McCann, Hayton Add to High-Scoring Kraken versus Utah Hockey Club Matchup
Friday caps off the week with potentially the biggest game in one franchise's history while their opponent gets a much needed bounce back spot.
The Utah Hockey Club could slide into the playoff picture for the first time in their franchise's history with a win on Friday, as they would be tied at 71 points with the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card spot in the West. Their opponent Friday, the Seattle Kraken, look to snap a trepid losing skid by riding off a historic finish to their last game on Wednesday.
For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our 6-1 record on our last seven picks and our 16-6 record on our last 22 underdog picks.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Utah Hockey Club vs Seattle Kraken Best Bets:
- Over 5.5 goals (-150)
- Utah ML (-150)
- Barrett Hayton Over 0.5 points (-120)
Over their last eight games, the Kraken have struggled on defence with a 4.00 goals against average that has resulted in a 3-5-0 record. They are coming off a thrilling 5-4 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday that saw defenceman Brandon Montour score the fastest overtime goal in history at only four seconds into the period.
Seattle should be entering Friday's matchup with a little dose of mojo following the win and it should culminate in an instant classic when they take on a Utah team that is battling for every point in an extremely tight race for the playoffs.
Utah Hockey Club has a 29-25-11 record this season and are just outside of a playoff spot with a win on Friday firmly putting them in the picture. Calgary will be playing Colorado on the same night, which means walking away with points will be unlikely and will give Utah a chance to gain some ground.
It will be a crucial must-win spot for Utah and they enter the matchup with steam after going 11-6-4 over their last 21 games. They are recording points and gaining ground fast on the competition but they will need to make up for their 5-2 loss to the Kraken in late December.
Since then, Utah has a 5-5-2 record and a 3.50 goals against average in their last 12 road games and this should provide an opening for the Kraken.
I expect both teams to bring their all and this should result in a high-scoring affair with Utah HC finding a way to win as I predict Seattle having a hard time beating them two consecutive times.
Utah has also traded wins and losses in each of their last seven road games with the trend predicting a win on Friday.
A key player for Utah will be Barrett Hayton, who has been red hot with points in four straight and has five goals with four assists for nine points in his last nine games. The 24-year-old Peterborough native also has two goals in his last four games versus Seattle.