by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, Dec 06, 2022
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Venue: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Where to watch: ROOT-NW, TSN2, RDS
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Kraken -225, Canadiens +190
FanDuel: Kraken -230, Canadiens +188
BetMGM: Kraken -222, Canadiens +180
Caesars: Kraken -220, Canadiens +180
Season record
Canadiens: 12-11-1
Kraken: 15-6-3
Two months into the NHL season, and man, what action we’ve had. So much parity, so many good teams through the first 10-plus games, you have every right to be excited! It’s still a three-team race between Vegas, Boston and New Jersey. But this is a good time to be playing these hockey games, as well. Look no further than our own Doc's Sports on a 14-7-0 run over the first 30 days of the NHL season. There's also ASA, Inc. posting a 12-5-1 mark through the first month. You know you can trust our champion handicappers to get you across the finish line with your NHL bets. Check out our Best Bets page at bigal.com to see what we're throwing down!
Canadiens - Kraken preview, prediction and analysis
Recent results
Canadiens: lost 7-6 (OT) at Canucks on Monday
Kraken: lost 5-1 vs. Panthers on Saturday
Canadiens analysis
The Montreal Canadiens will play for the second straight night on Tuesday after playing in Vancouver the night before. That one will certainly be a night to forget for the Habs, losing 7-6 in overtime to the lowly Canucks Consider the fact that the Habs led this game 4-0 after the first period and still lost might be the greatest thing ever assembled.
Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist, and Cole Caufield scored the game’s first goal but clearly it wasn’t enough. Montreal also went to backup goalie Sam Montembeautl in that game and he gave up all the goals. Montreal will likely go with Jake Allen for the Seattle leg.
"All things considered, the emotional rollercoaster we went through in this game and how we managed it, I'm proud of the guys," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said.
A very weird flex to be proud of.
Montreal has certainly exceeded expectations to this point and that’s still very good to have for a team trying to establish a culture. Suzuki and Caufield have turned it on in a big way, but they might need one more piece to put them over the top.
Kraken analysis
The Seattle Kraken had their franchise-record seven-game winning streak come to an end their last time out Saturday, a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. It took a long minute – maybe with the exception of that 9-8 win in L.A. a couple of weeks ago – but at least they’re human.
Jared McCann did score a goal early in the second period, but that was all Seattle could muster against Spencer Knight. Philipp Grubauer finished with 23 saves in the loss, giving up all five goals.
"I didn't think that was really the turning point," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said on Carter Verhaeghe’s goal. "[It] added frustration, and that's part of the game. You've got to make your decision (to challenge). Again, 20 or 30 seconds to make the best decision possible. In that case, I felt like we needed to set it up and have a chance to make that determination. On the other side, that's not up to me. So no, I don't carry too much of that."
More importantly, with this game will entail is the top two prospects from last Summer's NHL draft are going to be playing in this game more than likely. Shane Wright and Juraj Slafkovsky will likely face off against each other for the first time. Slafkovsky was shockingly taken No. 1 overall, while Shane Wright was supposed to go to Montreal but dropped to Seattle at 4.
Of course things would happen and narratives would never be degraded.
Prediction
Give me the favorites and give me the team that has taken care of so much business. Kraken win 3-1
Betting trends
Canadiens are 3-18 on Tuesday nights the last 2 seasons.
Kraken are 9-2 after winning 4 or 5 of their last 6 this season.
The over is 11-3 when the Kraken play on Tuesday the last two seasons.
The under is 7-0 when the Kraken play non-conference games this season.
Projected lines
Canadiens:
Cole Caufield -- Nick Suzuki -- Kirby Dach
Juraj Slafkovsky -- Sean Monahan -- Josh Anderson
Evgenii Dadonov -- Christian Dvorak -- Joel Armia
Michael Pezzetta -- Jake Evans -- Rem Pitlick
Mike Matheson - Johnathan Kovacevic
Arber Xhekaj -- Jordan Harris
Joel Edmundson -- Kaiden Guhle
Jake Allen
Kraken:
Andre Burakovsky -- Alex Wennberg -- Jaden Schwartz
Oliver Bjorkstrand -- Yanni Gourde -- Brandon Tanev
Jared McCann -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Daniel Sprong -- Ryan Donato - Karson Kuhlman
Vince Dunn -- Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak -- Justin Schultz
Carson Soucy -- Will Borgen
Philipp Grubauer
Statistical leaders
Canadiens:
Points: Nick Suzuki – 28
Goals: Nick Suzuki & Cole Caufield – 14
Assists: Nick Suzuki & Kirby Dach – 14
Goalie: Jake Allen – 7-9-0, 3.51 GAA, .893 SV%
Kraken:
Points: Andre Burakovsky – 25
Goals: Jared McCann – 11
Assists: Andre Burakovsky – 16
Goalie: Martin Jones – 12-4-2, 2.90 GAA, .893 SV%
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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.
