Free NHL Picks Today: Winnipeg Jets vs Calgary Flames 1/3/23

Offense meets defense at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday as the high-volume shooting Calgary Flames (18-13-7) travel to face the suffocating goaltending of the Winnipeg Jets (23-13-1). Calgary is coming off a 3-2 win over the Canucks on Saturday. The Flames committed four penalties in the game, though they held Vancouver without a power play goal.

MacKenzie Weegar, Elias Lindholm, and Blake Coleman each scored once for the Flames. Weegar added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Jacob Markstrom had 22 saves in the win. Winnipeg beat the Oilers 2-1 on Saturday. Neal Pionk and Kyle Connor each scored once for the Jets. Pionk and Connor both added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Connor Hellebuyck saved 31 of 32 shots in the win (.968%).

HEAD TO HEAD

The Flames won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 3-2 victory in November. Adam Ruzicka (1G 1A), Lindholm (1G 1A), and Rasmus Andersson (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Calgary. Pionk (1G 1A) and Josh Morrissey (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Winnipeg. Markstrom got the win, saving 21 of 23 shots (.913%).

FACING OFF

Calgary is averaging 3.05 goals per game for the season, 21st in the NHL, and they are taking on a Jets team that is allowing only 2.57 goals a game (5th). Meanwhile, Winnipeg has found the net 3.19 times a game on average, 16th in the league, and the Flames are allowing opponents to score 2.95 goals per game (14th).

Calgary averages more shots per game (34.8) than most teams in the league, ranking fifth, though the team’s 8.9% shooting percentage is 29th. Winnipeg has been one of the league’s better shot-stopping teams, ranking No. 3 with a team save percentage of .923%.

The Jets’ 23.89% power play percentage ranks 11th in the league, while the Flames are 23rd with a conversion rate of 19.20%. When it comes to penalty killing, Winnipeg has the league’s sixth-ranked PK% at 82.35%, while Calgary is 10th at 81.94%.

TOP PERFORMERS:

With 34 points this season, Lindholm is the top skater for the Flames. He has 12 goals and 22 assists in 37 games. In the net, Markstrom (11-9-4) is Calgary’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.81 GAA and a .894% save percentage.

Connor (43 points), Morrissey (42), and Pierre-Luc Dubois (40) lead the Jets in scoring. Connor has 16 goals and 27 assists, while Morrissey has six goals and 36 assists (4th) in 37 games.

Dubois has 17 goals and 23 assists. Hellebuyck (17-9-1) is the top goalie for Winnipeg with a goals against average of 2.37. He has a save percentage of .926%, fourth-best in the league.