The Seattle Kraken face off with the Dallas Stars in game five of the second round in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It's time to continue our NHL odds series with a game five Kraken-Stars prediction pick, and how to watch.
The series is not tied at two games each as it heads back to Dallas for game five. The Stars bounced back after losing 7-2 on home ice in game three of the series to take a 6-3 victory over Seattle. Dallas saw five different players score their six goals, as they shut down the Seattle offense, holding them to just 19 shots on goal. They scored twice on the powerplay on the night as well, and while Seattle attempted to make a comeback in the third period, it was too little too late.
Here are the Kraken-Stars NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Playoffs Odds: Kraken-Stars Odds
Seattle Kraken: +1.5 (-164)
Dallas Stars: -1.5 (+136)
Over: 5.5 (+106)
Under: 5.5 (-130)
How To Watch Kraken vs. Stars
TV: TNT
Stream: TNT app
Time: 9:30 PM ET/6:30 PM PT
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Kraken Could Cover The Spread
Seattle was one of the best offensive teams in the regular season and the first round of the playoffs. At times, they have shown that in this series. They have scored 17 goals in the four games in the series so far, but have been limited to just five goals in the two losses. The big difference has been both shotting and quality of shots.
In game one, they shot the puck 44 times, outshooting the Stars by nine. In that game, 11 of their 44 shots were in the high-danger area. For the second game of the series, that dropped to just five shots in that area. It was eight of 25 shots for the Kraken in the high-danger zone, but they were limited to just four in game four. The Kraken needs to get pressure in front of the net to help score. If they do not, they will be down 3-2 in the series.
Conversely, they need to limit those opportunities for Dallas. Dallas had plenty of opportunities right in front of the net in their two wins in the series. That has caused Philipp Gruabauer to struggle. He has been below .900 in save percentage three times this series, including a .773 save percentage in game four before being pulled from the game. While he had a good first series against Colorado, Gruabauer has not been that in this series, and he needs to find that form to keep the Kraken in this series.
Finally, the Kraken needs production from Jared McCann. The leading points man for the Kraken, McCann has missed the first three games of the series. He had 40 goals on the season and 30 assists, but so far in the playoffs, he has just one assist. If the Kraken can get production from McCann, it may turn the tide in the series.
Why The Stars Could Cover The Spread
The Stars' consistent high-quality shooting to move ahead in this series. They have been getting over 25 pucks on the net in each of the first four games, with two games over 34, but the quality of shots has varied. Ultimately, in the games in which they forced the puck to the front of the net more, they score more. Consequently, they won those games.
First, that has to start with Roope Hintz, Max Domi, Jamie Benn, and Jason Robertson. Hintz has 15 points in the playoffs so far, with six goals and nine assists. Meanwhile, Max Domi and Jamie Benn both have seven assists. What has been impressive, is as many of their assists have been too high-danger scoring areas. Either benefiting one of the other four in the group or players like Tyler Seguin and Evgenii Dadonov. Only three goals the in the playoffs have been from blue-line players, and the majority of the goals for the Stars have come right in front of the net, or close by it.
Jake Oettinger also needs to find. some consistency. In the playoffs thus far he has a .903 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average. He has only been above average once in this series, which resulted in a 4-2 Stars win. He struggled mightily in game three and was good enough in game four to get the win. If he performs like game four again though, it may be trouble. The Kraken only got 19 shots off, and Oettinger only saved 16 of them. If the Kraken can get more shots on goal, it may be a long night for Oettinger.
Final Kraken-Stars Prediction & Pick
This has been a back-and-forth series throughout. Neither goaltender has truly stepped up yet and taken control of a game. For the Stars, it is all about pushing the puck. When they have controlled the pace of play and pushed to the front of the net, they have had a lot of success. For the Kraken, not only is it slowing down the Stars, it is finding a way to make positive movement in the offensive zone. They have had trouble at times this series getting things going, but if they can hold onto the puck and move it like they have all year, it could be their night. It is now a best-of-three series, and Dallas is the better side and the better goaltender, they take control of the series and win again.
Final Kraken-Stars Prediction & Pick: Stars -1.5 (+136)
Follow Us
Subscribe