<p>The Calgary Flames will return home Saturday from a successful six-game road trip, in which they earned six points from six games against several of the NHL&#8217;s best teams.</p>
<p>They will host a Montreal Canadiens side sporting a 5-0-1 record since the break, which has them sitting only one point out of the playoffs.</p>
<p>Whenever Montreal plays in Calgary it tends to lead to an excellent atmosphere, as the Scotiabank Saddledome is typically sold out, and half-filled with passionate Canadiens supporters. Saturday&#8217;s nationally televised Hockey Night in Canada matchup will be no different, as both sides look to continue pushing for unanticipated playoff berths.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ll detail the relevant game notes and outline my favourite betting angles below.</p>
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<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold">Canadiens vs. Flames odds</h2>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 50%;">Canadiens Moneyline odds</td>
<td style="width: 50%;">+121</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 50%;">Flames Moneyline odds</td>
<td style="width: 50%;">-133</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 50%;">Puck Line odds</td>
<td style="width: 50%;">Canadiens +1.5 (-217), Flames -1.5 (+188)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 50%;">Game Total</td>
<td style="width: 50%;">6 Goals (Over +103, Under -116)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><em>Odds courtesy of Pinnacle and are subject to change. Use promo code Puck @ sign up. </em></p>
<h2><strong>Montreal Canadiens</strong></h2>
<p>The Canadiens are on pace to outperform their preseason expectations by a fairly wide margin, as oddsmakers pegged them with a season point total of 77.5 entering the season. They have been one of the most profitable betting sides in hockey, as with a record of 30-32-0 straight up, a $100 bet on Montreal to win each game this season would yield a profit of $982.</p>
<p>Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are in the midst of career years, and provide arguably the team&#8217;s greatest edge over the Flames, who do not have any skater with a similar level of offensive upside. Caufield tallied his 31st marker of the year on Thursday in Edmonton, and currently sits 10th in goals scored this season.</p>
<p>Rookie blue-liner Lane Hutson&#8217;s offensive play has certainly helped power Suzuki and Caufield&#8217;s career years, as his tremendous puck-moving ability continues to lead to a ton of scoring chances and offensive zone time for his team. His defensive game has trended in the right direction since the start of the season, which has helped power the Canadiens turnaround.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lane Hutson&#8230;<br />5 assists in his last 3 games.<br />44 assists this season &#8211; 2 behind NHL D leader. <br />Leads all D in slot pass completions.<br />3rd in offensive zone puck possession behind Q. Hughes &amp; Makar.</p>
<p>On pace for 59 assists &#8211; would be 2nd most ever by a rookie D (Larry Murphy &#8211; 60).</p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeKellyNHL/status/1897305646044975522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>In six games since the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Canadiens&#8217; power play unit has succeeded on 30% of opportunities, and has become a handful for opponents to keep in check. Hutson does an excellent job quarterbacking the top unit, which features two lethal shooters in Caufield and Patrik Laine, and Suzuki offering strong work from the bumper spot.</p>
<p>Over the last 10 games, the Canadiens hold an expected goal share of 47.55% and have allowed 3.41 xGA/60. They have been a middling defensive team at best this season, but like the Flames, have benefitted from better than average goaltending.</p>
<p>After he had a quietly excellent 2023-24 season and strong start to this year, Team Canada surprised many fans in naming Samuel Montembeault to the 4 Nations Face-Off team. While it&#8217;s debatable if he did ultimately deserve the spot or not, he does hold a +18.6 GSAx rating over the last two seasons combined, which suggests he is a top-tier goaltender.</p>
<p>The Canadiens have confirmed that they will start backup Jakub Dobes in this matchup, who has also been excellent, albeit in a much smaller sample of play. Dobes holds a .909 save percentage and +5.3. GSAx in 10 appearances this season.</p>
<p>Of goaltenders to make 10 or more starts, Dobes&#8217; 0.558 GSAx/60 rating ranks seventh in the NHL. Betting the Canadiens in each of Dobes&#8217; eight starts would yield a +87.5% ROI, as he has lead the team to upsets over a number of quality opponents, and did not initially garner any respect from oddsmakers.</p>
<p>Like the Flames, Montreal opted to stand pat at the deadline as it did not deal any pending unrestricted free agents, and also did not add any new pieces. They re-signed one of their more desirable rentals in Jake Evans to a four-year deal with an AAV of $2.85 million, which looks quite fair for both sides.</p>
<h2><strong>Calgary Flames</strong></h2>
<p>Six points was the exact benchmark in which I believed the Flames could view their treacherous road trip as a success, as it would be enough to keep them soundly in the playoff race. They were able to achieve that mark with Thursday&#8217;s overtime loss in Dallas, though it certainly felt bittersweet as Nazem Kadri was so close to winning it.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nazem Kadri came this close to winning the game in overtime. </p>
<p>🎥: Sportsnet | NHL<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TexasHockey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TexasHockey</a> <a href="https://t.co/wq3lAD0Jex">pic.twitter.com/wq3lAD0Jex</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1897856206628339898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Despite the losing result, Calgary&#8217;s loss in Dallas was one of its better performances of the season, given that the Stars are the hottest team in the NHL. The Flames outshot the Stars, 28-27, and generated 2.14 expected goals to the Stars&#8217; total of 2.35.</p>
<p>At the time of writing, the Flames have not yet held Saturday&#8217;s morning skate, and received a well-deserved off day yesterday. Therefore it is unclear what adjustments head coach Ryan Huska may make to his lineup, but it seems reasonable not to expect many changes.</p>
<p><strong class="text-lg font-bold">Here’s how the Flames lined up versus Dallas:</strong></p>
<p>Jonathan Huberdeau- Nazem Kadri- Matt Coronato<br />
Joel Farabee- Mikael Backlund- Blake Coleman<br />
Yegor Sharangovich- Morgan Frost- Martin Pospisil<br />
Ryan Lomberg- Kevin Rooney- Connor Zary</p>
<p>Kevin Bahl -Rasmus Andersson<br />
Joel Hanley- MacKenzie Weegar<br />
Jake Bean- Brayden Pachal</p>
<p>The most fitting change would be elevating Connor Zary further up the lineup card, perhaps back onto the third line alongside Morgan Frost and Yegor Sharangovich. Realistically, it is Sharangovich who deserves to see his role reduced, but like Zary, he&#8217;s not overly well-suited to play alongside Ryan Lomberg and Kevin Rooney.</p>
<p>Dustin Wolf is expected to start in goal after serving as backup in Dallas. Wolf holds a +12.0 GSAx and .913 save percentage in 37 appearances this season.</p>
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<h2><strong>Best bets for Canadiens vs. </strong><strong>Flames</strong></h2>
<p>The Canadiens have been one of the best underdog bets in the NHL this season, and once again look to be undervalued in this matchup given how even these two sides look to be right now. If anything, there is an argument to be made that Montreal is actually the team in better form right now.</p>
<p>The Canadiens are 13-9-3 since January 1st, while the Flames are just 11-11-3. Montreal holds superior underlying results in that span, and has more in the way of truly dynamic offensive skaters.</p>
<p>Calgary has been excellent on home ice this season, and Wolf does provide an avenue for the team to steal any game. Even with those two factors in mind, I&#8217;m still not sold on the Flames being this favoured versus one of the league&#8217;s hottest teams, and there looks to be value backing Montreal as an underdog.</p>
<p><strong>Best bet: Montreal Canadiens Moneyline +117 (Pinnacle, Play to +112)</strong></p>


