Welcome to NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey looks at the games happening and gives our predictions for each one, breaking down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play in. Today, we’re looking at the Calgary Flames against the New Jersey Devils. Be sure to check out more NHL predictions every day there’s hockey this 2024-25 season.

NHL Predictions

Calgary Flames (31-25-11) vs  New York Devils (37-26-6) 

Head-to-Head: Flames lead 1-0

Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

TV: NHL Power Play on ESPN+ | H MSGSN2 |  SN1, SNE, SNO

In their first matchup of the season, the Calgary Flames spoiled Jacob Markstrom‘s return to Calgary with a 3-0 victory. At that point in the season New Jersey was off to an expected start sitting in a playoff spot in the NHL’s Metropolitan division. The Devils had cup aspirations after acquiring their franchise goaltender from Calgary that offseason. On the other hand, the Calgary Flames were off to a surprising start to the season. They found themselves in a playoff position when many expected them to be near the bottom of the league. Heading into their final matchup of the season, the Devils are gearing up for a playoff run while the Flames are fighting for their playoff lives. Let’s dive into this head-to-head matchup and make a prediction on the likely outcome of tonight’s game.

Flames Looking to String Together Wins

The Calgary Flames have been a .500 team for the majority of the season. After a hot start to the season, Calgary hasn’t sustained any significant winning streaks. The result is that Calgary sits right in the middle of the Western Conference, battling for the final playoff spot. Calgary had lost three games in a row before winning their last game against the Rangers. The result of their losing streak is that the Vancouver Canucks have overtaken Calgary for the final Wild Card playoff in the West, and St. Louis has passed them in the standings as well. Calgary has games in hand on both those teams, but if they don’t start stringing games together soon, they’ll certainly miss the playoffs.

Calgary is relying heavily on the goaltenders Dustin Wolf and Daniel Vladar to secure wins. The Flames rookie, Wolf has been the team’s MVP this season. Now in a backup role, Vladar has looked sharp in his starts recently including backstopping to the Flames to their recent 2-1 win over New York. Calgary will need both goaltenders to be sharp heading down the stretch as the Flames offence has proven to be one of the league’s worst. Calgary currently sits last in the league in goals for. If the Flames want to have any chance to make the playoffs they will need to keep games low-scoring and hope their offence to score at the right times.

New Jersey Preparing for Playoffs 

The New Jersey Devils have demonstrated resilience in their recent performances, securing four wins in their last five games. Notably, they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on March 17th, with Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier each scoring, and goaltender Jake Allen delivering an impressive 45-save performance. The Devils are getting contributions from everyone at the right time. New Jersey appears to be on a crash course for a first-round matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Devils are heading into the playoffs with some key injuries they’ll need to overcome.

Star centre Jack Hughes underwent shoulder surgery after an injury sustained on March 2nd, sidelining him for the remainder of the season. Additionally, defenceman Dougie Hamilton suffered a lower-body injury on March 4th against the Dallas Stars, leading to his absence for the rest of the regular season and potentially the playoffs. These injuries have forced the Devils to adjust their strategies, emphasizing depth as they prepare for the postseason.

NHL Predictions for the Flames vs Devils

Calgary needs to be the more desperate team tonight. Expect the Flames to come out strong looking to pressure the Devils and capitalize on early chances. Calgary will need to find ways to score to win this game. They will hope to improve on their powerplay which has struggled as of late.

As noted above the Devils come into tonight’s game playing well. They’ll be the favourite against the low-scoring Flames. New Jersey should be able to match any scoring from the Flames side, and despite their key injuries, they’ll have a good chance to outlast Calgary on home ice.

Prediction: Devils win 3-1

Prop Bets of the Night

If Calgary only manages one goal tonight as we’ve predicted, it’s almost a guarantee that Nazem Kadri or Jonathan Huberdeau are in on it. The best bet for Calgary tonight is taking leading scorer Kadri to pickup a point.

On the Devils side, team leader in powerplay goals Nico Hischier is worth taking a look at. The Flames penalty kill has struggled all season, and with the absence of Mikael Backlund, they were exposed by Toronto just two games ago.

Main Photo Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

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Welcome back to NHL Predictions with Last Word on Hockey. Here, we provide in-depth insight into the best matchups around the NHL. Today, we dive into the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils. Be sure to check out all our writers on NHL Predictions throughout the entire season.

