Kraken vs Lightning Matchup: Betting Between the NHL’s Most Prolific
Kraken Huge On Betting Lines
Seattle Put to Test Against Gritty Lightning
They did not start quite as fast as Vegas, but the Seattle Kraken are already looking like world-beaters in their second season. The NHL’s new kids on the block are making money on the betting lines. Now, they get to continue raking in this Kraken vs Lightning Matchup. Seattle visits Tampa Bay as +155 underdogs on the NHL odds. Tampa Bay has been one of the best home teams while Seattle is one of the best on the road.
Seattle Kraken (16-8-3), Tampa Bay Lightning (17-9-1)
Date & Time:
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay
Streaming: Live Stream Sports
Kraken Crushing it Road
With a 9-2-1 record on the road, Seattle has the third-best point percentage on the road. But as far as the NHL betting lines are concerned, the Kraken are the best. A bettor would be up $1,049 had they bet $100 on the moneyline for every road game Seattle has played.
“You always hope that you’re going to get off to a good start and things are going to go well,”
“But you never really know.”
It was a tough year last year. Give our guys a lot of credit. They continued to battle and never stopped working. I’m happy for the guys that they’re having some success.” Kraken general manager Ron Francis told Postmedia in a phone interview.
Seattle has taken out the likes of Colorado, Vegas, and Calgary while on the road. They were underdogs on all of these games. What’s even more impressive is how Seattle is winning despite having the same Achilles Heel as last season- goaltending (or lack thereof). Martin Jones and Philipp Grubauer remain the worst tandem in the NHL. Going by their NHL player stats, the duo have save percentages (SV%) below 90 percent and have combined for -12.0 goals saved above average.
We can look to the Kraken’s potent offense and solid 5-on-5 play as the key factors to their success, especially on the road. Seattle leads the NHL with a 12.8 percent shooting percentage and 1.05 PDO. This means the netminders are also holding their end here (91.9 SV%). This is why Seattle has scored 36 goals despite a 23.8 expected goals metric.
On paper, this is a fluky condition for Seattle; if their shooting percentages were to drop, they’d be conceding as many goals as they score. And if you factor in their atrocious penalty-kill – 68.4 percent, 27th in the NHL – Seattle shouldn’t be winning too many games. But right now, this team is on fire and scoring 4.25 goals per road game – the most in the NHL. That’s something they can carry into this Kraken vs Lightning Matchup.
Lightning Remain Stalwart in Tampa Bay
Speaking of potent teams, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been doing what Seattle is doing now for nearly a decade. Tampa is one of the most overwhelming home teams. Its 3.93 goals-per-home game is the second-most in the NHL. It’s why 10 of their 15 home games have gone over the total, which is at six in this Kraken vs Lightning Matchup.
While Seattle defeated elite teams as a visitor, Tampa Bay has turned back the likes of Toronto, Dallas, and the Islanders. In fact, in its last 10 home games, Tampa covers its puck line – which would put them on the green as their given the betting lines.
Against the Kraken, Tampa can “fight fire with fire” as it is ready to get into a goal-scoring duel with Seattle. But that could be unlikely given their big edge in goal: Andrei Vasilevskiy. As far as NHL score predictions go, it’s not crazy to think that Vasilevskiy and Tampa Bay will neutralize Seattle. It’s why Tampa Bay is -180 on the NHL betting lines here.
The 2019 Vezina Trophy winner has not been as dominant this season. But he allows just 2.65 goals on average at home and has stopped 41 of the 42 shots he’s faced against Seattle. Tampa Bay also dominated Seattle in their last game in the Amalie Arena (3-0) with Seattle managing just 17 shots on goal.
Maybe Seattle is a much better team now. We shall see on Tuesday night.
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