Surging Wild Favored Over Kraken In Seattle

The Minnesota Wild (5-0-1) visit the Seattle Kraken (2-4-1) on Thursday night at Climate Pledge Arena as they look to continue their early-season hot streak. The Kraken picked up their first-ever home win over the Canadiens on Tuesday and will try to build some momentum with another victory over the Wild.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The red-hot Wild come in as the favorites at -135 on the moneyline, though the Kraken aren’t far off at -105. The total is set at 5.5 goals with the OVER going 4-1-2 in Seattle’s seven contests.

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Minnesota News & Notes

The Wild have impressed so far in October, starting their season off with a four-game win streak. They fell 5-2 to Nashville on Sunday but bounced right back with a 3-2 win over Vancouver on Tuesday.

All five of Minnesota’s wins have been decided by one goal (including two games that went to overtime), suggesting that they have had just a bit of luck on their side.

Mats Zuccarello leads the scoring at 3-4-7 through six games. Kirill Kaprizov, the Sportsbook of the 2020-21 Calder Trophy, has yet to score this season but has tallied five assists, all coming in the first three games. Look for him to hit his stride shortly.

Starting goaltender Cam Talbot is 5-0-0 with a .906 save percentage and a 2.55 goals-against average.

Seattle News & Notes

The Kraken ended a four-game slide with their much-needed win over the Canadiens on Tuesday, thanks to two-point performances from Brandon Tanev (2-0-2), Yanni Gourde (1-1-2) and Jamie Oleksiak (0-2-2). Goaltender Philipp Grubauer was also solid, stopping 23 of 24 shots.

Jared McCann has had an excellent start to the campaign, posting 3-4-7 through seven contests to lead the team in points, while Tanev (5-0-5) leads the team in goals. Captain Mark Giordano has made a strong contribution from the blue line as well, posting 1-3-4 so far.

Grubauer has taken the bulk of the starts between the pipes, holding a 2-3-1 record with a .883 save percentage and a 3.29 goals-against average. His partner, Chris Driedger, has made just one appearance, against the Flyers on October 18. Driedger sustained a lower-body injury in the game and was placed on injured reserve.

How Minnesota Will Win

The Wild have won a lot of tight games, which can be interpreted in a couple of ways: either they’re able to persevere through pressure, or they’ve relied on some lucky bounces. Whatever the case, they’ve had a strong start to the season and with the talent they have, they should pick up another victory over a struggling Seattle team.

How Seattle Will Win

The Kraken may not have the strongest team on paper, but they have had some strong performances in the early going from McCann and Tanev. However, their 2.57 goals per game ranks 22nd in the NHL, so they’ll need more contributions throughout the lineup if they want to pick up some more wins.

Computer Pick: Wild ML (-115)

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