Chicago Blackhawks vs. Calgary Flames Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 21st 2024
Preview and Prediction
The upcoming clash between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Calgary Flames on Saturday will see two teams heading in opposite directions.
On Thursday night, the Blackhawks secured their third consecutive victory with a 3-1 win over the Seattle Kraken, while the Flames suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators, their second consecutive defeat in extra time.
Chicago's home win over the Kraken saw Ilya Mikheyev score two goals and goaltender Arvid Soderblom make 26 saves.
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"It's a great feeling to have our first three-game win streak since I've been here," said Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno. "It's a testament to the team and our belief in what we're trying to accomplish here. We know we have more to give and we expect more from ourselves.
"We're excited about the direction we're heading in with interim coach Anders Sorensen. He's done a fantastic job of coming in and solidifying our game, but it's ultimately the players who deserve the credit."
Sorensen took over as head coach after Luke Richardson was fired on December 5th. Since then, the Blackhawks have gone 4-3-0.
"I think it's just the daily process of how we're approaching things," Sorensen said. "But even within our games, I think we're playing with more confidence, holding onto the puck more, and making more plays. We're also generating more offense on the rush, which has been beneficial. Tonight, I thought we did a great job of that. We were able to come out of our defensive zone with numbers and we were connected as a team. That's a big part of our success."
Defenseman Nolan Allen scored his first career goal on Thursday and Teuvo Teravainen contributed two assists.
Meanwhile, the Flames suffered a heartbreaking loss on Thursday as Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk scored just 55 seconds into overtime.
Calgary's Jonathan Huberdeau tied the game 2-2 with a power-play goal in the third period, but it wasn't enough to secure the win.
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"Our style of play is low-scoring and tight-checking," said Flames forward Blake Coleman, who scored their other goal. "That's going to lead to close games. We've shown that we can come back, but we also need to figure out how to hold onto leads. We know we'll be in these tight games, especially at home where it seems like we're always going to overtime. We need to find ways to come out with two points instead of just one."
Calgary's Dan Vladar made 26 saves in the loss, while Nazem Kadri had his four-game goal streak snapped.
The Flames have played the most overtime games in the NHL this season with 12, but have lost their last four.
"It was a great game," said Flames defenseman Mackenzie Weegar. "Both teams battled hard tonight. There was a lot of physicality and pace to the game. Two great goaltenders going at it. It came down to the wire. It's tough to lose a game like that."
Chicago's second-year center Connor Bedard leads the team with 26 points (seven goals, 19 assists), while Ryan Donato has scored the most goals for the Blackhawks with 11.
For the Flames, Huberdeau leads the team with 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists), and he and Kadri are tied for the goal lead.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Calgary Flames Recap OCT 15TH 2024
The Calgary Flames tied a franchise record by winning their fourth consecutive game to open the season, defeating the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Tuesday.
Matt Coronato scored twice, Andrei Kuzmenko added a power-play goal and Dustin Wolf made 31 saves for the Flames, who matched their season-opening mark accomplished previously in 1993-94 and 2009-10.
Nick Foligno scored and Petr Mrazek made 23 saves for the Blackhawks, who fell to 1-2-1.
Both sides had a handful of chances in the first period, but neither could convert until late in the frame.
Coronato gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 16:01. Rasmus Andersson's point shot bounced off the end boards, and Coronato collected it at the left side of the net and tried to stuff it in. His first attempt was snuffed by Chicago defenseman Alex Vlasic, but the forward stayed on the rebound to lift it into the net.
Foligno tied it 1-1 just 10 seconds later. The Blackhawks captain won a faceoff in the offensive zone back to Alec Martinez. Martinez quickly dished over to Seth Jones, whose point shot was tipped by Foligno driving by the front of the net.
Chicago pushed in the second, outshooting Calgary 8-1 by the midway point of the period, including a pair of short-handed chances. Jason Dickinson couldn't get a shot off in close after quick passing on the rush, and moments later, Wolf stopped Andreas Athanasiou alone in front.
Kuzmenko put the Flames back in front with a power-play tally at 13:32 of the second period when he tipped Jonathan Huberdeau's shot from above the left circle.
Both goalies had to be sharp in the early minutes of the third.
Wolf denied Connor Bedard's snap shot from along the goal line 40 seconds into the frame. Shortly thereafter, Huberdeau had a chance to put the Flames up by two, getting inside on a drive to the net, but he couldn't get a quality shot off, and Mrazek quickly covered.
Coronato scored an empty-net goal with 39 seconds remaining for the 3-1 final.