by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Apr 29, 2022
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Venue: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Where to watch: ROOT-NW+, NBC Sports California
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Kraken -120, Sharks +100
BetMGM: Kraken -120, Sharks +100
Caesars: Kraken -120, Sharks +100
Season record
Sharks: 32-36-13
Kraken: 26-48-6
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Sharks - Kraken preview and analysis
The final time the Seattle Kraken will play at Climate Pledge Arena this season, capping off what’s been a very weird inaugural season for the newest club in the league, will take place Friday when they host the San Jose Sharks in the Pacific Northwest.
The Kraken have had a weird season to boot, given the expansion draft went in many different directions than anticipated, but one surefire thing was that the Kraken were not going to strike the same magic that the Vegas Golden Knights had in their first year.
Instead, the Kraken will be playing for top-tier lottery odds and are sure to bolster their prospect pool after acquiring so many draft picks over the next three years and getting a head start on Matty Beniers’ NHL career.
Seattle is coming off a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, a night where the Kings rested a bunch of their players fresh off clinching a playoff spot, as the Kraken lost their fourth straight game.
Jared McCann scored his 27th goal of the season, which is fantastic, as did Jordan Eberle and Ryan Donato also scoring, but there wasn’t much to enjoy. It’s been a dud of a start for Philipp Grubauer as the Kraken’s No. 1 goalie after last year’s Vezina Trophy finalist gave up a ton of goals on just 23 shots.
"When you score goals, sometimes you think it's going to be an easy night," Donato said. "Not pointing fingers at anybody, but the whole team. You take a couple of shifts off and those come right back in your net. So for us, we're not good enough to take shifts off. We've got to make sure we're attentive every time, and we weren't."
It’s a shame we can’t look back on this group and say what could’ve been with Vladimir Tarasenko and others that could’ve made this team more fun and potentially a playoff contender. The world may never know, but at least the future is built well enough to give Seattle fans a lot more to enjoy going forward.
The Sharks meanwhile are not quite there yet. Yes, they can get big-time victories over the Golden Knights and essentially end their bitter rivals’ season in a thud, but the future of this group is shrouded in mystery.
San Jose is coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to the playoff-bound Edmonton Oilers thanks to Zach Hyman’s goal 1:37 into the extra frame. The Sharks got two goals from Noah Gregor, but it wasn’t enough to not end this season soon enough.
"I thought we played strong for most of the game, we had a lot of O-zone time which is something we haven't been able to do a lot throughout the year, so that was a big positive," Gregor said. "But holding on to leads, we weren't quite able to do it, and when you're in those situations you can't let them back in the game. Then they win it in overtime."
Much like last year and even the year before, the Sharks have a lot of salary cap questions to answer for next season, while also wondering if there are pieces on this group that just don’t fit the build anymore. I for one can’t wait to see what happens in a different direction other than Doug Wilson, but it’s going to be interesting.
Prediction
I think the home crowd would want to see their team send them off with a bang. And while odds may not appear likely, the Kraken should come out strong against a very weird team and get a win to send Seattleites to whatever it is they do for a lengthy summer. Kraken win 5-3
Betting trends
Sharks are 41-62 against division opponents the past three seasons.
Kraken are 5-20 this season against division opponents.
Kraken are 2-7 after playing two straight division games.
Projected lines
Sharks:
Timo Meier -- Tomas Hertl -- Alexander Barabanov
Nick Bonino -- Logan Couture -- Matt Nieto
Rudolfs Balcers -- Thomas Bordeleau -- Noah Gregor
Jonah Gadjovich -- Sasha Chmelevski -- Scott Reedy
Mario Ferraro -- Brent Burns
Jaycob Megna -- Nicolas Meloche
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Ryan Merkley
James Reimer
Timo Meier -- Tomas Hertl -- Alexander Barabanov
Nick Bonino -- Logan Couture -- Matt Nieto
Rudolfs Balcers -- Thomas Bordeleau -- Noah Gregor
Jonah Gadjovich -- Sasha Chmelevski -- Scott Reedy
Mario Ferraro -- Brent Burns
Jaycob Megna -- Nicolas Meloche
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Ryan Merkley
James Reimer
Kraken:
Ryan Donato -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Joonas Donskoi -- Riley Sheahan -- Daniel Sprong
Jared McCann -- Yanni Gourde -- Karson Kuhlman
Victor Rask -- Alex Wennberg -- Kole Lind
Adam Larsson -- Vince Dunn
Cale Fleury -- Carson Soucy
Jamie Oleksiak -- Will Borgen
Philipp Grubauer
Ryan Donato -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Joonas Donskoi -- Riley Sheahan -- Daniel Sprong
Jared McCann -- Yanni Gourde -- Karson Kuhlman
Victor Rask -- Alex Wennberg -- Kole Lind
Adam Larsson -- Vince Dunn
Cale Fleury -- Carson Soucy
Jamie Oleksiak -- Will Borgen
Philipp Grubauer
Statistical leaders
Sharks:
Points: Timo Meier -- 76
Goals: Timo Meier -- 35
Assists: Brent Burns -- 44
Goalie: James Reimer -- 19-17-10, 2.90 GAA, .911 SV%
Kraken:
Points: Jared McCann -- 49
Goals: Jared McCann -- 27
Assists: Vince Dunn -- 28
Goalie: Philipp Grubauer -- 18-31-5, 3.16 GAA, .889 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.
