Welcome to an all-Canadian edition of NHL Predictions with us here at Last Word On Hockey. Check out our statistical breakdown, analysis, storylines, and predictions for not just this one, but games all season long. Today’s matchup takes us to Kanata, where the Ottawa Senators take on the lowly Calgary Flames.

NHL Predictions with the Senators versus the Flames

2024-25 Season Series: Flames 0-1-1, outscored 7-5 in the two games.

Start Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

How to Watch: Sportsnet West; RDS; TSN5

Location: Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ontario

The Flames Perspective

It is a season of uncertainty in Calgary. They currently sit in last place in the Western Conference with a record of 2-8-1. Nazem Kadri is the only player with more than six points. He leads the team with eight points. Needless to say, Calgary had been struggling to find offence early on.

Besides the forwards not scoring, they haven’t been near good enough defensively. High expectations fall on Dustin Wolf, after last year when his rookie season performance had Calgary battling for a playoff spot. However, through ten games, his 3.44 goals-against average and .887 save percentage won’t get it done.

If things don’t soon turn around, Calgary could go into full seller mode. There’s been plenty of rumours out there on their better players. Guys like Kadri and defenceman Rasmus Andersson have been discussed at length in trade rumours. However, Calgary doesn’t know what mode to be in. They can’t give away their top players if they want to contend for the playoffs in the near future. Given how close they were last year, that’s why they opted to stay. In contrast, with them playing so poorly, they don’t have the stock value on the open trade market.

The Storylines in Ottawa

Ottawa’s story is different but also similar to Calgary. The Sens have really had to battle to be at 5-5-1. Coming into the season looking to improve on last year’s first-round playoff exit, similar to Calgary, things haven’t been going as planned.

The Sens come into tonight’s game with a 4.00 goals-against-per-game, ranking them 30th. Calgary is nearly equally as bad, at 3.55 GA/GP, that has them 25th. Neither team is locking it down on the penalty kill. Ottawa is 63.6% and Calgary is 75%.

However, it is the offensive side of the puck where the two teams differentiate. Ottawa is strong with a 31.7% success rate on the power play and 3.64 goals-for-per-game, that have them ranked fifth in the league. Meanwhile, Calgary is only 11.4% on the power play, and 32nd in GF/GP at 2.09.

Linus Ullmark is planned to go against Wolf tonight. We think we have to give the Sens the edge based on all these reasons. However, we will add our disclaimer to check for the latest updates before locking in your daily fantasy lineups.

Ottawa seems to trending well offensively with Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens helping to power them. This has given a complement to Shane Pinto following his red hot start. It is on the defensive side they need to improve.

Jordan Spence hasn’t been playing much in favour of the bigger Nikolas Matinpalo. It could be something to tinker with, but Matinpalo appears to stay in.

NHL Predictions

We like Ottawa at home tonight and given their recent offensive success. Both teams will look to work on things defensively, but it has been such a challenge so far in 2025-26, it won’t have immediate returns. The winning team has scored seven in Ottawa’s last three games, with them winning two of those. They need to tighten it up.

Prediction: Senators 4 – Flames 2

Prop Bets

To go along with our score prediction, check out a couple anytime scorers. We like Blake Coleman for the Flames and Tim Stutzle, who’s starting to put up some points. Look for those trends to continue.

Main Photo Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

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