Wednesday’s NHL slate is a small one, but a couple of games in the late window bring some intrigue to the picture. At 10 p.m. EST, the Los Angeles Kings look to remain afloat near the top of the Pacific Division in a battle with the Seattle Kraken, who are floundering on a six-game losing streak. Will L.A. string together its third straight win tonight on the road?
Here’s a Kings vs. Kraken prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Wednesday night’s game.
Kings vs. Kraken prediction, preview
This Pacific Division clash pits a 35-point Kings side (14-8-7) against the 28-point Kraken (11-10-6). The difference in quality between the teams is notable with L.A holding a goal differential of +3 compared to Seattle’s -16 mark, but that doesn’t mean there’ll be much offense from either side. Both rosters sit bottom-six in goals this season with 2.72 per game for the Kings and a league-worst 2.48 for the Kraken. Instead of high-scoring offenses, these groups prioritize defense — Los Angeles actually allows the third-fewest goals per game at 2.48, while Seattle ranks 15th with 2.96.
When it comes to the pointscorers, Adrian Kempe leads all players in this game with 26 on the season. Notably, the Kings’ second and third-leading scorers, Kevin Fiala (21) and Quinton Byfield (19) both have more points than anyone on their opponents’ roster. The Kraken are paced by Jordan Eberle with 16 points, followed by Matty Beniers’ 16 and Jaden Schwartz and Brandon Montour with 15 apiece. There’s a glaring lack of star power here, but more on that shortly.
The special-teams play of both units is largely forgettable as well. The Kings have the NHL’s worst power play at 13.6%, making the Kraken’s 17.5% mark look impressive by comparison. Los Angeles may find some room to work with the man advantage tonight though while facing the league’s worst penalty kill as Seattle’s PK rate sits at a lowly 66.2%. L.A.’s 80.4% mark remains far better, even if it’s good for just 17th.
Kings vs. Kraken pick, best bet
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Kings are favored at -148 odds on the Moneyline to the Kraken’s +124 odds as the underdog. The total sits at 5.5 combined goals. In the betting splits, 80% of bets favor Los Angeles while 60% are on the over.
There’s certainly a reason the Kings are favored tonight. While their own offense is rather uninspiring at times, the team rides the strength of its blue line and goaltender Darcy Kuemper to success. While it’s more likely that Anton Forsberg (2.69 GAA, .894 SV%) starts tonight, there are few major attacking threats on Seattle’s roster and he could certainly post a strong outing after logging a .950 SV% or better in three of his last five appearances, including a shutout in that span. For the Kraken, Joey Daccord (2.99 GAA, .891 SV%) likely starts tonight as per usual. The advantage in net for the Kings isn’t as strong as usual, but they’re one of the league’s best teams on the road at 10-2-4 this season and do have more talent than their opponent. Los Angeles should comfortably win tonight assuming everyone settles in early against one of the NHL’s worst offensive groupings.
