Minnesota Wild vs Seattle Kraken: Wild with Opportunity to Move into Wild Card Spot

• The Minnesota Wild are 3-3-0 in their last six games.
• The Seattle Kraken are on a five-game winning streak.
• The Wild were shut out 4-0 by the Wild in their first meeting.

Minnesota Wild vs Seattle Kraken Odds

Odds Taken from FanDuel Sportsbook

Minnesota Wild vs Seattle Kraken Picks

Seattle Kraken beat Minnesota Wild 4-3

Seattle Kraken cover

Over 6.5 goals

Head-to-Head: Minnesota Wild vs Seattle Kraken

Minnesota Wild vs Seattle Kraken Predictions

The Minnesota Wild will travel to the west coast to face the Seattle Kraken. The Wild could take control of a Wild Card spot with a victory, and the Kraken have an opportunity to push their win streak to six.

The Wild do not have a well-rounded roster. Their offense sometimes sputters, their defense gives up a few too many goals, and neither of their goaltenders are dominant. Minnesota has to turn the corner and improve their play if they want any chance of making a Playoff run.

The Wild’s offense may often struggle, but they have a few talented goal-scorers in Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Mats Zuccarello. Kirill Kaprizov may be the best player on the Wild and leads the Wild with ten goals. Kaprizov averages over four shots a game but converts on over 18% of his shots. Matt Boldy has six goals and five assists. 

He is also the only player in this group with a positive +/-. Mats Zuccarello is more of a passer, but he also knows how to score. Zuccarello has five goals and eight assists. Much of his success comes on the power play, as four of his five goals have come with a man advantage.

Marc-Andre Fleury gets most of the Wild’s starts but performs worse than backup Flip Gustavsson. Gustavsson has a save percentage of .904, compared to Fleury’s save percentage of .896. The larger issue is that neither of these goaltenders are consistent in net. The Wild either have to trade for a better goalie or hope one of these two players improves significantly.

The Kraken were one of the worst teams in the NHL last season but have the second-best record this year. Unlike the Wild, Seattle has an excellent offense, decent defense, and a dominant goaltender in Martin Jones.

The Kraken do not have any elite players. However, they have many solid players that have led them to their early success. Andre Burakovsky, Jordan Eberle, Jaden Schwartz, Brandon Tanev, and Morgan Geekie have been the most impactful Kraken. Andre Burakovsky leads the team in points (13) and assists (9). Jordan Eberle is not as impressive but has three goals and seven assists. 

Jaden Schwartz is having a similar season to Eberle and has five goals and five assists. Brandon Tanev and Morgan Geekie play the least of these five players (Geekie has a TOI of 10:13), but they have +/-’s of 11 and 12, respectively.

Martin Jones is the primary goalie for the Kraken. He signed a one-year contract with Seattle this offseason and has been a top-three netminder through the first stretch. Jones, a 32-year-old veteran, has a 7-3-1 record and only allows 2.45 goals per game. Jones, however, is the only proven goalie Seattle has on their roster. If he gets injured, Seattle will be in trouble.

The Kraken have a home-ice advantage and a lot of momentum right now, so they will win and push their winning streak to six. 

Why Might the Minnesota Wild Win?

The Minnesota Wild are playing worse hockey than the Kraken but are still favored to win. They can prove oddsmakers right if they score the first goal and a power play goal.

The Wild are on the road and averaging less than three goals per game. If you combine their poor offense with being on the road, it could be a recipe for disaster. However, the Wild can offset this disaster by scoring the first goal. If they score first, the momentum will shift their way.

The Wild offense struggles overall, but they excel on the power play. Minnesota converts on 26.7% of their power play opportunities, the sixth-most in the league. They need that power play goal now more than ever tonight.

Why Might the Seattle Kraken Win?

The Kraken are a significantly better team than the Wild, but will only win if they play aggressive hockey and tough defense.

The Kraken have a penchant for scoring but can always have an off night. However, they can combat any chance of having an off night by playing aggressively.

The Kraken score more easily than the Wild, but Minnesota still knows how to score many goals. The Wild have scored four or more times six times this season. The Kraken can limit their scoring ability by playing tough defense.

Wild Key Players: (RW)  Mats Zuccarello

Mats Zuccarello is an impressive veteran, but his +/- of -8 is the worst on his team. The 35-year-old needs to continue scoring and setting up his teammates, but he also needs to improve his overall performance and not be a liability on the ice.

Kraken Key Player: (C) Matty Beniers

Matty Beniers has a similar problem to Mats Zuccarello. Beniers is not quite as impressive as Zuccarello but has a +/- of -9.

Beniers needs to play smarter hockey, or his role on the Kraken will diminish

How to Watch Minnesota Wild vs Seattle Kraken

• What - Minnesota Wild vs Seattle Kraken
• Where - Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
• When - Friday, November 11, 10:00 PM EST
• How to Watch - ESPN+, Hulu