A pair of Western Conference teams will meet up on the ice on Friday. The Vancouver Canucks are on the road at the Seattle Kraken. The Canucks have been one of the best teams in the league to start the season, Vancouver is 13-6-1 on the season, and trail the Golden Knights by three points for the top spot in the Pacific. The Canucks are coming off a road loss at the Avalanche on Wednesday. Vancouver comes into the game with a 6-5 record on the road.
A season after reaching the Western Conference Finals, the Seattle Kraken got off to a slow start, but have picked it up a bit since then. The Kraken are 8-8-5 on the season, for 21 points. That would be tied for seventh in the Western Conference standings with the St. Louis Blues. Seattle is 4-5-1 at home this season, but coming off a blowout win at home over the Sharks on Wednesday.
The Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks are listed at -110, and the total for this game is 6.5 goals.
2023 Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken, despite being .500 on the season, are -12 in goal differential. The Kraken have scored 61 goals, and allowed their opponents to score 73. That is coming, despite the 7-1 win on Wednesday. Seattle scored four times in the first period in the blowout win. Oliver Bjorkstand and Yanni Gourde each had a goal and an assist.
Jared McCann is the top scorer for the Kraken this season. He has 9 goals, with three of them coming via the power play. Former St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn leads the team in assists, with 15, while Oliver Bjorkstrand has 7 goals and 12 assists on the season.
Seattle will likely send Phillip Grubauer in between the pipes for this one. He is 5-6 on the season with a 3.35 goals against average. Following this game, the Kraken will play at the Chicago Blackhawks to start a four game road trip.
2023 Vancouver Canucks
Despite the good season so far in Vancouver, they are struggling a bit as of late. The Canucks have dropped three of their last four. In fact, they recently fell at home to the Kraken 4-3. Vancouver is scoring just 2.5 goals over their last four. Far less than their 4.00 per game on the season.
J.T. Miller leads the team in goals, with 13 on the season. Miller has six of those goals on the power play. Quinn Hughes leads the team with 23 assists, and has 8 goals to combine for a team lead of 31 points. The Canucks are nearly 30% on their power play this season as well.
Thatcher Demko will be the netminder for the Canucks. He has had a solid season in between the pipes for the Canucks. He is 9-5 on the season, and has allowed just 2.26 goals per game. He has two shut-outs on the season. This is the middle game of a three game road trip for the Canucks. They will finish at San Jose on Saturday.
Canucks Top Kraken
Look for Vancouver to get back on track here. They would love to even the score between these two teams. Demko gets back on track with a win here. Take the Vancouver Canucks, and their ability to score over Seattle. The Canucks -110 is the bet to make.
