scores of the season – and the Flames rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat Minnesota 5-3 on Wednesday.
Captain Jarome Iginla added a goal and two assists for Calgary (5-3-2), which came back from three goals down to win for the first time since Nov. 19, 1998.
Tanguay, in his second year with the Flames after six seasons in Colorado, wanted to atone for his turnover during a power play in Monday’s 4-1 loss to San Jose.
"I wasn’t happy about Monday, I gave (San Jose) a goal that shifted the game’s momentum," Tanguay said. "Tonight, we were skating and (Iginla) and Daymond (Langkow) were playing great. When we’re skating, we’re first on the puck and with their skill level, it’s easy to make plays."
Calgary is among the league leaders with 35 goals in 10 games despite none from Tanguay before Wednesday. He does, however, have nine assists, ranking second on the team behind Iginla (10).
"Hey, you are going to have slumps during the season. But mid-season or something. We’re this far into the season and I still had the big zero on the scoresheet," Tanguay told the Flames’ official Web site.
Tanguay, a five-time 20-goal scorer, has one goal and 11 assists in nine games against his former team.
Since starting the season with a three-game winless streak (0-2-1), the Flames are 5-1-1.
Leading the way is Iginla, who has six goals and eight assists during that span. Langkow has three goals and four assists during a four-game point streak and is among the NHL leaders with eight goals and 14 points.
Calgary was victimized by a big comeback in its first meeting this season against the Avalanche, wasting a four-goal lead in a 5-4 shootout loss at Colorado on Oct. 16. The point was the Flames’ first in the last five games against the Avs.
Playing the biggest roles in Colorado’s recent success against Calgary are center Paul Stastny and captain Joe Sakic. Stastny has five goals and five assists in the last five meetings while Sakic has three goals and eight assists.
Sakic has 38 goals and 98 points in 73 career games against the Flames – his highest totals versus any opponent.
After losses to Chicago and Minnesota, the Avalanche (5-4-0) beat the Oilers 4-2 on Tuesday for their first victory on a four-game road trip and their first win away from home this season.
"We needed a win in the worst way," coach Joel Quenneville said. "We were doing whatever we could to get a road win and probably played that simple, ugly hockey game with not a lot of chances either way."
Colorado won despite the absence of right wing Milan Hejduk, who has missed the last two games with a back injury. Getting Hejduk back would provide a boost for the Avalanche, especially considering he has five goals in his last six games against Calgary.
by: Staff Writers – Email Us
More NHL Hockey coverage from theSpread.com
– NHL Hockey news wire
– NHL top stories
– Current NHL injuries
– NHL Hockey schedule
– NHL Hockey standings
– NHL goalie stats
– NHL Hockey scoreboard
– NHL Hockey odds
– NHL public betting charts
– Expert NHL Picks
– Comments and discussion
– Signup for theSpread.com daily newsletter
– NHL Home