Back The Krak Against Bad Predators Team

Kraken vs. Predators, 8:00 ET

I haven't written much about hockey lately because there have been so many great college basketball games to cover. I like basketball better, and up until recently, I've been doing really well with college games. On the other side of that, I've done well this season with hockey, but after taking a long break, I need to find a groove again. Baseball will be starting soon too, so I am trying to get in a few more hockey wins before Opening Day there. Hopefully this is a win here as the Kraken take on the Predators.

The Seattle Kraken are one of the newer expansion teams for the NHL, and after a really good first season, this one hasn't been quite as impressive. The Kraken are just 26-32-4 for the season, struggling to get any real traction going for the season. They are pretty bad on the road as well, going 12-17-0 to this point in the year. The Kraken are just 2-3 in the past five games with losses to the Blues, Lightning, and Wild. They did beat the Canucks and Panthers though which is pretty nice. They've beaten the Predators in both of the first two games that the teams have had this season. The Kraken haven't been great in a lot of ways this year, but they do have a really good goalie. It isn't certain that Joey Daccord will be in the net tonight, but if he is that should be a boost for Seattle. Daccord is 21-16-3 for the season and has a 2.60 goals against per game average this year which is good for 15th in the league. He also has a .912 save percentage which is 7th in the league. In the games against the Predators, he has allowed a total of three goals in the two games. 

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 6: Aliaksei Protas #21 of the Washington Capitals scores a goal in the second period against the Nashville Predators at Capital One Arena on November 6, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Predators are really struggling this season and are not going to make the playoffs. At best, they might be able to turn around the season a little bit here toward the end of the year. That could at least give them something to build upon for next year. The Predators are just 22-32-7 for the season, but they have been better at home than on the road. They are 15-12-3 when defending their home ice. They aren't playing great hockey at the moment, but they also aren't doing terrible. They currently are 2-3 over their last five games with wins over the Bruins and Jets. In their losses, they've allowed at least four goals in each game. The Predators are expected to have Juuse Saros in the net tonight. He has struggled this year with a 14-25-6 record and has allowed 2.96 goals on average to opponents. Saros also has a .898 save percentage for the year. Neither of these numbers are among league leaders, but he is tied for second with four shutouts this season. To me, it seems that Saros is either elite or terrible and not much in between. 

On the one hand, the Kraken are almost certainly better than the Predators. On the other, the Predators are not usually great, but they are good enough at home. I would expect that both teams should allow some goals in this one and they probably will have an over. I do think the Kraken win this one though. I know they won the first two games, and it is hard to beat a team three times in a row. I think Seattle has the better goalie though. I'll take Seattle to win this one. 

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