Flames vs. Kraken prediction, odds, pick, how to watch
The Flames and Kraken have both gotten out to shaky starts early in the season. Who will come away with the victory on Monday night?
The Calgary Flames will face-off in an epic clash with the Seattle Krakenseries where our Flames-Kraken prediction and pick will be revealed.
Entering play this evening, the Flames hold a mediocre 6-8-3 record and are coming off of a gut-wrenching 5-4 shootout loss to the New York Islanders. Nevertheless, Calgary has happened to win two of their previous three games and will be looking to carry the new-found winning momentum in the Pacific Northwest.
Meanwhile, the Kraken are fresh off of a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks and have reeled off back-to-back wins after losing three-straight games. Similarly enough to the Flames, the Kraken that have stormed out of the gates in sloppy fashion. Can they build upon their mini-winning streak and start getting back to the playoff form that was exhibited a year ago?
Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Flames-Kraken Odds
Calgary Flames: +1.5 (-255)
Seattle Kraken: -1.5 (+205)
Over: 6.5 (-105)
Under: 6.5 (-115)
How to Watch Flames vs. Kraken
Time: 10:00 ET/7:00 PT
TV: ESPN+
Why The Flames Will Cover The Spread/Win
Squaring off with the Kraken for already the second time this season, the Flames triumphed over the conference foes in a hard fought 6-3 victory back on Nov. 4th.
In the second edition of this highly anticipated matchup, there is no doubt that Calgary will need to be more opportunistic in terms of their extra-man attack. Although the Flames were able to put the game into the win column, they finished the contest going 0-3 in that department. Overall, this is a team that is only capitalizing on roughly 12.7% of their power-play attacks which is simply not going to cut it versus some of the elite squads around the NHL. Even more troubling, but the Flames possess the seventh-worst power-play unit in all of hockey. Obviously enough, if Calgary isn't able to come through and convert whenever Seattle heads off to the penalty box, then a spread-covering victory may be hard to come by.
Regardless, goalie Jakob Markstrom is expected to patrol the crease later tonight and will be relied upon to represent a brick wall whenever in net. Overall, the 33-year-old net-minder may be a sluggish 4-6-2 overall which ranks near the bottom of the league, but his 2.75 goals allowed on average isn't horrendous by any means. Not to mention, but he has been playing much better of late. If Markstrom shows his hot hand and ends up being the ultimate equalizer in this one, then a below-average offense up to this point won't have to feel as much pressure to put up a whopping amount of goals on the scoreboard.
Why The Kraken Will Cover The Spread/Win
On the other side of things, the playoff-bound Seattle Kraken from last year headed into the new regular season with extremely lofty expectations and despite a slower than expected start, this is still a talented squad on both ends of the ice that can give any team hell.
In order for Seattle to cover the spread as the home team in this one, look no further than this crew to get it done with a balanced attack. Surprisingly enough, the Kraken only rank 28th in goals per game (2.63) and 3.47 scores given up per outing (3.47) which is never an ideal recipe for success, but they look to be turning a corner as of late. With that being said, one name that has been on a blistering tear is Jordan Eberle who just came off of a three-point performance (one goal, two assists). As a whole, Eberle is starting to return to form after a cut to his leg thanks to a skate forced him to miss a few games. In 16 contests total, Eberle has recorded nine points total and is officially on a hot-streak.
Most importantly, the Kraken have scored at least three goals in each of their last three outings and one could make the case that Seattle's top power-play unit might make a difference in coming out on top. Overall, Seattle holds the seventh-best mark in hockey with a 25.4% conversion rate while on the extra-man attack. As it stands, the Kraken finding a way to take advantage of this strong suit will pay off when the clock hits triple-zeroes in the third period.
Final Flames-Kraken Prediction & Pick
One team is starting to find the wind beneath their wings while the other is still having a hard time finding their footing. At the end of the day, bettors who are expecting a bang for their buck need to count on the Seattle Kraken on their home ice to take care of business.
Final Flames-Kraken Prediction & Pick: Kraken -1.5 (+205)
