Avalanche vs Kraken Odds, Picks, and Predictions Tonight: Seattle Picks Up Win No. 1

A Western Conference tilt gets underway tonight on ESPN when the Seattle Kraken welcome the Colorado Avalanche.

Seattle dethroned the defending champions in the first round of last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs in a thrilling seven-game series, shaking up the NHL odds in doing so.

Colorado will certainly look for revenge, but it won't be easy beating a team that has won six of the last nine meetings against the visitors. Find out why I like the home team in my NHL picks for Avalanche vs. Kraken on October 17.

Avalanche vs Kraken odds

Avalanche vs Kraken predictions

It's not often I'll make a moneyline pick that opposes the Colorado Avalanche, but the Seattle Kraken match up well with them. Seattle is an incredibly deep team that can roll out all 18 guys, which is an important factor in matchup up against a lineup as talented as Colorado’s.

The Kraken’s depth is the reason they upset the Avs last postseason and took the Dallas Stars to seven games in the second round. They are a scrappy bunch that play well in all three zones, and whenever you keep the opposing team's high-danger scoring chances low, you are in every game.

Seattle finished sixth in the league last season in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60) at 5-on-5. Backing up this strong two-way team is goaltender Philipp Grubauer, who will look to shut down his former team.

Grubauer has fared well against Colorado, posting a .918 SV% and 2.68 GAA through six appearances against the Avs since spending a few seasons with them. He has also played well thus far this year despite the 0-2 record, sitting with a .918 SV% and 2.56 GAA.

Seattle has been a bit snake bitten thus far: losing in a shootout to the Blues in a game where the Kraken played far better, and dropping the season opener in a competitive game against the defending Cup Champions on their banner night. Sandwiched between those two losses was a poor performance against the Nashville Predators where the offense just couldn’t get anything going against Juuse Saros.

The point in all of this is the Kraken are a much stronger team than their 0-2-1 start indicates, and the tide is going to turn their way sooner rather than later. Colorado is obviously no easy task, but it will be coming into a tough environment on the road in a potential let-down spot after a dramatic comeback victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

My best bet: Kraken moneyline (+130 at FanDuel)

Avalanche vs Kraken same-game parlay

Kraken ML

Under 6.5

+288 at FanDuel

The Kraken are great at utilizing strong and gritty two-way play to keep games low-scoring, and therefore turning games where they are underdogs into more of a coin flip. They boast a strong blue line and Grubauer has a good track record against Colorado.

Meanwhile, the Avs possess arguably the best blue line in hockey, finishing third in the league in xGA/60 at 5-on-5 last season.

However, with a bit of a top-heavy forward group, Colorado only ranked 19th in expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60) at 5-on-5. Backing up this team is goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, who is 2-0 with a stellar .947 SV% and 1.45 GAA.

Regression is certainly looming for Georgiev, and while I think it hits in this contest, I don’t think he will have a complete meltdown.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Avalanche vs Kraken moneyline and Over/Under analysis

The Avalanche opened as –156 favorites and remain at that price at the time of writing. I think the public will be on Colorado, but whether the line moves in that direction will depend on where the “smart” money goes — which I think will be on the Kraken.

That brings us to the total, which opened at 6.5 and also remains at that number. We aren't going to see a total of seven with these two defenses, so it will either stay here or drop down to six. 

For Over bettors, I would suggest waiting until closer to puck drop as the line is either staying or moving down.

Avalanche vs Kraken betting trend to know

The Kraken are 6-3 over the past nine meetings against the Avs. Find more NHL betting trends for Avalanche vs. Kraken.

Avalanche vs Kraken game info

Avalanche vs Kraken latest injuries

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