Welcome back to another edition of NHL Predictions here at Last Word on Hockey, where we provide analysis, insights, and predictions for upcoming NHL games. Tonight, the St. Louis Blues continue their three-game Canadian road trip with a battle against the Flames in Calgary, Alberta. 

NHL Predictions: March 18th St. Louis Blues vs Calgary Flames

Time: 9:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time
How to Watch TV: SN1, TVAS, FDSNMW
2025-2026 Season Series: 2-0-0
Location: Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta

Tonight, the St. Louis Blues are looking for the regular-season sweep of the Calgary Flames. Both of the previous games came way back before American Thanksgiving. At that point in the season, every team is still well within making the playoffs. Over four months later, these two teams are still in a battle, albeit a much different one. Instead of playoff positioning, the Blues and Flames are playing for the better draft pick this summer.

Entering tonight, the Flames have just 59 points, placing them second-to-last in the NHL. This is a position the Blues once occupied not too long ago. In their last ten games, the Blues have a resounding record of 7-2-1. Their play since returning from the Olympics has pulled them out of the bottom of the league and into a category of false hope. In those seven wins, they have beaten powerhouse teams such as the Carolina Hurricanes and the Minnesota Wild. Somewhat poetically, their combined three losses in that time came from teams that are currently outside of a playoff position.

While the Blues are pulling themselves out of the league’s basement, the Flames seem to be playing down into it. In their last ten, Calgary sports a 2-7-1 record. They are returning from a five-game road trip in which they only managed to find one win. One bright spot for Calgary is the fact that they, along with Edmonton and Prague, were selected as one of three host cities for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey!

Battling Blues

Despite the playoffs being nothing more than a long shot for St. Louis, they are still fighting. On Sunday, they lost yet another gut-wrenching game to the Winnipeg Jets. If they had earned those two points, they would enter tonight with a legitimate chance to make a run. The kids stormed back and fought adversity in that game, outplaying the Jets for the latter 40 minutes. At the end of the day, the bounces simply didn’t go their way. 

On Monday, Blues rookie forward Jimmy Snuggerud was awarded the NHL’s third star of the week. In his last five games, he has four goals and four assists. He sits third in scoring on the Blues and just one goal behind Robert Thomas for most on the team (16). The Blues’ first line of Snuggerud, Thomas, and Dylan Holloway has remained excellent since getting put together in Minnesota on March 1st. As long as the Thomas trade saga is over, this could be one of the best offensive lines in the league at the start of next season.

If the Blues are able to maintain this pace, two things are guaranteed to happen. First, they will end up with worse odds at the first overall pick this summer. Though they’ll miss the opportunity to draft rookie phenom Gavin McKenna, the Blues do currently have three picks in the first round. Secondly, the Blues are creating a ton of good team chemistry. If this is the core entering next season, then allowing the younger players to play in big moments is exactly what needs to happen.

Ice Cold Flames

Looking at the Flames roster, they have a lot of great depth players. At this point, through 67 games, their highest leading scorer has 38 points. How does their leading scorer have such a low number of points? The answer is simple: Calgary sold their producing and veteran players at the deadline for draft capital and prospects.

General Manager Craig Conroy knew where his season was headed at the start of 2026. On January 18th, he traded star defenceman Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights. On March 4th, two days before the Trade Deadline, he dealt fan favourite MacKenzie Weegar to the Utah Mammoth. Then, on deadline day itself, he shipped out Nazem Kadri.

Every proud hockey team fights to the bitter end, and the Flames are no different. Sure, their assistant captain Jonathan Huberdeau had season-ending surgery, but that still doesn’t excuse their poor play this year. Conroy received plenty of draft picks for the veterans he sent out. He retained plenty of salary in doing that, too. They are in the middle of a rebuild now, but eventually it will end. When it does, the Flames will be burning bright again.

Prediction

The Blues look good. It’s hard to argue with seven wins in the last ten. If it’s the belief in the locker room that making the playoffs is possible, then so be it. The offence is producing while the play of their goaltenders has been spectacular. Both Joel Hofer and Jordan Binnington have played exceptionally well since coming back from the Olympic Break. If they do make the playoffs, they have to step over the teams below them in the standings. Unfortunately, the Flames fit perfectly into that category. 

NHL Prediction: Blues win 4-2.

Prop Bets:

The over/under for this game is set at 5.5 goals. With a predicted six goals scored, we are going to take the over  at -115. We also expect Jimmy Snuggerud to continue his tear and score another goal, coming in at +250. Matthew Coronato had a goal and added an assist in Calgary’s 5-2 loss to Detroit on Monday. He will try to lead the Flames again tonight with a goal. So we will take him at +275

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Main Photo: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images