NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Kraken vs. Hurricanes (November 24)

Kraken vs. Hurricanes Odds

The red-hot Carolina Hurricanes will make their first trip to Seattle on Wednesday night to take on the struggling Seattle Kraken. Despite being on the road for their fifth consecutive night, it's not surprising that Carolina is a decent road favorite in this contest.

Carolina Coming Off a Rare Loss

The Hurricanes were upset by the San Jose Sharks on Monday night, falling 2-1 in overtime. The losses have been few and far between for Carolina, who skate into Seattle with the best record in the NHL at 13-2-3.

After a terrific start to the season, Carolina's current six-game road trip was to serve as a good litmus test for this team and so far it has passed with flying colors, posting a 3-0-1 record so far.

If you want to poke holes in Carolina, you could look to their decent-but-not-great expected goals rate (51.17%) and high-danger chance rate (50.96%). Carolina is generating a lot of good looks offensively, but is also a bit leaky on defense, which is why Frederik Andersen's resurgent season has been so vital for the team's success so far.

That Carolina is allowing just two goals per game is a huge testament to Andersen's level this season, as the former Maple Leaf has posted a .937 Save Percentage (SV%) and is third in the NHL with a +13.3 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx).

The Canes have a chance to win every game as long as Andersen is in his current form.

The Kraken Need a Stop

The Kraken were built from the back to the front through the Expansion Draft, but unfortunately porous goaltending has sunk them to start the season. Despite ranking second overall in preventing high-danger scoring chances, the Kraken are allowing a league-high 3.78 goals per game.

Philipp Grubauer, who was signed to be a cornerstone for the franchise in goal, has struggled mightily, posting a -14.5 GSAx in 15 games this season. That means that Grubauer has almost cost the Kraken a goal for every game he's played in. On a positive note, the German netminder did look sharp in his last outing, stopping 37 of 39 shots against the Capitals on Sunday night.

Offensively, the Kraken have not been as bad as anticipated in the pre-season. They have the 19th best scoring offense in the league, but that isn't good enough to make up for the issues in net.

Hurricanes vs. Kraken Pick

As long as we get the projected goaltending matchup of Andersen vs. Grubauer, I like the Under 5.5 in this matchup.

As much as Seattle's goaltending has struggled, the defensive process seems solid and at some point you'd imagine that Grubauer will find his form. Tonight could be a decent opportunity with the Canes possibly a bit jet-lagged from this long road trip.

On the other end, this Kraken offense is nothing to write home about and I trust that Andersen will be able to keep them at bay to give us a chance to get to the window.

Pick: Under 5.5 +100