NHL Predictions

Edmonton Oilers vs New Jersey Devils

Head-to-Head: Devils 1-0 Oilers

Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EdT)

TV: ESPN+; Hulu; Sportsnet

The Devils and Oilers will do battle for the second time this season. These two squads met in Alberta back in early November. The Devils shut down the Oilers behind a 31-save shutout performance by Jake Allen. New Jersey got goals from Stephan Noesen, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier en route to a 3-0 victory. Edmonton was without Connor McDavid in that contest but will be humming at full strength in the rematch. It will be the Devils missing their star scorer after Jack Hughes underwent shoulder surgery last week and will miss the rest of the season.

Edmonton Needs an Oil Change

The Oilers have had a rough go of things since the start of February. They have lost 10 of their last 15 games and are starting to allow Vegas to pull away in the Pacific Division. Edmonton dropped a 3-2 contest to Buffalo on Monday night and are 3-6 since returning from the 4-Nations break.

Scoring is not a problem for Edmonton, which has Leon Draisaitl leading the league with 46 tallies and sits second with 97 points. McDavid hasn’t missed a beat this season despite missing time early in the year. He sits fourth in the league with 82 points.

Stuart Skinner has gotten the bulk of the start and has done an average job in net. His 2.88 GAA and .896 SV% aren’t ideal. Given the offensive threats up and down the lineup, even an average defensive game should be enough to keep the Oilers in it.

Devils Rejuvenated by Moves

The Devils are coming off a 5-3 win over Columbus on Tuesday night. The win kept them six points up in the Metro Division. New Jersey did not make a major splash at the deadline, but the additions of Brian Dumoulin, Daniel Sprong, Cody Glass, and Dennis Cholowski have provided a spark.

Bratt is coming off a three-point game and leads the team with 73 this year. Glass has stepped in nicely since being acquired on Friday. He found the back of the net in his debut and has three points in his first two games.

Scoring depth has been an issue for the Devils all season. The eight goals scored over the past two games have come from eight different scorers, so perhaps they can build some confidence on that.

Prediction

The Devils have been hammered by the injury bug, losing Jack Hughes, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Dougie Hamilton for the remainder of the season. The Oilers need to find their stride before they enter the postseason to defend their Western Conference championship. This will be a matchup of the Devils depth coming alive and the Oilers big threats continuing to be just that. The Devils could build off their home-ice advantage and capture their third straight victory.

Prediction: 4-3 New Jersey

Prop Bets of the Night

We close out NHL predictions with some prop bets of the night. The Oilers and Devils will do battle for the second time this season. The first meeting was a low-scoring shutout for the Devils. We don’t expect the same type of game this time. Dawson Mercer scored an empty net goal on Sunday and got multiple good looks on Tuesday. Consider taking him at +330 to be an anytime goal scorer. Connor McDavid missed the first matchup back in November. He is +1100 to score the first goal of the game. New Jersey falls behind 1-0 most nights, so that line might be intriguing to take.

Main photo by: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

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The Devils announced that Dougie Hamilton will miss the remainder of the regular season with a knee injury suffered against Dallas on March 3. Hamilton went awkwardly into the boards early in that contest and did not return.

Dougie Hamilton Out for Regular Season

#NJDevils Dougie Hamilton is out for the remainder of the regular season, as per GM Tom Fitzgerald.

— JP Gambatese (@jp_gambatese) March 13, 2025

The Devils are already down a defenseman, after losing Jonas Siegenthaler to a season-ending injury last month. Jack Hughes is also sidelined for the remainder of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.

The Devils defenseman will miss the rest of the season for the second straight year. Hamilton missed all but 20 games in 2023-24 after suffering a torn pectoral muscle on November 28, 2023. It is currently unclear if Hamilton would return for the Stanley Cup Playoffs should the Devils return.

New Acquisition Needs to Step Up

New Jersey General Manager Tom Fitzgerald already had the task of replacing Siegenthaler and thankfully Hamilton’s injury also occurred before the deadline. This allowed the Devils GM to acquire Brian Dumoulin from the Anaheim Ducks for a second-round draft pick. While the second-rounder might be seen as an overpay, Dumoulin has looked solid in his first three games as a Devil. He won’t replace the offensive threat that Hamilton provides on the blue line, but the 33-year-old veteran will provide another defensive-minded asset to a solid defensive unit.

