Wild vs. Kraken Odds
| Wild Odds | -125 |
| Kraken Odds | +105 |
| Over/Under | 6 (-120/+100) |
| Time | 10 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
One of the hottest teams in the NHL, the Seattle Kraken will put their franchise-record, five-game winning streak on the line when they host the Minnesota Wild on Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
For the 8-4-2 Kraken, it's the second game of a six-game homestand that will keep them in the Emerald City for two weeks. Meanwhile, the 6-6-1 Wild are closing out a 3-in-4 Pacific Division road trip that saw them lose in Los Angeles on Tuesday before beating Anaheim on Wednesday.
Last week, in the first meeting of the season between these two teams, Seattle shut out Minnesota at Xcel Energy Center.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild got off to a bumpy start this season, but have accrued a .500 record, which keeps them in the playoff mix in the topsy-turvy Central Division.
Minnesota has been rather opportunistic to get to where it is. Most of its stats land in the lower half of the league, including both goals for and goals against. Both Wild goalies are hovering around .900 save percentages, with negative goals saved above expected. And the 5-on-5 expected goals share is right around the midpoint of the rankings at 50.96%.
But the Wild's power play is strong — which isn't a surprise considering they have Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello leading the way — and a couple of shorthanded goals have helped balance out a so-so penalty kill.
Winger Marcus Foligno has missed the past five games with an upper-body injury. He could draw back into the lineup on Friday, while fellow winger Brandon Duhaime is expected to miss his fourth game with an upper-body issue of his own.
In net, Jonas Gustavsson picked up his first win of the year on Wednesday, but soon-to-be 38-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury has been carrying most of the load. The Wild haven't announced their starter for Thursday evening, but Fleury hasn't sat out back-to-back games yet this year. It seems likely he'll start.
Seattle Kraken
After a disappointing debut, the Seattle Kraken have found their stride in their sophomore NHL campaign.
Heading into Thursday's games, the Kraken sit second behind Vegas in the Pacific Division standings. They have taken down the Penguins (twice), the Flames, the Wild and the Predators on their five-game winning streak.
Offseason changes have helped boost the offense to be one of the best in the league. Eleven players have posted eight or more points in Seattle's first 14 games. The power play is clicking at a solid 25.5% and Seattle sits just ahead of Minnesota in overall 5-on-5 play, controlling 51.26% of expected goals.
Like Minnesota, Seattle's penalty kill is sub-par. And while goaltending was a big problem for the Kraken last season, veteran Martin Jones has steadied that ship with 3.4 goals saved above expected to go along with his 7-3-1 record.
With Philipp Grubauer on the injured list, Joey Daccord had been serving as Jones' backup. However, the Kraken claimed Magnus Hellberg on waivers from the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and re-assignd Daccord to the AHL. So, it's likely Hellberg will back up Jones on Friday for his first game in a Seattle uniform.
In other injury news, forward Jared McCann could return to the lineup on Friday after missing the past three games with a lower-body issue. Joonas Donskoi remains sidelined. Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak has also been added to the injured list, so Cale Fleury is expected to draw in for his first game action of the year.
Wild vs. Kraken Pick
Despite their current hot streak — and the fact that they shut out the Wild on the road barely a week ago — the oddsmakers have tagged the Kraken as home underdogs for Friday's contest. For savvy bettors, that spells opportunity.
It's true Seattle's record is actually better on the road than at home, but the Kraken had no trouble taking down the Predators in their last game at Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday. They've also been home all week, while the tired Wild have been trekking through California and will be playing their third game in four nights.
Back the Kraken to extend their winning streak to six games on Friday night.
Pick: Seattle Kraken Moneyline (+104) | Play down to +100 |