Montreal Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault (35) stops Calgary Flames forward Blake Coleman (20) during the third period at the Bell Centre.

The Calgary Flames will return home Saturday from a successful six-game road trip, in which they earned six points from six games against several of the NHL's best teams.

They will host a Montreal Canadiens side sporting a 5-0-1 record since the break, which has them sitting only one point out of the playoffs.

Whenever Montreal plays in Calgary it tends to lead to an excellent atmosphere, as the Scotiabank Saddledome is typically sold out, and half-filled with passionate Canadiens supporters. Saturday's nationally televised Hockey Night in Canada matchup will be no different, as both sides look to continue pushing for unanticipated playoff berths.

I'll detail the relevant game notes and outline my favourite betting angles below.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="328" data-promotion-id="31843" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>
<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold">Canadiens vs. Flames odds</h2>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 50%;">Canadiens Moneyline odds</td>
<td style="width: 50%;">+121</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 50%;">Flames Moneyline odds</td>
<td style="width: 50%;">-133</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 50%;">Puck Line odds</td>
<td style="width: 50%;">Canadiens +1.5 (-217), Flames -1.5 (+188)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 50%;">Game Total</td>
<td style="width: 50%;">6 Goals (Over +103, Under -116)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<em>Odds courtesy of Pinnacle and are subject to change. Use promo code Puck @ sign up. </em>
<h2><strong>Montreal Canadiens</strong></h2>
The Canadiens are on pace to outperform their preseason expectations by a fairly wide margin, as oddsmakers pegged them with a season point total of 77.5 entering the season. They have been one of the most profitable betting sides in hockey, as with a record of 30-32-0 straight up, a $100 bet on Montreal to win each game this season would yield a profit of $982.

Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are in the midst of career years, and provide arguably the team's greatest edge over the Flames, who do not have any skater with a similar level of offensive upside. Caufield tallied his 31st marker of the year on Thursday in Edmonton, and currently sits 10th in goals scored this season.

