Kraken vs. Coyotes Odds
| Kraken Odds | -110 |
| Coyotes Odds | -110 |
| Over / Under | 5.5 -120 / +100 |
Here's everything you need to know about the Seattle Kraken vs. Arizona Coyotes on Friday, March 22 – our expert NHL prediction and pick.
It's rare for Arizona to be favored in a game these days, but against the struggling Kraken, who are playing in their second road game in as many days, should the Coyotes be considered the safer bet?
Let's preview the upcoming contest by discussing the weaknesses that have led to these squads' middling records and highlighting some silver linings before offering a Kraken vs. Coyotes prediction.
Seattle Kraken
Whatever fleeting hope that the Kraken might have clung onto in their quest for a playoff spot has been extinguished after losing their past six games. They're now 28-28-12 and 13 points back of the second wild card spot with just 14 contests remaining in their schedule. Short of a wild finish, such as going on a 14-0-0 run, the Kraken will not be able to live up to last year's run to the second round.
That's despite Seattle being the second-best squad defensively with an xGA/60 of 2.76. Joey Daccord, who is projected to get the start tonight, has largely taken advantage of that support by posting a 2.52 GAA and a .917 save percentage across 43 games. However, he has just a 17-15-10 record, and the reason for that is Seattle's offense this year has been dreadful, ranking 29th overall with 2.65 goals per game.
Seattle, which tied for fourth in 2022-23 offensively with 3.52 goals per contest, found success last year through its offensive depth. Jared McCann was the only player to record at least 25 goals and he led the team with a solid, but not elite level 70 points, but he was also just one of 10 players to finish the campaign with at least 0.56 points-per-game (min. 48 games played).
In contrast, just four players have recorded at least 0.56 PPG for the Kraken this year, and one of those players, Vince Dunn, will miss tonight's action due to an upper-body injury.
The Kraken's offense gets even more grim on the road (just 2.55 goals per game) and when playing on no rest (2.00 goals per game). So when you mix tonight's factors, Dunn's absence and the general state of Seattle's attack, you're left with a team that might struggle to accomplish anything offensively.
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Arizona Coyotes
Will that be true even against the Coyotes, though? They're tied for 24th defensively with 3.32 goals allowed per contest, so it's not like you need ideal circumstances to find the back of the net against them. Then again, it's hard to judge Arizona by its overall numbers, because the squad's inconsistency has been a big part of the problem.
With a 28-36-5 record, the Coyotes are a long shot to make the playoffs even if they win all of their remaining games, but their situation didn't always appear bleak. The Coyotes were 19-14-2 through December 29, which was good for the first wild card spot, and they had a 23-19-3 record through January 22, putting them just two points outside of a playoff berth.
The Coyotes had some bad stretches up to that point, but nothing that they couldn't overcome. Then Jan. 24-Feb. 29 happened — an 0-12-2 run that completely ruined their season.
The Coyotes' goaltending was horrible during that stretch, allowing an average of 4.57 goals per game. That's dragging down their overall numbers — before January 24, the Coyotes ranked 13th defensively with 2.93 goals surrendered per contest — and while the Coyotes haven't completely stabilized since that crash, they've at least done markedly better than their low point with 3.30 goals allowed per game.
Karel Vejmelka, who is projected to start tonight, has been the better of the two goaltenders recently, completely recovering from Arizona's cold stretch to post a 2.22 GAA and a .929 save percentage across five starts in March. So perhaps the Coyotes' defense won't be as big of an issue as it appears at first glance.
Offensively, Arizona is nothing special, and that was true even before the 0-12-2 stretch. Still, with an average of 2.91 goals per game, the Coyotes are at least a step up from Seattle.
Kraken vs. Coyotes
Betting Pick & Prediction
When you consider Arizona's offensive edge, especially with Seattle playing on the road on no rest and without Dunn, as well as the Coyotes' defense looking stronger than it appears at first glance, I feel comfortable viewing Arizona as the favorites tonight.
However, oddsmakers seem to mildly disagree with many sites billing Seattle as the team with the slight edge.
In this case, it's nice not to see eye-to-eye with oddsmakers because that can lead to a somewhat higher potential return. With the circumstances of this match in the Coyotes' favor, I'm recommending them on the moneyline.
