Blues vs. Kraken Odds
| Blues Odds | +118 |
| Kraken Odds | -142 |
| Over / Under | 5.5 -134/ +110 |
Here's everything you need to know about Blues vs. Kraken on Friday, Jan. 26 – our expert NHL prediction and pick.
These two teams squared off earlier in the season as St. Louis won via shootout in a low-scoring 2-1 affair. Will we see another low-scoring outing on Friday evening?
Let's dig into the NHL odds and make a Blues vs. Kraken prediction and pick.
St. Louis Blues
St. Louis has had better results than many expected and a huge factor in making that happen has been the play of goaltender Jordan Binnington, who is slated to guard the cage on Friday. Through 33 appearances, Binnington is 16-12-2 with a .906 SV% and 2.98 GAA.
Entering this matchup in particularly good form, he is 5-2-1 with a .928 SV% and 2.12 GAA over his past eight starts. There were an average of five total goals scored per game across those eight outings.
This success is likely to continue against Seattle, a team that Binnington is 2-1 against in his career with a .912 SV% and 2.59 GAA. He was in net for that aforementioned game against the Kraken in October, a game in which he stopped 30 of 31 pucks en route to the Blues' 2-1 victory.
The trend of low-scoring games for the Blues is also a product of an inefficient offense that ranks in the bottom 10 of the league in goals scored per game, shots on goal per game, power play percentage and shooting percentage. Their underlying metrics suggest that positive regression is unlikely as they rank 26th in expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60) at 5-on-5.
Seattle Kraken
St. Louis' scoring woes are likely to continue against Seattle, one of the toughest teams to score against. This season, the Kraken rank in the top third of the league in goals allowed per game, shots on goal allowed per game and penalty minutes taken per game.
One of the most efficient teams in their own zone, they also rank third in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60) at 5-on-5. Backing up this defensively sound group is goaltender Joey Daccord, who has done a tremendous job taking advantage of the situation and is expected to get the nod on Friday.
Through 31 appearances, Daccord boasts a .922 SV% and 2.32 GAA. He has been completely dialed in since the beginning of December, posting an 11-4-2 record with a ridiculous .942 SV% and 1.82 GAA over his past 17 (!) starts.
That is not a small sample size, and there have been five or fewer total goals scored in 11 of those 17 games.
Despite their strong defensive play, the Kraken have struggled to produce offensively. Seattle ranks in the bottom third of the league in goals scored per game, shots on goal per game and shooting percentage. This trend is likely to continue based on the underlying metrics as the Kraken rank 25th in xGF/60 at 5-on-5.
Blues vs. Kraken
Betting Pick & Prediction
Forward Matty Beniers is also slated to miss this game for Seattle, another blow to an offense that needs as much help as it can get. There's just not a lot of reasons to like the over in this spot, which is why the total is set between 5.5 and 6, depending on the book.
However, I would much rather take Under 5.5 at +110 than Under 6 at -110.
Both goaltenders are strong and both offenses have struggled to create high-danger scoring chances. The one concern is St. Louis' blue line, but that problem should be nullified against a Seattle team that relies heavily on the power play to generate goals.
Pick: Under 5.5 (+110 at FanDuel | Play to +105)
(Maximize your NHL action with our FanDuel promo code!)
