by Chuck Sommers
Saturday, Feb 18, 2023
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Where to watch: ROOT-NW, BSDET
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Kraken -170, Red Wings +145
FanDuel: Kraken -170, Red Wings +145
BetMGM: Kraken -170, Red Wings +145
Caesars: Kraken -170, Red Wings +145
Season record
Red Wings: 26-20-8
Kraken: 31-18-6
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Red Wings - Kraken preview, prediction and analysis
The Detroit Red Wings will be playing the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, February 18 in Seattle, Washington.
The Detroit Red Wings won against the Calgary Flames last Thursday, February 16 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary with a score of 5-2. The Detroit Red Wings currently rank 5th in the Atlantic Division.
Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and two assists, and Dylan Larkin had three assists for the Detroit Red Wings in their fifth straight win.
"It's a great feeling. We've been looking for something like this for a while now, quite honestly," Detroit forward David Perron said. "All year we've been talking about if we want to be in this [Stanley Cup] Playoff picture, eventually you have to make up points on other teams. I think we've done that recently."
Dominik Kubalik scored twice, Robby Fabbri had a goal and an assist, and Magnus Hellberg made 33 saves for the Red Wings (26-20-8), who have won seven of their past nine games, including a 5-4 shootout victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.
"We've got to keep going," Perron said. "Any night you don't gather points, other teams you're chasing or around [you] are all winning, it seems like. That's just the way the League goes. It's a good feeling to be a part of that right now."
Elias Lindholm gave Calgary a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal at 15:22 of the first period. Kubalik tied it 1-1 at 18:59 with a snap shot from just inside the right circle that deflected off Flames defenseman Michael Stone.
Fabbri gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 2:27 of the second period with a wrist shot that went short side from the right face-off circle on a power play before Dube tied it 2-2 at 9:03, scoring glove side on a partial breakaway.
Kubalik restored Detroit's lead at 15:21 with a one-timer on a cross-slot pass from Larkin to make it 3-2, and Bertuzzi tapped in a pass from Fabbri on a power play to extend it to 4-2 at 18:43. Pius Suter picked up a drop pass from Filip Zadina and scored five-hole from the right circle at 3:55 of the third period for the 5-2 final.
The Red Wings were outshot 15-4 in the third.
"Obviously, it's a great feeling," Hellberg said. "You feel the team has some good confidence. It feels like we just keep grinding. We trust each other and everybody works hard for each other. A lot of smiles in this locker room after this win for sure."
The Detroit Red Wings have won seven of their last 10 games.
The Seattle Kraken won against the Philadelphia Flyers last Thursday, February 17 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington with a score of 6-2. The Seattle Kraken currently rank 3rd in the Pacific Division.
Yanni Gourde had two goals an assist for the Seattle Kraken. It was Gourde's first two goals since Jan. 10 (15 games). He hadn't had a multigoal game since March 7, 2021.
"Thanks for the reminder," Gourde said. "I think it's good. It's good to get some confidence. It's good to shoot the puck and get the puck going, and it's always good to score a few goals going forward.
"But at the same time, don't change the way you play. Just play hard and play your game and good things happen.''
Matty Beniers and Justin Schultz each had a goal and an assist, and Jordan Eberle had two assists for the Kraken (31-18-6), who played at home for the first time since Jan. 28. They went 1-3-1 on a five-game road trip following the All-Star break.
Philipp Grubauer made 17 saves.
"I thought we played faster than the last few games on the road," Gourde said. "I thought we were checking a little bit better, even in the neutral zone. They weren't coming through the middle of the ice and in the neutral zone. I think that's the big key."
Jared McCann gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal at 3:01 of the first period. He stripped Kevin Hayes of the puck in the defensive zone, skated down the right wing and fired a wrist shot past Hart. Gourde made it 2-0 at 14:39 when he redirected Schultz's shot from beyond the face-off circles.
The Kraken set a franchise record when they held the Flyers to one shot on goal in the first (12-1).
Schultz scored on a power play at 5:52 of the second period, a one-timer from Matty Beniers to make it 3-0. The assist was Beniers' first point in 11 games.
"The biggest goal, in my mind, was Schultz on the power-play goal," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "You knew there was going to be a response after the first period. They had a response, and that power-play goal settled things down for us."
Oliver Bjorkstrand made it 4-0 on a breakaway at 11:26. Ersson relieved Hart after the goal. Gourde one-timed a shot from between the circles for a power-play goal at 14:43 to give the Kraken a 5-0 lead.
''He does it all, every game all year,'' McCann said. ''There's a reason he's got back-to-back Stanley Cups (with the Tampa Bay Lightning). That's the guy that we need to watch and need to learn from.''
''We've got to show up with everybody and go out and play well as a group to have a chance to win,'' Hakstol said. ''We were ready to play tonight.''
The Seattle Kraken have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Have the Kraken figured it out? I'd say yes. Kraken 5, Red Wings 2
The Detroit Red Wings won against the Calgary Flames last Thursday, February 16 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary with a score of 5-2. The Detroit Red Wings currently rank 5th in the Atlantic Division.
Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and two assists, and Dylan Larkin had three assists for the Detroit Red Wings in their fifth straight win.
"It's a great feeling. We've been looking for something like this for a while now, quite honestly," Detroit forward David Perron said. "All year we've been talking about if we want to be in this [Stanley Cup] Playoff picture, eventually you have to make up points on other teams. I think we've done that recently."
