Everyone knows the best two words in sports. Tonight, we get Game 7 between the Seattle Kraken and Dallas Stars with a spot in the Western Conference Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights on the line. The Kraken won Game 6 6-3 to keep their season alive and force the series back to Dallas for Game 7 behind two goals from Jordan Eberle.
In only their second season the Kraken could be headed to a matchup with the other recent expansion team for a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals. Game 7 tonight, let’s get into the odds.
Kraken vs. Stars odds, puck line and total
Kraken vs. Stars prediction and pick
Anything can happen in a Game 7, but there are a few things that feel like a requirement to survive a win or go home scenario: strong goaltending and a good powerplay. Both teams will need their goalie to make a big save at the same point and that will likely be the difference, but there’s going to be a penalty at some point and the team that capitalizes on the man advantage is likely the team that will be moving on.
Both of those signs point to the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger was not a Vezina Trophy finalist this year, but he was just outside the top three. For the regular season, Oettinger allowed 2.37 goals against per game and had a .919 save percentage. Which ranked seventh and sixth in the NHL. For the playoffs he is at 2.89 GA/G with a .900 save percentage. That’s stronger than Philipp Grubauer’s 3.05 GA/G and .901 save percentage, and I trust Oettinger much more to make the big save.
In terms of the powerplay, Dallas is fifth this postseason at 32.5% and the best of any remaining team. Now, it’s not exactly encouraging that the top four teams have all been bounced, but in a one game scenario powerplay is very important. Plus Dallas is dead even with Seattle in terms of expected goals for at even strength this postseason, 26.1. So, they are at a five-on-five stalemate, but the Stars have the edge with a man up compared to Seattle’s powerplay which is at 14.7%, the lowest of any remaining team.
I’d love for Seattle to advance. They’ve become the darling of the postseason much the way Vegas was in their inaugural season, but the Stars are the smart bet tonight.
Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change