Rookie blue-liner Lane Hutson's offensive play has certainly helped power Suzuki and Caufield's career years, as his tremendous puck-moving ability continues to lead to a ton of scoring chances and offensive zone time for his team. His defensive game has trended in the right direction since the start of the season, which has helped power the Canadiens turnaround.

[embed]https://twitter.com/mikekellynhl/status/1897305646044975522?s=51&t=jnkCQzfXiGyXqCWVEtGobg[/embed]

&nbsp;

In six games since the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Canadiens' power play unit has succeeded on 30% of opportunities, and has become a handful for opponents to keep in check. Hutson does an excellent job quarterbacking the top unit, which features two lethal shooters in Caufield and Patrik Laine, and Suzuki offering strong work from the bumper spot.

Over the last 10 games, the Canadiens hold an expected goal share of 47.55% and have allowed 3.41 xGA/60. They have been a middling defensive team at best this season, but like the Flames, have benefitted from better than average goaltending.

After he had a quietly excellent 2023-24 season and strong start to this year, Team Canada surprised many fans in naming Samuel Montembeault to the 4 Nations Face-Off team. While it's debatable if he did ultimately deserve the spot or not, he does hold a +18.6 GSAx rating over the last two seasons combined, which suggests he is a top-tier goaltender.

The Canadiens have confirmed that they will start backup Jakub Dobes in this matchup, who has also been excellent, albeit in a much smaller sample of play. Dobes holds a .909 save percentage and +5.3. GSAx in 10 appearances this season.

Of goaltenders to make 10 or more starts, Dobes' 0.558 GSAx/60 rating ranks seventh in the NHL. Betting the Canadiens in each of Dobes' eight starts would yield a +87.5% ROI, as he has lead the team to upsets over a number of quality opponents, and did not initially garner any respect from oddsmakers.

Like the Flames, Montreal opted to stand pat at the deadline as it did not deal any pending unrestricted free agents, and also did not add any new pieces. They re-signed one of their more desirable rentals in Jake Evans to a four-year deal with an AAV of $2.85 million, which looks quite fair for both sides.
<h2><strong>Calgary Flames</strong></h2>
Six points was the exact benchmark in which I believed the Flames could view their treacherous road trip as a success, as it would be enough to keep them soundly in the playoff race. They were able to achieve that mark with Thursday's overtime loss in Dallas, though it certainly felt bittersweet as Nazem Kadri was so close to winning it.

[embed]https://twitter.com/ringoffirecgy/status/1897856206628339898?s=51&t=jnkCQzfXiGyXqCWVEtGobg[/embed]

&nbsp;

Despite the losing result, Calgary's loss in Dallas was one of its better performances of the season, given that the Stars are the hottest team in the NHL. The Flames outshot the Stars, 28-27, and generated 2.14 expected goals to the Stars' total of 2.35.

At the time of writing, the Flames have not yet held Saturday's morning skate, and received a well-deserved off day yesterday. Therefore it is unclear what adjustments head coach Ryan Huska may make to his lineup, but it seems reasonable not to expect many changes.

<strong class="text-lg font-bold">Here’s how the Flames lined up versus Dallas:</strong>

Jonathan Huberdeau- Nazem Kadri- Matt Coronato
Joel Farabee- Mikael Backlund- Blake Coleman
Yegor Sharangovich- Morgan Frost- Martin Pospisil
Ryan Lomberg- Kevin Rooney- Connor Zary

Kevin Bahl -Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley- MacKenzie Weegar
Jake Bean- Brayden Pachal

The most fitting change would be elevating Connor Zary further up the lineup card, perhaps back onto the third line alongside Morgan Frost and Yegor Sharangovich. Realistically, it is Sharangovich who deserves to see his role reduced, but like Zary, he's not overly well-suited to play alongside Ryan Lomberg and Kevin Rooney.

Dustin Wolf is expected to start in goal after serving as backup in Dallas. Wolf holds a +12.0 GSAx and .913 save percentage in 37 appearances this season.
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<h2><strong>Best bets for Canadiens vs. </strong><strong>Flames</strong></h2>
The Canadiens have been one of the best underdog bets in the NHL this season, and once again look to be undervalued in this matchup given how even these two sides look to be right now. If anything, there is an argument to be made that Montreal is actually the team in better form right now.

The Canadiens are 13-9-3 since January 1st, while the Flames are just 11-11-3. Montreal holds superior underlying results in that span, and has more in the way of truly dynamic offensive skaters.

Calgary has been excellent on home ice this season, and Wolf does provide an avenue for the team to steal any game. Even with those two factors in mind, I'm still not sold on the Flames being this favoured versus one of the league's hottest teams, and there looks to be value backing Montreal as an underdog.

<strong>Best bet: Montreal Canadiens Moneyline +117 (Pinnacle, Play to +112)</strong>

NHL odds, betting preview (March 8): Canadiens vs. Flames predictions

Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) guards his net against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome.

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