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Blackhawks vs Kraken Prediction, Preview, Stream, Odds and Picks
Seattle Inching Closer to 100 Points
Goals Hard To Come By for Blackhawks
Seattle has secured a playoff spot in its second NHL season while Chicago will miss the postseason for the fourth time in the last five seasons, something that hasn’t happened in 15 years.
Chicago is 2-7-1 on the road since the start of March and average 1.7 goals per game during the stretch, the fewest in the NHL. It hasn’t helped that the Blackhawks are 2 for 29 on the power play in those games.
Seattle has won three straight games and outscored Arizona, Vancouver and Arizona agin by a combined score of 17-5.
Chicago is tied for the second fewest road wins (11) among Western Conference teams, so keep that in mind when making NHL picks.
When looking at some of the NHL news, forwards Philipp Kurashev and Taylor Raddysh as well as defenseman Jarred Tinordi are questionable for Chicago. Forwards Colin Blackwell and Cole Guttman are out for the season.
For Seattle, center Alex Wennberg is questionable while forwards Andre Burakovsky, Joonas Donskoi and John Hayden are out.
According to the NHL playoff odds, the Kraken (+4000) has the 14th best odds to win the Stanley Cup title.
Tanks for the Memories
Dating back to when Chicago sent Brandon Hagel to Tampa Bay and then moved fellow forwards Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome, Dominik Kubalik and Kirby Dach in the offseason, the success or failure of the 2022-23 season for the Chicago Blackhawks will be determined by what happens in the NHL Draft Lottery.
The Blackhawks’ front office used top three picks on Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to win three Stanley Cups in six years.
By dealing away more of the top offensive players, Chicago predictably has scored the fewest goals in the NHL and is tied with Anaheim and Columbus for the fewest points in the league with four games. The prize is Connor Bedard, who is being mentioned in the same breath as Connor McDavid as a draft prospect. Boston University’s Adam Fantilli wouldn’t be a terrible consolation prize.
Chicago has been listed as the underdog by the NHL betting lines in each of its last 28 games.
What An Encore
Thanks to what the Vegas Golden Knights did when they entered the NHL in 2017, what the Seattle Kraken has flown under the radar.
There was a time when it would take an expansion team multiple years just to come within shouting distance of a playoff spot. The Kraken accomplished the feat in year No. 2.
“From the depths of the standings in year one, to the base of that playoff mountain in year two.”@TheVoiceFitz & @HockeyDaveT leaving us speechless with last night’s call. 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/Pmepr4ODUm
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) April 7, 2023
Seattle has won three straight games with Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle each having three goals and three assists during Seattle’s most recent winning streak. Matty Beniers, listed by the sportsbook as the favorite to win the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year, has two goals and two assists.
The bigger jump happened in Seattle’s own zone. Last season defensemen Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson had defensive ratings of -21 and -23. This season, both are +29 and the Kraken is a real threat in a wide-open Western Conference especially after winning five of the last seven games against Western Conference teams.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in six of Seattle’s last nine games.
Blackhawks vs Kraken Game Injuries
Blackhawks vs Kraken Head-to-Head
The teams split the first two meetings, both played in Chicago. McCann had three goals the last time the teams met with Seattle winning 8-5.
In the two meetings in Seattle, both during the 2021-22 season, Chicago won 4-2 followed by Seattle’s 3-2 victory in the rematch.
Three of the five matchups between the teams finished over the total.
Blackhawks vs Kraken Game Information
- Game: Blackhawks (25-47-6) vs Kraken (44-26-8)
- Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
- Day/Time: Saturday, April 8, 10 p.m. ET
- Blackhawks vs Kraken Live Stream: NHL TV
Blackhawks vs Kraken Betting Lines
Blackhawks vs Kraken Picks and Prediction
Seattle holds down the top Wild-Card spot in the Western Conference and that would mean a first-round matchup of whoever comes out of the tightly bunched Central Division as champion.
While there is still a chance that the Kraken could catch Edmonton for second place in the Pacific Division. However, a more realistic goal would be to pass Los Angeles for third place.
Seattle has the second most road wins among Western Conference teams as the Kraken goes after its 26th road win. Seattle has no power play goals in the last four meetings with Chicago.
Seattle is 25-11-3 when listed by the sportsbook as the favorite. Chicago is 22-51-4 as the underdog.
The Seattle Kraken is listed at -400 in our Las Vegas hockey odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Kraken, you have a chance to win $25. Chicago is +320, offering a chance to win $320 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Seattle Kraken a 80% chance to win, with the Chicago Blackhawks at 23.81%.
