Seattle Kraken vs. Dallas Stars Game 1 Prediction, NHL Odds
The Kraken are the first team in NHL history to knock off the defending champions in their playoff debut. They have been underdogs all season and are continuing to thrive in that role as they head into the second round. They have their work cut out for them, facing perhaps the hottest team in the league in Dallas, who have been idle since Friday.
The Stars are the favourites to win on the NHL odds at -176 with the total set at 5.5 goals. The Western Conference semi-final is set to begin in Dallas on Tuesday night, with puck drop at 9:30 PM ET.
Kraken vs. Stars NHL Playoffs Betting Odds
These squads had a very tight three-game season series this yeas. The Stars took it 2-1, but Seattle won their most recent meeting on March 21. All three tilts played the over and two games were decided in overtime. The visiting team won every game in the regular season and both teams have been performing well on the road so far through the playoffs.
Coming in as the higher seed, Dallas is also seen as the favourite to win this playoff series, listed at -222 on the NHL Series board. Oddsmakers do see this one going to six or seven games, each result having a payout of +220.
After finishing as the top wild card in the Western Conference with 100 points, Seattle currently has the longest odds to win the Stanley Cup. They are sitting at the bottom of our NHL Futures board with odds at +1569. The Stars are the fourth favourite to win it all with a +602 payout.
Seattle Kraken
In just the second season in franchise history, Seattle came in as massive underdogs in Round 1 versus the reigning Stanley Cup champs in Colorado. It took seven games, but the Kraken pulled off the upset, knocking the Avalanche out of the postseason on Sunday night with a 2-1 win. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored back-to-back goals in the second to give the Kraken a 2-0 lead before the team turned to goalie Philipp Grubauer to shut the door versus his old team. Grubauer turned away 33 of 34 shots helping the Kraken to their first playoff series win in history.
The beauty of this Seattle team is their balanced attack, which has been the case all season long. Yanni Gourde is currently leading the team in points with six (1G, 5A) after putting up two helpers in Game 7. The Kraken scored a total of 18 goals in the opening round from 15 different players, proving how dangerously deep this team is.
Despite being a young franchise, this team has some very experienced veterans who have thrived in the underdog role all season. Grubauer is coming off a Stanley Cup win last season, Jaden Schwartz won it in 2019 and defenceman Justin Schultz won back-to-back with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017.
Dallas Stars
The Stars won three straight contests to knock out the Minnesota Wild in six games in the first round of the playoffs. They last played on Friday, so they will benefit from a few extra days of rest before starting Round 2.
After an incredible playoff debut in last year’s postseason, goalie Jake Oettinger came back into form in the past three games. After allowing three or more in the first three games, Oettinger almost single-handedly turned the series around for the Stars. He allowed two or fewer in each of the team’s last three games, including a shutout performance in Game 5.
Roope Hintz scored his fifth goal of the postseason in Game 6, increasing his playoff lead in scoring to 12 points (5G 7A). He had a point in all but one game in the opening round, including a hattrick in Game 2’s 7-3 win.
After suffering a concussion on a huge hit in Game 1, Joe Pavelski did not play again versus the Wild. He could possibly return for Game 1 Tuesday night after being seen practicing on the second line at Stars practice on Monday. The 38-year-old would be a huge boost to the team, not just for their already lethal powerplay (37.5%), but for overall team morale.
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