Kraken vs Stars Odds
| Kraken Odds | +152 |
| Stars Odds | -184 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 -102 / -120 |
As the NHL enters its final week before the Christmas break, the Seattle Kraken and Dallas Stars will meet for the first time this season on Monday at American Airlines Arena.
The last time the two sides squared off in that venue, Wyatt Johnston played hero in a 2-1 Game 7 win for the Stars. That ended Seattle's storybook sophomore season and advanced Dallas to the Western Conference Final.
This year, the Stars remain top contenders in the West, while Seattle's scoring has sputtered and left the third-year squad well outside the playoff picture.
With the starting goaltenders for both teams currently on the shelf with injuries, let's preview the latest NHL odds, as well as my Kraken vs Stars prediction for Monday, December 18.
Seattle Kraken
After an 0-6-2 stretch that started in late November pushed the Kraken toward the bottom of the Pacific Division standings, they've bounced back with some solid showings over the last week. Last Tuesday, they kept it tight against the Florida Panthers, and emerged with a 4-0 shutout win. Then, they tied their biggest offensive outburst of the year on Thursday with a 7-1 victory over Connor Bedard's Chicago Blackhawks, and hung with the tough Los Angeles Kings before falling 3-2 in overtime on Saturday.
With Philipp Grubauer on the sidelines due to a lower-body injury, Joey Daccord has seized his opportunity in net. The 27-year-old Bostonian has given up just five goals in four games since Grubauer went down and is now 5-5-7 for the season, with a .908 save percentage and 1.8 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5.
In additional to Grubauer, forwards Andre Burakovsky and Jaden Schwartz are also on injured reserve, while Jordan Eberle missed Saturday's game and is listed as day-to-day. Defenseman Justin Schultz is also day-to-day, but he has now missed four games with an upper-body ailment.
To give a boost to their forward depth, the Kraken acquired veteran winger Tomas Tatar from the Colorado Avalanche on Friday. He jumped right into the top six on Saturday, on a line with Matty Beniers and Jared McCann, but was held off the scoresheet.
The Kraken are no longer getting the same balanced scoring that was their calling card last year. But they have a decent power play, which connects at 21.4% and has goals in the last two games. Their 13 goals scored over the last three games is also an improvement over most of this season.
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Dallas Stars
Seen as one of the top teams in the Central Division coming into the season, the Dallas Stars are indeed in the mix with the 2023-24 campaign past the one-third mark, along with the Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche. But the Stars have been just-OK over their last 10 games, amassing a record of 5-3-2. Now they're dealing with a lower-body injury to starter Jake Oettinger.
Scott Wedgewood stepped into the crease to preserve Friday's 5-4 win over Ottawa after Oettinger went down. Then, he held the fort with EBUG Joey O'Brien on the bench as backup for the Stars' 4-3 overtime loss in St. Louis on Saturday.
A goalie is expected to be called up from the AHL Texas Stars on Monday. But with three spaced out games this week before the Christmas break, don't be surprised to see Wedgewood carry the load if Oettinger is unavailable. The 31-year-old is 6-1-2 so far this season, with a .904 save percentage and 0.4 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5.
Structurally, Peter DeBoer's Stars are in the NHL's upper echelon. They control 53.41% of expected goals at 5-on-5, rank seventh and scoring and have strong special teams, which has helped mask their middle-of-the-pack goals against. The Stars are getting very well-balanced scoring: their entire top six and third-liner Jamie Benn have all cracked the 20-point plateau already, as has workhorse defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
Other than Oettinger, the Stars are healthy.
Kraken vs Stars
Betting Pick & Prediction
In the playoffs last spring, the more experienced Stars took down the pesky Kraken to punch their ticket to the Western Conference Final. Monday's game will be their first meeting since that series, so the visit to American Airlines Arena should carry a little extra significance for Seattle.
The Kraken will also be the better-rested squad. Dallas will be playing its third game in four nights and has also traveled after playing in St. Louis on Saturday.
Last year's playoff series was a high-scoring affair, with five of seven games going over 6.5 goals. Monday night, we'll have different netminders between the pipes for both teams. But as well as Daccord and Wedgewood have been playing, look for the scorers to rule the day.
At -200 on the moneyline, a home win for the Stars doesn't offer much value. Bettors should target the total and wait for the fireworks to begin.
Pick: Over 6.5 (+100 | Play Down to -115)
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