The Vancouver Canucks are coming off an embarrassing outing on Saturday night against the Anaheim Ducks. After falling 7-4 in a game that saw Thatcher Demko pulled in favour of Jaroslav Halak, the Canucks will need to get back on the right track immediately when they host the Seattle Kraken on Monday night at Rogers Arena.
Now 23-22-6, Vancouver remains sixth place in the Pacific Division and seven points out of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. With only 31 games remaining in the regular season, Vancouver likely needs to win at least 22-23 games at a minimum to have any real chance of making the postseason.
The Kraken, on the other hand, are enduring a rough first season in the league. The new expansion franchise sit with a record of 16-31-4, firmly planted in the basement of the Pacific Division. Led by head coach Dave Hakstol, the Kraken’s best performers this year include Jared McCann, Jaden Schwartz, and NHL All-Star Jordan Eberle.
Unfortunately for Seattle, their special teams play has been a big contributing factor towards their struggles, with both units sitting bottom-seven in league rankings. Their penalty kill rate of 75.4% efficiency is 26th in the league, whilst the 16.1% efficiency rate on the power play is 29th in the NHL.
This matchup will be the third of four between Seattle and Vancouver this season, with the Canucks taking each of the first games by scores of 4-2 and 5-2.
Despite getting pulled, Demko should be in-between the pipes on Monday night for the home team, whilst Philipp Grubauer should oppose him in net for the Kraken.
The odds for this game are courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook, the official betting partner of FanSided.
Betting Odds
Moneyline
Canucks -170
Kraken +145
Goal Total
Over 5.5 goals at -130
Under 5.5 goals at +110
Puckline
Canucks -1.5 at +145
Kraken +1.5 at -170
Prediction
After a porous showing against Anaheim, expect Vancouver to come out with some fire in front of the home faithful at Rogers Arena. Games are running limited quicker than it may seem, and the Canucks know that the time for a winning streak is now. With Seattle’s season all but over at this juncture, expect that the desperation from the home side should be enough to secure a victory.
Given the previous meetings between the sides this season, in which Vancouver is 2-0 against the spread, this contributor is banking on Vancouver keeping this trend going.
The Canucks cover the -1.5 puckline.
Pick: Canucks -1.5 at +145
What are your thoughts on this upcoming game between the Canucks and Kraken? What bets will you be placing on the game? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comment section!