Kraken vs Canucks NHL Odds, Pick, Prediction on Tuesday, April 4

Kraken vs. Canucks Odds

Although the Vancouver Canucks have been an afterthought in the playoff race for a while, they had a great stretch from March 4 to 26 in which they won 10 of 12 games.

Since then though, Vancouver has dropped three straight. With the momentum gone, will the Canucks lose against Seattle on Tuesday, or will Vancouver wrestle two points away from its rival at a time when the Kraken are fighting for a wild-card spot?

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Seattle Kraken

Even with the franchise's first playoff berth on the line, Seattle's floundered recently, posting a 4-5-2 record over 11 games from March 9 to April 1.

Inconsistent goaltending has been part of the issue. Going into Monday's action, Philipp Grubauer is 2-2-1 with a 3.67 GAA and an .850 save percentage over his last six contests. He was expected to start Monday versus Arizona, though, so Seattle will probably send out Martin Jones to face Vancouver.

Despite Grubauer's recent struggles, Jones is far from a preferable option. Through 46 games this season, Jones has a 2.99 GAA and an .886 save percentage.

Seattle's offense has also fallen back a step recently, providing 3.09 goals per contest during that mediocre 11-game stretch, compared to the Kraken's season average of 3.45.

Jordan Eberle needs to get going again. He's third in the Kraken's scoring race with 55 points (16 goals) in 75 contests, but prior to Monday's game, he had a goal and three points in his last nine appearances. Matthew Beniers is struggling too with two goals and four points over the same nine-game span.

It certainly doesn't help Seattle's forwards that this will be the second half of a back-to-back, so even if Eberle and Beniers do well against Arizona, they'll be fighting fatigue versus Vancouver.

Vancouver Canucks

Scoring is not something Vancouver is hurting for. The Canucks rank 11th offensively with 3.36 goals per game this season. Elias Pettersson has found another level with 36 goals and 96 points in 74 contests in 2022-23, and he's been complimented nicely by forwards J.T. Miller (29 goals, 76 points), Andrei Kuzmenko (37 goals, 69 points) and Brock Boeser (17 goals, 53 points).

The Canucks also have a top-tier offensive defenseman in Quinn Hughes, who has contributed seven goals and 73 points in 72 outings.

But while the Canucks have filled the net, they've been kept out of the playoff race because of their goaltending. Thatcher Demko was supposed to be the team's stabilizing force, but he missed a good chunk of the season due to injury, and even when he's been healthy, the 27-year-old has posted an ugly 3.36 GAA and .894 save percentage through 29 outings.

It looked like Demko turned a corner from March 2 through 26, during which he had a 7-3-0 record, 2.11 GAA and .925 save percentage in 10 appearances. He's fallen back down though, allowing 14 goals on 96 shots (.854 save percentage) over his last three starts.

Seattle has some struggling forwards, but if Demko keeps playing like he has been recently, then the Kraken's attackers have nothing to worry about.

There is a chance that Collin Delia will get the nod instead. He's only started in two of Vancouver's last 19 contests, but he did save a combined 46 of 49 shots in those appearances. However, Delia has a 3.26 GAA and an .883 save percentage in 17 contests this season, so even if Vancouver decides to give the struggling Demko a rest, Delia isn't necessarily a better option.

Kraken vs. Canucks Pick

Seattle has a significantly better record than Vancouver, but oddsmakers are treating these two teams as being roughly even on the moneyline. That's probably in part because Seattle is playing on the second half of a back-to-back and will be the road team.

Seattle has a 24-10-4 away record though while the Canucks are just 17-19-2 at home, so the game being in Vancouver might not actually be much of an advantage for the Canucks. The Kraken should also have an edge in motivation given their tenuous hold on a playoff spot, so if there was ever a time for them to battle hard on no rest, this is it.

If you want a safer bet, consider the Over of 6.5 goals. The potential payout is a little below the bets I typically recommend, but I do like it given these two teams' goaltending struggles.

However, I personally think Seattle is being a bit underrated by the oddsmakers and consequently my recommendation is to take the Kraken on the moneyline.

Pick: Kraken -114 (Bet to -125)

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