Dennis Cholowski was also brought in after being waived from the Islanders last month. The 27-year-old has played 26 minutes over his first two games with the team. Cholowski has also had a chance to quarterback the second power-play unit.

Prospects In the Pipeline

Another option for the Devils will be to play Seamus Casey or Simon Nemec as the season winds down. With the playoff race getting tighter by the day, this might be a chance to have them play in high-importance minutes down the stretch.

Nemec has struggled in his second stint in the NHL and has recently been healthy scratched on most nights. In 16 games, Nemec has one point this season.

Casey has impressed in his small sample size of nine games of NHL action. He has scored four goals to go along with a solid defensive game. The Devils still want Casey to develop in the AHL before becoming a regular with the big club. With the extended timetable on Hamilton, it will be interesting to see if the Devils development plans change for these two prospects.

Main photo by: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

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The New Jersey Devils have announced that they have acquired forward Daniel Sprong from the Seattle Kraken. The details of the return have yet to be announced. Sprong is now joining his third team this season.

New Jersey Devils Acquire Daniel Sprong

Daniel Sprong to NJ

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 7, 2025

Daniel Sprong hasn’t been overly productive in the NHL this season. In just 19 games, Sprong has just two goals and three assists. However, in the AHL for the Coachella Valley Firebirds he has scored 11 goals and 25 points in 19 games.

Over his career, Sprong has recorded 87 goals and 77 assists for 164 points in 363 games.

Sprong was originally drafted in the second round, 46th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Rollercoaster Season for Sprong

Sprong will now be joining his third team of the 2024-25 campaign. He originally signed with the Vancouver Canucks in the offseason. He was then traded to his former team the Seattle Kraken. Sprong had success with the Kraken in the past so of course it would seem like a smart move to pick him up again in hopes it would create the same spark. However, Sprong only appeared in 10 games with the Kraken register one goal and one assist.

Now off to New Jersey where the Devils are in the playoff race. The Devils currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division but a devastating injury to star Jack Hughes had fans and media wondering where do they go from here? The Devils ended up being fairly busy leading up to the deadline, also acquring forward Cody Glass and Dennis Cholowski. While they may have missed out on the big fish like Mikko Rantanen, the Devils were not planning to give up and planning on making a playoff run by solidifying their depth. If Sprong can produce the way he did from 2022-24, he could become an important piece for the Devils down the stretch.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded forward Cody Glass to the New Jersey Devils for a third-round pick as part of this year’s NHL Trade Deadline. The Penguins continue moving out players for future assets. Meanwhile, the Devils have added to their depth in the midst of losing superstar centre Jack Hughes to injury.

Penguins Trade Cody Glass to Devils

The Penguins are in full-on rebuild mode. As a result, Cody Glass has been moved to the New Jersey Devils for a third-round draft pick. Glass was also acquired along-side a third-round pick in the 2024 off-season. The forward has scored four goals and 15 points through 51 games for the Penguins this season. He’s been an excellent bottom-six option on the team, getting significant penalty-killing minutes and operating in a shut-down role.

The Penguins have already traded Luke Schenn and Anthony Beauvillier during today’s deadline. As a result, Glass marks the third Penguin to be sold off for future assets. With the rebuild in full-swing in Pittsburgh, there’s a high possibility of more players being sold.

Devils Add Centre Depth

For New Jersey, bringing in Glass gives them another centre option in the bottom six. The team is 33-24-6, sitting third in the Metropolitan Divison. Critically, Devils star Jack Hughes suffered a shoulder injury, and will be out for the season. Not wanting to give up on the season, acquiring Cody Glass helps send a message to the locker-room that the season is not over just because of Hughes’ injury.

The Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers are both coming up close to the Devils in points, and a move for Glass helps shore up some much-needed depth ahead of a tough last quarter of the season. With Jonathan Kovacevic receiving an extension earlier in the day, it’s likely the Devils look to move one of their multitude of NHL calibre defencemen for further help on offence.

