NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Predators vs. Kraken (Jan. 25)

Predators vs. Kraken Odds

The Kraken have found better form of late, winning three of their last four contests and finally snapping their lengthy home winning streak along the way. Despite their uptick in form, Seattle still is a decent underdog at home against the Predators on Tuesday night.

The Consistent Predators

After a tough run of three games in four nights against Boston, St. Loui and Vancouver, the Nashville Predators snapped their three-game losing streak with wins over the Jets and Red Wings.

The Predators now sit with a 90.9% chance to make the postseason in a season where most folks (including myself) thought they'd miss out pretty comfortably.

What's most surprising is that Nashville has been relatively consistent on offense — the Preds rank 14th in goals per game — and are not just relying on the goaltending prowess of Juuse Saros to see them out in one-goal games. Last season, the Predators outlasted teams. This time around, they are outplaying them.

Nashville is 7-3-1 in January and its 53.6% expected goals rate is the eighth-best mark in that span. The team's goal differential in the New Year is also terrific, with the team scoring 3.54 goals and allowing 2.72 per game.

For a team that was supposed to be led by stingy defensive play and great goaltending, seeing the Preds sit with a deserved 26-14-3 record is impressive.

Saros should get the start in goal for Nashville and he's always a threat to steal any game on any night. The Finnish netminder has a .924 save percentage and a +15.1 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) in 35 games this season.

Seattle Kraken

Seattle's recent spell of three wins in four games with a 54% expected goals rate may make it seem like the Kraken have turned a corner, but I remain unconvinced they will play at this level going forward.

The Kraken have definitely been better of late, but I think they also had an agreeable schedule over their current uptick. Wins over Chicago an San Jose are never going to be all that impressive, and while the victory over Florida was a strong one, it was also a lucky result against a team in the middle of a lengthy road trip.

While the Kraken have been better of late, I still don't think this team has the pieces in place to generate offense at a consistent clip this season.

I'll be the first to admit that I actually thought the Kraken would be a lot better than they are this season, but their play has been consistently bad and has led to a -38 goal differential and has them in last place in the soft Pacific Division.

Some of Seattle's struggles this season can be attributed to some poor luck, but big picture the team seems to point to the fact that this current four-game sample is more of a blip than anything legitimate.

Philipp Grubauer has been terrible all season, but will look to build on an excellent start against Florida his last time out. Any improvement from Grubauer could lead to a big boost for Seattle.

Predators vs. Kraken Pick

Although Seattle has clearly shown better form of late, I still do not trust this roster to produce consistently, especially on offense.

Nashville is the deeper team, is in good form and has controlled play effectively all season long. The Predators should be able to drive play in this contest and unless Grubauer has truly found his 2020/21 form, they should score enough to get the job done.

At +100 I think we have more than enough value to back a Predators regulation win, and would play them down to -120, as long as we see Juuse Saros confirmed to start in the morning.

Pick: Nashville Predators to win in regulation (-120 or better)