Do the Bolts stay in the race for the division crown?
Goalless. Pointless. Chanceless? The Seattle Kraken are still completely without a goal of their own in their history against Tampa Bay, and of course they want to change that on Wednesday. However, the conditions are not exactly rosy if we recall the first duel, where the Bolts were victorious 3-0.
In general, two worlds meet here. On the one hand, a completely new franchise that hasn’t even been in the NHL for a full season yet, and on the other hand, the champions who have won the title two years in a row.
In this respect, we also find it hard to write down an even duel here. On the contrary: We think that this 3:0 from November will not remain a flash in the pan. In addition, there is more at stake for the Bolts – namely the division title in the Atlantic Division.
Our prediction for Seattle vs. Tampa Bay is a clear away win for the Lightning, who could score one or two more goals than in November. However, the Kraken should also be able to do this.
Seattle Octopuses – Statistics & current form
The Seattle Kraken are just coming off another successful game, their first after previously losing four in a row and eight out of their last ten games. However, this win also came only after penalty shootout and that moreover against the weakest team in the NHL.
So we still can’t call their form good. Just as little as their defense. They concede 3.59 goals per game and even 4.2 goals per game in the last five games. One of the reasons why they don’t really get going in their premiere season.
Special Teams also still with room to improve
Another reason things aren’t going perfectly is their special teams stats. With a powerplay success rate of 15.2% and penalty killing of 74.9%, they are among the five worst teams in the league in both areas.
The same is still true for shots fired (28.6 per game), which is why, all things considered, we don’t see them anywhere near on par with the Bolts. For Kraken vs. Lightning, a bet on Tampa is thus still very possible even with a low to medium handicap.
Key Players:
G: Philipp Grubauer
D: Mark Giordano
D: Carson Soucy
LW: Calle Jarnkrok
C: Jared McCann
RW: Jordan Eberle
Tampa Bay Lightning – stats & current form
The Tampa Bay Lightning just returned from a less than successful trip from Canada and are now stopping in Seattle on the way back. Of their four games against Canadian teams, their only win came on Sunday in Vancouver.
However, they should not panic in Florida, because they are still one of the top teams in the league. The fact that there were a few defeats recently was also due to a small drop in performance by goalie Vasilevskiy, among other things.
Vasilevskiy not in top form
In March, the Latvian conceded an average of four goals in the Bolts goal before eventually heading to Vancouver, where he then had to reach behind him just once. With a 97.2% save percentage was then but already back to the old.
After the two-day break, we strongly expect the 2019 Vezina Trophy winner to be back in the box again on Wednesday, which should see the Bolts decide the goalie duel (against Philipp Grubauer) clearly in their favor.
Tampa ahead in all stats
Since they also have the upper hand in all other important statistics (3.36 to 2.57 goals, 2.83 to 3.59 goals against, 82 to 42 points) there should be the next win for the Lightning on Wednesday, which could even be a bit higher.
We’d be surprised if Tampa doesn’t score at least four goals against this vulnerable defense. Thus, for Seattle vs Tampa, both the Bolts and Over Points odds are recommended for betting.
Key Players:
G: Andrei Vasilevskiy
D: Victor Hedman
D: Jan Rutta
LW: Ondrej Palat
C: Brayden Point
RW: Nikita Kucherov
Seattle Kraken – Tampa Bay Lightning head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The only head-to-head matchup between these two teams was clearly won by Tampa 3-0 back in November, and since the Seattle franchise has only been around for this season, that means they have yet to score a single goal against the Lightning.
Of course, they want to change that on Wednesday night and they should succeed. However, it is unlikely that this will be enough to win the game. The difference between the well-rehearsed Bolts squad and the newly assembled Kraken team seems too great.
That’s why for Kraken against Lightning a bet on Tampa Bay is our No.1 betting option, followed by a combination of Lightning + Over points and a success of the favorite with a handicap of -1 or even up to -2.
Seattle Octopus – Tampa Bay Lightning Tip
The Lightning have already scored 82 points this season, the Kraken just 42, with the Bolts winning 38 games and Seattle just 18. These numbers alone already prove the imbalance that exists in this matchup.
In this respect, the odds on Tampa for Kraken vs. Lightning are recommended in every respect. Whether pure win bets on Tampa are still worthwhile or a handicap of -1 should be set, can best be decided spontaneously.
Alternative in this matchup is a bet on over-points despite the low-scoring first duel. The Kraken have such a weak defense and the Bolts such a strong offense, it would be surprising if we don’t see some total goals.
