The Seattle Kraken and New York Rangers have both had a couple of days off and they are ready to battle each other for just the third time in franchise history. Both meetings between these two teams last year were very close, low-scoring games and that’s exactly what you can expect once again tonight.
The Rangers are a much more skilled team than the Kraken, but the story about New York this season has been its inconsistent offensive production. Seattle isn’t a bad offensive team by any means, but defense has definitely been its biggest strength.
The starting goalies haven’t been named yet, but it will likely be Igor Shesterkin for the Rangers and Martin Jones for the Kraken. If history has told us anything, there shouldn’t be a ton of offense in this game, and our NHL betting picks explain why that trend should continue.
Rangers vs Kraken best odds
Rangers vs Kraken picks and predictions
The New York Rangers are still trying to figure out who they are as a team. They are set to play their first game of this West Coast road trip, which will be a massive test for them. They enter this contest winning two out of their last six games, and the only positive to take away from those games was their goaltending.
Igor Shesterkin is starting to find the level of play that he showcased all of last season. He is coming off of a 31-save performance, leading the Rags to a 4-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes, stopping 31 of 32 shots (.969 SV%). On the season, he is sporting an 8-2-2 record with a .915 SV% and a 2.40 GAA. The Kraken’s goaltending was their weakest link last year, but Martin Jones has earned the No. 1 role, going 7-4-2 with a .909 SV% and 2.38 GAA.
The goalies on both sides are playing well because the defenses in front of them have been strong. The Kraken allow the third-fewest shots on goal (27.3 per game) and the Rangers are very close at sixth (28.2 per game).
It’s hard to pick a side in this matchup with the way both teams are playing, but goaltending has been the one constant between them, and because of that, I think this game will go Under the total.
My best bet: Under 6 (-120 at BetMGM)
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Rangers vs Kraken moneyline analysis
The Rangers are 2-0-0 in franchise history against the Kraken and they might have the advantage yet again. Seattle has lost their last two games and has only scored two goals in those games combined.
The Blueshirts offense can explode on any given night. Last week, they scored eight goals on the road against the Detroit Red Wings, but followed up that performance with just one against the Nashville Predators. That has been the tale of the season for New York, but the difference in this game will most likely be special teams. Both teams' power play have a very similar success rate, the Kraken are at 23.6% and the Rangers at 23.0%, but New York’s penalty kill is significantly stronger than Seattle’s.
The Kraken have only scored one goal with the man advantage in their last four contests, which is good news for the Rangers. All signs point in New York’s favor when it comes to special teams and it's the Rangers' game to lose.
Rangers vs Kraken Over/Under analysis
The Rangers and Kraken are right in the middle of the pack of the league when it comes to goal scoring as both teams are averaging slightly more than three goals per game.
The Kraken did not have a ton of success last season against the Rangers, only scoring three goals in two games on a total of 74 shots. This is a new season of course, but Shesterkin, fresh off a Vezina-winning season, is clearly among the best — if not the best, full stop — goalies in the NHL.
One area that stands out most about both of these teams is the lack of power-play success of late. For the Rangers, their top unit is getting a lot of opportunities, but they aren’t scoring at a consistent rate. As for the Kraken, their man-advantage unit just hasn’t had much puck luck lately.
The defense outweighs the offense for both teams and I see this one being a very closely played, low-scoring battle.
Rangers vs Kraken betting trend to know
The Under is 2-0 in the only meetings between these two teams. Find more NHL betting trends for Rangers vs Kraken.
Rangers vs Kraken game info
| Location: | Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA |
| Date: | Thursday, November 17, 2022 |
| Puck drop: | 10:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | MSG, Root-Northwest |
