Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Championship Sunday
Calgary Flames (23-16-9) vs. Seattle Kraken (28-14-5)
The 2022-23 NHL season continues Friday, January 27, with the Calgary Flames facing off against the Seattle Kraken in the Pacific Division showdown at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, and the puck drop is set for 10:00 PM ET.
Calgary and Seattle wrap up their three-game regular-season series, and the Flames aim for their second straight victory over the Kraken. Seattle opens as a small -109 moneyline favorite, while the totals sit at 6.0 goals.
Thursday’s games have been excluded from the analysis, and the Calgary Flames hosted the lowly Chicago Blackhawks, searching for their third straight victory. Over their previous two showings, the Flames have outlasted the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 and the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime.
Last Monday, the Flames barely defeated the Jackets despite outshooting their rivals 49-25. Andrew Mangiapane led the charge for Calgary with a goal and a couple of dishes, while Dan Vladar yielded three goals on 25 shots.
Big Z logged 26:46, was a +4, picked up an assist, and threw 2 hits in Monday's win over the Blue Jackets ?? He's our @Sportsnet Player To Watch tonight vs . his old club, the Blackhawks! pic.twitter.com/n0fGih0qaj
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) January 26, 2023
Jakob Markstrom (13-12-5; 2.82 GAA, .895 SV%) was confirmed for Thursday’s clash against the Blackhawks. Hereof, we should see Dan Vladar in the crease Friday when the Flames head to Seattle. The 25-year-old netminder is 10-4-4 with a 2.75 GAA and .904 save percentage this season and has emerged victorious in four straight starts.
The Flames allow 2.96 goals per game (tied-14th in the league) and score 3.13 goals in return (18th). They are only 30-for-152 with the man advantage (23rd) while posting the sixth-best penalty-killing percentage in the NHL (82.0%).