Kraken vs. Wild Odds
| Kraken Odds | +140 |
| Wild Odds | -170 |
| Over/Under | 6.5 (-110/-110) |
| Time | 8 p.m. ET |
| TV | BSN |
| Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
We have a Western Conference tilt with the Central Division's Minnesota Wild hosting the Pacific Division's Seattle Kraken. Last season, Minnesota won two of the three meetings between these two clubs.
Will the Wild take care of business once again, or can the Kraken pull off the road upset?
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken enter this contest in good form as they have won two straight games with quality wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Calgary Flames.
At 5v5, the Kraken rank sixth in the league in expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60). They bolstered their offense over the offseason with the acquisitions of Andre Burakovsky and Oliver Bjorkstrand and the offense is starting to click on all cylinders.
Those two wingers have combined for 15 points through 11 games, which is just additional firepower to a core that was already solid with Jaden Schwartz, Matty Beniers, and Jared McCann. Under coach Dave Hakstol, this team utilizes its depth at the forward position with an offense that tries to push play to the three forwards around the net as quickly as possible.
However, the most surprising aspect of this Seattle team has been its stellar defensive play. On paper, one would think this team isn't extremely talented on the back end. However, they are deep, physical and prevent high-danger scoring chances at an elite level.
At 5v5, they rank sixth in the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60).
Minnesota Wild
Like Seattle, the Minnesota Wild enter this contest in good form as they have won four of their past five games. However, the Wild have taken advantage of a weak part of their schedule with a win over Chicago, a win over Ottawa and two wins over Montreal.
This game presents a great opportunity to sell high on a team that has beaten up on lower-level competition while producing below-average metrics. At 5v5, Minnesota ranks just 19th in the league in xGF/60.
Another reason to sell high on this team is the injuries are starting to pile up. Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman, Jordan Greenway and Brandon Duhaime are all slated to miss this game with upper body injuries.
Not only is Minnesota's forward depth crippled, but most of thse guys are key contributors in serving as primary defenders for opposing forwards. That fact is extremely problematic for this game because Seattle's greatest strength is the playmaking ability of its forwards.
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is the confirmed starter for Minnesota and should also be a good fade candidate. Through eight starts this season, Fleury possesses a .894 SV% and 3.33 GAA.
At 5v5, he ranks second-last among starting goaltenders in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (GSAx/60). While many media members are hyping up the play of Fleury over his past four wins, it is important to remember that those four starts came against Montreal (x2), Ottawa and Chicago.
Kraken vs. Wild Pick
I think Seattle has a great chance of winning this game outright, but the puck line is much more intriguing to me. The Kraken should be a great play for the full game, but I am taking them in the first period.
Why take 1st period +0.5 instead of the full game? Simply because of the trends.
Seattle has covered the 1st period +0.5 line in six straight games and the Wild have failed to cover the 1st period -0.5 line in seven of their 10 games this year. If you want to bet on the whole game instead, I believe Kraken +1.5 is just as strong of a play, although I am going to stick with the 1st period trends.
Pick: Seattle Kraken 1st Period +0.5 (-150) | Play up to (-155)
