Seattle Kraken vs. Edmonton Oilers Betting Preview
The Seattle Kraken will head to Edmonton to take on the Oilers in this Pacific Division matchup. The puck drop for this game is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. eastern from the Rogers Place arena.
The Kraken come into this week after taking a loss to the New York Rangers. Seattle is off to a relatively middle-of-the-road start, with their record sitting at 3-5-1. The Oilers come in after a bounce-back win against the Canucks. Edmonton won their first five games to start the season before suffering their first loss to the Flyers.
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Betting Odds & Lines
BetUs has the Oilers as the overwhelming moneyline favorite at -240. They have the Kraken moneyline at +200.
Over at BetOnline, they have the Oilers as a massive favorite as well at -230. You can get better betting odds for both at BetOnline, as they have the Kraken at +205.
Can’t Wait to Win Again
The Kraken have been on a rollercoaster ride the first seven games of the season. They had won back-to-back games prior to the loss to the Rangers, and before that, they had lost six games in a row. The Kraken really can not afford another six-game skid like that if they are going to try to stay competitive in their division.
Seattle has a major concern with several parts of their game, but the offense has to be the biggest one. At seven games into the season, the Kraken are only averaging 2.56 goals per game, which is the bottom 10 in the NHL. They are bottom five in shots per game, getting off only 28.56 shots per game. Jared McCann is leading the team with only seven points, scoring three goals and assisting on four others.
Back on Track in Edmonton
There is no better way to answer your first loss of the season than coming out and winning a tightly contested hockey game. This proves that your team can handle a little bit of adversity and be able to battle through it, which is a trait that all postseason teams should be looking for. A team that is not going to be bothered by a single loss and can put their head down and grind away.
While Seattle’s offense seems to be in shambles, the Oilers’ offense is working like a well-oiled machine. Edmonton scores four goals per game, third in the NHL, and is scoring on 47.8% of their power play opportunities, first in the NHL. Connor McDavid is solidifying himself as the best player in hockey, as he not only leads the Oilers in points, he is also leading the NHL with 16. He has scored seven goals and assisted on nine others.
Goaltender Matchup
Phillipp Grubauer has started a majority of the games for the Kraken at goaltender, recording a 3-4-1 record. He is giving up 2.82 goals per game. With the injury to Chris Driedger, it seems like Grubauer is going to have to play a lot more than expected.
Mikko Koskinen is the main goaltender in Edmonton. In his fourth full year with Edmonton, Koskinen is having one of his best starts to a season yet. He has a 4-1 record and is giving up 2.26 goals per game.
The Picks
The easy choice here is to take the Oilers moneyline and walk away with a few free bucks. The real question is, will the Oilers beat Seattle by more than one goal.
In the six games they have won, three of them have been by multiple goals. The odds are way better when you start to look at the spread and maybe the best play unless there are Kraken believers out there who take the Kraken moneyline.
When making your NHL picks, take the Edmonton Oilers -1½.