Flames +111 Dogs on October 20; Calgary 2-36 in Games in Anaheim

• Calgary has lost its last three in Anaheim and has won just two of its last 36 at Honda Center
• Anaheim has come out of the gate flying, with a 6-2-0 overall record and a perfect 4-0-0 record at home
• Ducks have one of the best defenses in the NHL, giving up just 1.41 goals per game

Calgary will take on the weight of history Sunday night, when the Flames attempt to upset the odds at Honda Center and register a rare victory.

Anaheim has yet to do anything but win in regulation at home this season and the Calgary Flames vs. Anaheim Ducks odds certainly reflect that, with the Ducks listed as a -123 favorite.

Calgary Flames vs Anaheim Ducks Odds

*Odds taken on 10/20/19

Happy at Home

With Friday’s 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Ducks are off to a hot start at home with a 4-0-0 record at Honda Center. For just the third time in franchise history, the Ducks have posted a season-opening winning streak of four games or more, although they still have a way to go to match 2013-14’s 8-0-0 start.

DUCKS WIN! DUCKS WIN!

They improve to a perfect 4-0 at home & 6-2-0 on the young campaign!#LetsGoDucks • @AnaheimDucks pic.twitter.com/TOxuG5cwWm

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 19, 2019

And the Honda Center has very much been a house of horrors for the Flames. Before Calgary posted a win there on October 9, 2017, the Ducks had beaten the Flames at home 25 straight times in the regular season, and four more in the playoffs.

Calgary has now lost its last three visits to the Honda Center, and has just two wins in its last 36 visits to Anaheim, and will be keen to end that run of reversals before it balloons out of control once again.

Back-to-Back

While back-to-back games are tough on any athlete, for Calgary, Sunday’s game presents an early chance to eradicate the stench of Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

Calgary was 9-1-0 in the first contest of back-to-back games last season, and just 5-5-0 in the second, so their chances of victory on short rest are 50/50 at best.

NHL SCORE:

Calgary Flames 2-6 Vegas Golden Knights#VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/ZOH0CHMCWp

— The NHL Tracker (@thenhltracker) October 13, 2019

The Flames lost both games in their only back-to-back so far this season, falling to the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks by a combined 9-3 scoreline.

Controlled Aggression

One key for Calgary will be staying out of the box. The Flames currently lead the NHL in penalties, with an average time in the box of 12:53 per game.

Milan Lucic:

In first career NHL Game: 5 minute fighting major
In first game with Kings: Match penalty
In first game with Oilers: 5 minute fighting major
In first game with #Flames: 5 minute fighting major + instigator

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) October 4, 2019

Thankfully for the Flames, their penalty kill rate of 86.5% is good for sixth in the league.

Ducks are Flying

At 6-2-0, Anaheim is sitting in third place overall in the Western Conference and has won three of its last four games.

They are getting outstanding goaltending from John Gibson, who is tied with teammate Ryan Miller for sixth in the league with a .941 save percentage.

How did he stop that?!

John Gibson with some unbelievable saves for the @AnaheimDucks last season. 👏 pic.twitter.com/Y2R6Qqsti3

— NHL (@NHL) August 17, 2019

As a result, the Ducks are the stingiest team in the NHL right now, giving up just 1.41 goals per game, as well as restricting the opposition to just 29.5 shots per game.

Pick: Ducks (-123)