Two teams hoping to extend their win streak to three games in the Seattle Kraken and Edmonton Oilers will square off on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. EST in Climate Pledge Arena. Seattle is currently 6th in the Pacific division with 63 points in 59 games and they are at least 5-4-1 in their last ten. Meanwhile, the Oilers are catching up on Vegas with 72 points in 57 games. A win hear would propel them to 2nd in the division. Edmonton is the money line favorite at a -148 while the total is set at 6.5 goals.
Oilers on the Rise
The Oilers were able to come back and defeat the St. Louis Blues in their latest outing, winning in overtime by a score of 3-2. Connor McDavid put the team on his back with a goal and two assists while Zach Hyman scored twice. Hyman led the team with six shots on goal and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a pair of assists as well. Stuart Skinner had a solid performance, stopping 32 of 34 shots in the victory.
On the offensive end, Edmonton is exactly where you would expect them to be, near the top of the league in goals scored per game with an average of 3.54. They have a 27.7% success rate on the power play while and their face-off win percentage is also top ten at 52.3%. They have additionally earned an average of 33.7 shots per game, ranking #2 in the league. Connor McDavid is still the #1 option for Edmonton as the first-line center, and he has a total of 94 points, 22 goals, and 72 assists. Zach Hyman has the most goals and shots overall on the squad with 40 and 207 respectively. His teammate Leon Draisatil has the most power play goals with 15 while McDavid has a team-best 27 power play assists. Hyman has the highest +/- ratio among the offensive skaters with a +21 and McDavid has the most ice time among forwards with 21:33. Evander Kane leads all members of the Oilers with 70 penalty minutes as well. The question has always been about the depth behind McDavid and Draisatil. If the depth can provide enough support, the Oilers could finally realize their ambitions of a deep cup run.
Edmonton had their huge winning streak that propelled them to 8th in goals against, but now they are 12th with an average of 2.98 goals given up per game. They also rank 15th with an 79.5% kill rate on the penalty kill, a far cry from ranking 5th earlier in the month. Interestingly, they are ranked in the top five in shots against with an average of 28.4 per contest. Stuart Skinner has earned the majority of the reps in net so far and has posted a 2.68 GAA and a 90.4% save percentage while Calvin Pickard has a slightly better stat line with a 2.53 GAA and an 90.5% save percentage in his 11 games played this year. Evan Bouchard has the most points among defenders with 57 including 15 goals and 42 assists. Mattias Ekholm has the highest +/- ratio among the defenders with a +22 and Vincent Desharnais Nurse is leading the defense in penalty minutes with 41. Bouchard has six goals and 20 assists on the power play while ranking 5th overall in shots on the team with 152. Fortunately for the Oilers, nobody is on the injured list heading into this game.
Kraken Creeping Up the Standings
Seattle managed to shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins in their latest contest by a score of 2-0. Alex Wennberg had a goal and an assist on the day while Oliver Bjorkstrand scored the other goal for the Kraken. Four different players including Wennberg had an assist while five players had three shots on goal each. Philipp Grubauer stopped all 33 shots he faced in the victory.
Seattle’s offense ranks 23rd in shots per game with 29.1, 25th in the league with a 47.3% face-off win rate, and 28th in the NHL in goals scored per contest with 2.75. What has saved them so far is their power play, ranking 17th in the league with a 21.0% success rate. Jared McCann leads the forwards in points (46), shots (149), goals (25), and power play goals (9). Yanni Gourde owns the most penalty minutes among the forwards with 54 and Bjorkstrand has a team-high 28 assists. Jordan Eberle has a +9 and Bjorkstrand has 12 power play assits wot his name. Alex Wennberg has the most average ice time among forwards with 18:46.
The Kraken have been subpar in the back end earlier in the season but have improved mightily since then. They currently rank 9th in goals against per game with 2.80 and 16th in shots against per contest with 29.9. They are also 19th in the penalty kill with an 78.9% kill rate. Vince Dunn leads almost every category among the blue-liners of Seattle. He has 43 points, 11 goals, 32 assists, 11 power play assists, 23:18 of average ice time, and 56 penalty minutes. Adam Larrson has a team-best +10 and Dunn has four power play goals. Joey Daccord has taken the majority of reps in goal for the Kraken with Philip Grubauer is recovering from an injury. Daccord has been excellent with his newfound opportunity, posting a 2.45 GAA and a 91.9% save percentage. Seattle has only one person listed on the injury report. Andre Burakovsky is questionable for this contest with an undisclosed injury.
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Best Bets
Full-Game Side Bet
Rating:
Edmonton has dominated this matchup recently, winning their last five games and seven of eight against the Krakent. While I wouldn’t be dismissive of choosing the -1.5 goal spread, I feel more confident in taking Edmonton on the money line for a safer bet. Edmonton has a sub .500 record against the spread this year and Seattle has been playing better as of late with wins in three of their last four games. The Kraken are also better at home while Edmonton is only a few games above .500 on the road this season. Edmonton overall is the superior team and Seattle doesn’t have enough offensive firepower to compare to McDavid and co. If you can afford to risk it, the -1.5 goal spread isn’t a bad bet, I’m going with a safer bet to start my month off strong.
Prediction: Edmonton Oilers Money Line (-148)
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Full-Game Total Pick
Rating:
Edmonton has been slipping on the defensive end recently, giving up an average of 4.0 goals in their last five games played. Meanwhile, the Kraken have hit the over in four of their last five games. In their last ten meetings against each other, these two squads have hit the over in seven of them. Edmonton has scored at least four goals in their last eight wins against the Kraken and they have hit the over in six of their last nine games. With both teams having something to fight for as well as being injury-free, I suspect a shootout is in order for this one.
Prediction: Over 6.5
Written By
Seamus Cole , “Seamus Cole”
Seamus has grown up in the world of sports his entire life, with his mother and father playing multiple sports during their early years. As a result, Seamus tried nearly every sport he could and found a passion for watching as many games as possible, particularly the “core four” sports. Seamus first started writing sports articles when he was 18 years old. He has covered a variety of sports, ranging from the NFL to the Korean Baseball League, to amateur soccer, and so forth. His knowledge and range of all sports has led him to be successful in making picks across the board. Over the past five years, he has learned more about betting trends along with the business side of sports, graduating with a sport management and economics degree. We’re excited to have Seamus on the team, as he provides quality insight and finds hidden values in games where the average person would not. His dedication to finding the best matchups to bet on is top-tier and he finds intrinsic value in helping others make money using his hard work and detailed analysis. You can be sure that if you follow Seamus on a daily basis, you will not be disappointed.