Main photo by:  Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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In the midst of Fridays NHL  Trade Deadline, the New Jersey Devils biggest move hasn’t been a trade. The team signed defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to a five year extension the team announced. The deal carries an annual cap hit of four million a year. Kovacevic’s current three year deal only earns him a little over 750K a season

Johnathan Kovacevic signs extension

Kovechkin’s ready to cook for five more years.

: https://t.co/NM5TdOt6Sd pic.twitter.com/pS6Fx0unDp

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 7, 2025

The 27-year-old right shot defenseman stands at 6 foot 5 and is a solid depth defenseman. Kovacevic has really found his game since coming to New Jersey. He has 14 points on the year which is one shy of his career high of 15. While his numbers don’t pop off the page, he makes his money as a shut down defenseman.

Kovacevic was traded to the Devils from the Montreal Canadiens in a deal that took place over the summer. The Canadiens gave him up in exchange for a fourth round pick. They claimed Kovacevic off of waivers from Winnipeg but opted to trade him due to their abundance of defenseman. He was originally drafted by the Jets in the 3rd round back in 2017.

What this means for New Jersey

With the season ending injury to Jack Hughes the Devils deadline plans have had to slightly change. The team hasn’t made nay moves to load up heading into the playoffs. With this being said, Kovacevic could have been on the move if a deal wasn’t worked out between the two parties. He currently finds himself on the third pair with newly acquired Brian Dumoulin.

The injury to Dougie Hamilton has seen Kovacevic get more minutes down the stretch. However, once Hamilton returns the extension raises some questions. With Brett Pesce on the right side as well what will the Devils do with Simon Nemec? He hasn’t quite found his game at the NHL level and there have been rumors of his dissatisfaction in New Jersey. Ultimately, with the Johnathan Kovacevic extension, it’s possible that the team opts to move on from Nemec in the summer.

Main Photo: Jerome Miron- Imagn Images

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The New Jersey Devils have announced that star forward Jack Hughes underwent shoulder surgery on Wednesday and will be placed on the long-term injured reserve. The injury will keep Jack Hughes out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Hughes is expected to make a full recovery and will be available for training camp in September.

Devils Star Out for Remainder of the Season

#NEWS: Jack Hughes underwent shoulder surgery earlier today and will be placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR).

Jack is expected to make a full recovery and be available for training camp.

: https://t.co/m06KjtAdPj pic.twitter.com/E2qNzfROk6

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 5, 2025

Jack Hughes suffered the injury on Sunday, March 2nd, in the Devil’s 2-0 loss at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights. Hughes crashed hard into the boards while on a 2 on 1 rush. Jack Eichel was backchecking to catch Hughes and gave him a bump which made Hughes lose his balance and crash into the boards shoulder first. The news is crushing to the Devils organization as they are currently sitting in third in the Metropolitan Division.

So far this season, Hughes has scored 27 goals and 70 points in 62 games. In 368 career games, Hughes has scored 141 goals while adding 210 assists for 351 points. Hughes was selected in the first round, first overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Devils Forced to Move On Without Jack Hughes

The injury to Jack Hughes is a major blow to the New Jersey Devils. The club was expected to be buyers as the team enters the trade deadline on Friday, March 7th. However, losing a player of this magnitude greatly impacts that decision. General Manager Tom Fitzgerald really has to sit back and reassess things as they’ll never truly be able to replace a player like Hughes at the deadline and even just replacing him doesn’t do enough to make the Devils legitimate contenders. You also don’t want to tell your team that without your best player, it’s just as well to fold. That’s not a message you want to send to a young group of players.

That being said, the Devils could still make a swing and go after a player like Mikko Rantanen, who is currently on the trade market. He would certainly be the player who would be able to best replace Hughes’ offence on the market. Acquiring a player like Rantanen doesn’t need to be just a rental either. He is looking for a new contract and acquiring Rantanen now would give the Devils the upper hand to get him signed long-term. This is a situation everyone should be closely following as we inch closer to the trade deadline on Friday.

Main Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

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Since returning from Christmas break, the New Jersey Devils have struggled to find consistent play from most of their roster, except their goaltending. Ironically, the one consistent position that has cursed the team over the past few seasons. Markstrom returning the past couple games for the Devils must have been a refreshing sight to see, but that does little to take away from those who stepped in.

