Vegas Golden Knights - Seattle Kraken predictions and free betting tips [22/03/2024]

The reigning Stanley Cup holders, Vegas Golden Knights, host the Seattle Kraken on their home turf tomorrow morning.

Vegas Golden Knights

With a record of 36-25-7 and a total of 79 points, the Vegas Golden Knights are facing serious challenges this season. Being in the third leg of a four-match home stretch, which will conclude with a game against Columbus Blue Jackets, the team is gearing up for an impending four-match away tour. This tour includes confrontations with league teams such as St. Louis, Nashville, Winnipeg and Minnesota, which will pose a real challenge for the Golden Knights.

The previous game against Tampa Bay Lightning ended in a 3:5 defeat for Vegas, marking their sixth loss in the last nine matches. This defeat underscores the current difficulties of the team which, despite battling hard, has shown a lack of resilience in key moments of play. Team leaders, including Jonathan Marchessault with 38 goals scored and 21 assists, and goaltender Logan Thompson with a record of 18-12-5 in draws, stand out in the line-up, but this doesn't always save the team from losses.

The analytics show that, on average, Vegas scores 3.16 goals per game and concedes 2.99, reflecting a strong attacking line and a defence that needs improvement. The power play and penalty kill also present an area for growth, with a success rate of 18.7% in power plays and 80.7% in penalty kills.

Seattle Kraken

Seattle Kraken, who made their first playoff appearance last year with 100 points and reached the second round of the Western Conference, are now going through a challenging period. Currently, with a record of 28-27-12 and 68 points, the team has encountered a number of difficulties, including a disastrous five-match losing streak at home, which has put their playoff chances in doubt. Ranking sixth in the Pacific Division, the Kraken trail Vegas by 11 points, with only 15 games in hand.

The recent 2:6 defeat against Buffalo Sabres was one of the most notable humiliations, where the team let in three goals in less than six minutes towards the end of the game. This defeat highlighted the team's offensive struggles that have been prevalent throughout the season. The Kraken struggle to find a consistent source of goals, having 14 meetings where the team scored only one goal or failed to score at all.

Seattle's line-up includes standout players such as Jared McCann, who has scored 27 goals and made 26 assists this season, along with Vince Dunn and Oliver Bjorkstrand, who also make significant contributions to the team's play. In goal, Philipp Grubauer shows a record of 10-11-2 in draws, with an average of 2.88 goals conceded per game and a save percentage of 89.9, indicating a need to improve the defensible play.

Head-to-Head

In the last five encounters between the Kraken and Golden Knights, Vegas has taken four victories. The last game on 13 March 2024 ended with a Vegas victory in overtime with a score of 5:4. In the game on 1 January 2024, Seattle took the victory with a result of 3:0. Prior to that, on 11 October 2023, Vegas won with a score of 4:1, and again on 14 April 2023 with the same scoreline. On 12 April 2023, Vegas also pulled off a victory with a score of 3:1.

Prediction for the Vegas Golden Knights - Seattle Kraken match

Vegas appears the clear favourite for the upcoming match. It's time for the reigning champions to return closer to the 4-5 place in the Western playoffs after a shaky stretch, as they now risk not making the postseason at all with their current 8th place. Minnesota is close. Things are not looking good for Seattle