The Seattle Kraken and Colorado Avalanche meet Wednesday in game 5 of the NHL West First Round Playoffs at the Ball Arena. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Seattle Kraken are averaging 3 goals per game and are scoring on 18.8 percent of their power play opportunities. Jaden Schwartz leads Seattle with 2 goals, Justin Schultz has 4 assists, and Ryan Donato has 12 shots on goal. Defensively, the Seattle Kraken are allowing 3 goals per game and are killing 90 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Philipp Grubauer has given up 11 goals on 131 shots faced.
The Colorado Avalanche are averaging 3 goals per game and are scoring on 10 percent of their power play opportunities. Mikko Rantanen leads Colorado with 5 goals, Artturi Lehkonen has 3 assists and Nathan MacKinnon has 20 shots on goal. Defensively, the Colorado Avalanche are allowing 3 goals per game and are killing 81.3 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Alexandar Georgiev has allowed 12 goals on 131 shots faced.
The Kraken are 10-4 in their last 14 road games and 6-2 in their last 8 vs. Central. The Avalanche are 82-34 in their last 116 home games and 121-57 in their last 178 overall. The under is 6-1 in Kraken last 7 overall. The under is 3-0-1 in Avalanche last 4 home games. The underdog is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings. The road team is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
The Colorado Avalanche are the better team on paper, have been ridiculous at home these last two seasons, and they should be favored in a crucial game 5 with the series tied up. However, the Kraken have played the Avs evenly through 4 games, and now they go back on the road, where they’ve played their best recent hockey. The Kraken also have the momentum edge after stealing game 4 in overtime, which included 43 shots to the Avs 22 shots. We’re getting almost two times our money by siding with the dog, the side that’s won 6 of the last 8 meetings between these clubs. I’ll take a shot with the Kraken.