The New jersey Devils Goaltending Provides a Strong Foundation

The Devils acquired Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames over the summer to sure up an area of need with a Vezina-calibre veteran. Through the first half of the season, Markstrom was everything that was advertised. Since the Martin Brodeur days, Devils goaltending appeared to be an important strength for the roster.

However, on January 22nd, Markstrom suffered a knee sprain after a collision during the middle frame of a game against the Boston Bruins. He struggled to put any weight on his leg and needed assistance leaving the ice from the training staff. Immediate panic set in from the fan base expecting the season to derail with the injury. Early injury reports indicated that Markstrom would miss approximately four-to-six weeks with the sprain. It was a promising update, but the reality was the Devils needed to find success without their starter.

A Capable Veteran Finding a Spark

The Devils goaltending room had another veteran in Jake Allen. The 12-year veteran is no stranger to carrying the workload for stretches, but he had not played more than 45 games in a season since 2018-19 for the St. Louis Blues.

Allen was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens last season at the trade deadline to serve as an added insurance piece for an instance just like this one. He provides the Devils with another veteran netminder who can fill in while their younger prospects continue to develop.

Allen made eight starts in Markstrom’s absence. He posted a 3-5-0 record, but a .914 SV% is more indicative of the team’s poor play at times in front of him. Allen gave up 21 goals over that stretch, a number also inflated due to two bad periods in which the opponent scored four times.

New Jersey Devils Goaltending of the Future

Nico Daws also stepped up posting a 3-0-0 record over four appearances. Daws has been on the Utica shuffle for the past few seasons. This year, Daws has seen some struggles as the starting goaltender in the AHL. In 23 starts for Utica, he has a 3.37 GAA and an .891 SV%.

Given the subpar numbers in the minor leagues over the past two seasons, many would have written off Daws for having a ceiling as an injury replacement and nothing more. The Devils have faith in Daws. They are still seeing him as the goaltender of the future.

Daws has rewarded the Devils trust in him in his limited role in the NHL. Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe listed him as the starter in three games last month. In those, he posted a .966 SV% and a 0.88 GAA. He also picked up his first NHL shutout in Nashville on February 26th.

On March 2nd, Markstrom returned to the lineup, and the Devils sent Daws back to Utica as a result. Despite the ‘demotion’, Daws once again proved he has the opportunity to big a big piece of the Devils future post-Markstrom.

New Jersey went 6-5-0 in the 11 games that Markstrom missed. The Devils positioning in the playoff picture is becoming tighter by the game without their number one, but both Jake Allen and Nico Daws did their part in keeping the team above water.

Main Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

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The New Jersey Devils might all of a sudden have new plans ahead of Friday’s trade deadline. Star centre Jack Hughes crashed hard into the boards last night and he does have an injury of some kind. Furthermore, he has left the team in the middle of their current road trip, a sign somethings up and it is unlikely he plays in the club’s next game, Tuesday versus the Dallas Stars.

Jack Hughes Injury Details Still Unknown

There has been little to no specifics on the injury, but returning home from a road trip isn’t good. Head coach Sheldon Keefe did suggest after the game that it wasn’t good at that point. So, perhaps the organization is still trying to find out the extent of the injury. The worst thing about potentially serious injuries this time of year is the unknown impact. With the trade deadline just days away, New Jersey needs answers if they can possibly figure out a way to replace Hughes’ if need be.

What Does this Potential Mean in New Jersey

Jack Hughes is the leader of the club and a major injury for him could be disastrous for the club come playoffs . Offensively, he has a two-point lead with 70 over Jesper Bratt. He is by far the Devils best offensive player. Furthermore, he even leads the team in ice time with nearly 21 minutes a game, among everyone, defence and forwards.

With the star’s status suddenly up-in-the-air, the focus shifts to Friday’s trade deadline. Will New Jersey need to make a move to add some goal-scoring? The longer we go with a timetable on Hughes’ injury, the more pressure mounts on general manager Tom Fitzgerald. The Devils are just okay in producing offence on the year. They rank 14th at 2.98 goals-for-per-game. Fortunately, they have been stingy defensively at 2.47 goals against. (That ranks them second.) If they need help scoring, those players are out there, but come at a premier. Brock Boeser and Jordan Kyrou come to mind, but that will be a huge (now) last minute decision for GM Fitzgerald. Hope is the Jack Hughes injury turns out to be not a big deal.

Main Photo Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

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