Dominik Kubalik scored twice, Robby Fabbri had a goal and an assist, and Magnus Hellberg made 33 saves for the Red Wings (26-20-8), who have won seven of their past nine games, including a 5-4 shootout victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.
"We've got to keep going," Perron said. "Any night you don't gather points, other teams you're chasing or around [you] are all winning, it seems like. That's just the way the League goes. It's a good feeling to be a part of that right now."
Elias Lindholm gave Calgary a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal at 15:22 of the first period. Kubalik tied it 1-1 at 18:59 with a snap shot from just inside the right circle that deflected off Flames defenseman Michael Stone.
Fabbri gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 2:27 of the second period with a wrist shot that went short side from the right face-off circle on a power play before Dube tied it 2-2 at 9:03, scoring glove side on a partial breakaway.
Kubalik restored Detroit's lead at 15:21 with a one-timer on a cross-slot pass from Larkin to make it 3-2, and Bertuzzi tapped in a pass from Fabbri on a power play to extend it to 4-2 at 18:43. Pius Suter picked up a drop pass from Filip Zadina and scored five-hole from the right circle at 3:55 of the third period for the 5-2 final.
The Red Wings were outshot 15-4 in the third.
"Obviously, it's a great feeling," Hellberg said. "You feel the team has some good confidence. It feels like we just keep grinding. We trust each other and everybody works hard for each other. A lot of smiles in this locker room after this win for sure."
The Detroit Red Wings have won seven of their last 10 games.
The Seattle Kraken won against the Philadelphia Flyers last Thursday, February 17 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington with a score of 6-2. The Seattle Kraken currently rank 3rd in the Pacific Division.
Yanni Gourde had two goals an assist for the Seattle Kraken. It was Gourde's first two goals since Jan. 10 (15 games). He hadn't had a multigoal game since March 7, 2021.
"Thanks for the reminder," Gourde said. "I think it's good. It's good to get some confidence. It's good to shoot the puck and get the puck going, and it's always good to score a few goals going forward.
"But at the same time, don't change the way you play. Just play hard and play your game and good things happen.''
Matty Beniers and Justin Schultz each had a goal and an assist, and Jordan Eberle had two assists for the Kraken (31-18-6), who played at home for the first time since Jan. 28. They went 1-3-1 on a five-game road trip following the All-Star break.
Philipp Grubauer made 17 saves.
"I thought we played faster than the last few games on the road," Gourde said. "I thought we were checking a little bit better, even in the neutral zone. They weren't coming through the middle of the ice and in the neutral zone. I think that's the big key."
Jared McCann gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal at 3:01 of the first period. He stripped Kevin Hayes of the puck in the defensive zone, skated down the right wing and fired a wrist shot past Hart. Gourde made it 2-0 at 14:39 when he redirected Schultz's shot from beyond the face-off circles.
The Kraken set a franchise record when they held the Flyers to one shot on goal in the first (12-1).
Schultz scored on a power play at 5:52 of the second period, a one-timer from Matty Beniers to make it 3-0. The assist was Beniers' first point in 11 games.
"The biggest goal, in my mind, was Schultz on the power-play goal," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "You knew there was going to be a response after the first period. They had a response, and that power-play goal settled things down for us."
Oliver Bjorkstrand made it 4-0 on a breakaway at 11:26. Ersson relieved Hart after the goal. Gourde one-timed a shot from between the circles for a power-play goal at 14:43 to give the Kraken a 5-0 lead.
''He does it all, every game all year,'' McCann said. ''There's a reason he's got back-to-back Stanley Cups (with the Tampa Bay Lightning). That's the guy that we need to watch and need to learn from.''
''We've got to show up with everybody and go out and play well as a group to have a chance to win,'' Hakstol said. ''We were ready to play tonight.''
The Seattle Kraken have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Have the Kraken figured it out? I'd say yes. Kraken 5, Red Wings 2
Betting trends
Projected lines
Red Wings:
Dominik Kubalik -- Dylan Larkin -- Tyler Bertuzzi
Michael Rasmussen -- Andrew Copp -- Robby Fabbri
Jonatan Berggren -- Joe Veleno -- David Perron
Filip Zadina -- Pius Suter -- Oskar Sundqvist
Ben Chiarot -- Moritz Seider
Olli Maatta -- Filip Hronek
Gustav Lindstrom -- Robert Hagg
Ville Husso
Dominik Kubalik -- Dylan Larkin -- Tyler Bertuzzi
Michael Rasmussen -- Andrew Copp -- Robby Fabbri
Jonatan Berggren -- Joe Veleno -- David Perron
Filip Zadina -- Pius Suter -- Oskar Sundqvist
Ben Chiarot -- Moritz Seider
Olli Maatta -- Filip Hronek
Gustav Lindstrom -- Robert Hagg
Ville Husso
Kraken:
Jared McCann -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen -- Yanni Gourde -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Jaden Schwartz - Alex Wennberg -- Brandon Tanev
Ryan Donato -- Morgan Geekie -- John Hayden
Vince Dunn -- Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak -- Will Borgen
Carson Soucy -- Justin Schultz
Philipp Grubauer
Jared McCann -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen -- Yanni Gourde -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Jaden Schwartz - Alex Wennberg -- Brandon Tanev
Ryan Donato -- Morgan Geekie -- John Hayden
Vince Dunn -- Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak -- Will Borgen
Carson Soucy -- Justin Schultz
Philipp Grubauer
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NHL projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
