Seattle Kraken vs. N.Y. Rangers Prediction, Preview, and Odds

statsalt.com

10 February 2023

Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas - Super Bowl

This should be a fun cross-conference matchup between two teams currently sitting in playoff spots in their divisions, the New York Rangers and the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken are in the second half of a back-to-back, looking to bounce back from their loss last night to the Devils while the Rangers have played fantastic and made a huge move in trading for Vladimir Tarasenko yesterday. The first game between these teams this season was great, needing overtime for a 3-2 Kraken win at home in Seattle on November 17th. Tonight the Rangers will look to tie the season series as the puck drops at 7 pm EST in Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City.

Kraken look to end two-game losing streak on the road

The Seattle Kraken are having an incredible bounce-back year after their terrible inaugural season. They come into tonight’s game in second place in the Pacific Division with a 29-17-5 record, just three points back from Vegas. They’re struggling right now though with just three wins in their last nine games. Last night in New Jersey, they lost 3-1 in a game where they scored first but didn’t the rest of the game, outshooting the Devils 34-27 and outplaying them by an expected goal rate of 2.41-2.26 but not being able to get the win.

this season's cryptid cup series comes to a draw pic.twitter.com/45vX9R36lK
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) February 10, 2023

Seattle’s been fantastic offensively this season, scoring the fifth-most goals in the NHL, averaging 3.54 goals per game on an average of 30 shots per game. They’ve overachieved as they’ve generated just the tenth-fewest expected goals per 60 minutes (3.06) and the eighth-fewest high-danger shots in the league. Their power play has struggled a bit, scoring on just 20.1% of their chances, the twelfth-fewest in the NHL. Andre Burakovsky (39 points), Jared McCann (23 goals), and Jordan Eberle (28 assists) lead the Kraken in scoring this season.

The Kraken have been a bit inconsistent defensively this season but have improved a lot recently. They’ve allowed an average of 3.06 goals per game on an average of 28.1 shots allowed per game. They’ve given up the 16th-fewest expected goals per 60 minutes (3.1) and the 14th-most high-danger shots. Seattle’s penalty kill has been one of the worst in the league, killing off penalties at a 72.5% rate, only better than the Canucks. Philipp Grubauer is projected to start tonight on back-to-back nights. He has struggled this season and comes into tonight’s game with a 5-9-2 record with a 3.03 GAA and a .897 save percentage.

Rangers look to continue hot run at home

The New York Rangers are having another good season after their slow start to the year and made a huge splash in the trade market yesterday, acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko from the Blues. They’ve been really good recently, coming into tonight’s game in third place in the Metro Division with a 29-14-8 record. The Rags come into tonight’s game on a three-game win streak with an impressive 18-4-3 record in their last 25 games. On Wednesday night they got a 4-3 win in a fun game against the Canucks. They got outshot 25-21 but outplayed Vancouver by an expected goal rate of 2.52-1.48.

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 9, 2023

The Rangers have scored an average of 3.22 goals per game, the 13th-most in the NHL on an average of 32.6 shots per game. They’ve generated the twelfth-fewest expected goals per 60 minutes (3.09) and the third-fewest high-danger shots in the league. The Rags power play has scored on 21.4% of their chances. They are led in scoring by Mika Zibanejad (53 points, 25 goals) and Artemi Panarin (41 assists).

New York’s been incredible defensively this season, just as they were last year on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals. They’ve allowed just the fourth-fewest goals in the NHL this season, an average of just 2.63 goals per game on an average of 29.4 shots allowed per game. They’ve given up just the seventh-fewest expected goals per 60 minutes (2.92) and the fifth-fewest high-danger shots. The Rags have killed 81.1% of their penalties this season, the tenth-best in the NHL. Last season’s Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin is projected to start in goal tonight. He’s been good again this season with a 22-8-7 record, a 2.47 GAA, a .917 save percentage, and a shutout.

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Full-Game Side Bet

Rating:

Both of these teams have been good this season but especially with the Kraken in the second half of a back-to-back and struggling right now, I give the edge in this game to the New York Rangers to tie the season series. The main reason for that is the incredible defensive play of the Rags. They’ve allowed just the fourth-fewest goals in the NHL, giving up the seventh-fewest expected goals and fifth-fewest high-danger shots in the league. With Igor Shesterkin in goal against a fatigued Seattle team on the road, who played last night, I expect New York to shut down the Kraken offense. The Rangers have played great lately and that should continue as they pick up another home win in MSG against Seattle.

Take the Rangers to stay hot and get a win at home!

Prediction: Rangers ML (-186)

Full-Game Total Pick

Rating:

Both of these teams have trended under this season and I expect that trend to continue. The first game between these teams went under this season with a 3-2 overtime game. In Rangers games this season the under has gone 28-22-1 while it has gone 27-22-2 in Kraken games this year. New York has been incredible defensively and have last year’s Vezina between the pipes in Igor Shesterkin. With his play in net, they’ve allowed just the fourth-fewest goals in the NHL, giving up the seventh-fewest expected goals and fifth-fewest high-danger shots in the league. I expect them to shut down a fatigued Seattle team that has struggled to score recently, keeping this game under. Even if the Rangers win by multiple goals, I expect this game to still stay under.

Take the under and expect a grind of a game.