Seattle Kraken vs Colorado Avalanche Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/18/2023

Game Time: 10:00 pm ET, Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Venue:  Ball Arena, Denver, CO

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Kraken +155, Avalanche -180; Over/Under:  6 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Kraken +155, Avalanche -180; Over/Under:  6 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Kraken +155, Avalanche -180; Over/Under:  6 goals

Seattle Kraken:  46-28-8 (4th place, Pacific Division)

Colorado Avalanche:  51-24-7 (1st place, Central Division)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Will Rogers is on a HOCKEY HOT STREAK as he is 5-1 L6 NHL! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Seattle Kraken:  6-4-0 last 10

Colorado Avalanche:  8-1-1 last 10

The Kraken are entering this game finishing the regular season with 100 points, a 46-28-8 record overall, and they were 26-11-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 2 game losing streak with losses coming against the Vegas Golden Knights in their last 2 games, losing that last one at home 3-1. Jaden Schwartz had 1 goal. Morgan Geekie and Alexander Wennberg each led the team in assists with 1 while Morgan Geekie, Jared McCann, and Daniel Sprong each led the team in shots on net in that game with 4. Philipp Grubauer was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 18 shots with 16 saves and a .889 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 289 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 256 goals against them allowing 3.1 goals per game.

The Avalanche are entering this game finishing the regular season with 109 points, a 51-24-7 record overall, and they were 22-13-6 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 2 game winning streak with wins coming against the Winnipeg Jets and the Nashville Predators in their last game, winning that one on the road 4-3. Nathan MacKinnon scored 3 goals in that game while Devon Toews had 1 goal. Mikko Rantanen led the team in assists with 2 while Nathan MacKinnon led the team in shots on net in that game with 8. Alexandar Georgiev was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 21 shots with 18 saves and a .857 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 280 goals this season averaging 3.4 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 226 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Avalanche listed as a big favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 1 of a 7-game series between the Kraken and the Avalanche for the 1st round of the NHL Western Conference playoffs. The Avalanche finished the regular season with 109 points and they won the Central Division as they look to repeat their Stanley Cup win from last year. The Kraken finished the regular season with 100 points which is very good for a Wild Card team but this is still a franchise in its 2nd season ever and they are going to have a tall mountain to climb with the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Kraken were a good road team this year with their 26-11-4 road record while the Avalanche were 22-13-6 in their home games, but the Avalanche have been the much hotter team over the last few weeks. The Kraken are entering this series with 2 losses in a row while the Avalanche ended the season with 2 wins in a row and they have won 8 of their last 10 games too. The Avalanche will be looking to start their Stanley Cup defending run by getting out to a series lead here at home and they will take advantage of being at home in these first 2 games. The best way to place a bet here is on the Avalanche to win this game and on the puckline. 

Kraken Avalanche Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Tuesday, April 18, 2023 (10:00 pm ET start time) is Avalanche 5 Kraken 2.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Seattle Kraken Colorado Avalanche prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NHL predictions and previews.

Seattle Kraken: 73-91 (-11.7 units) on the moneyline in all games. 30-43 (-11 units) on the moneyline after 1 or more consecutive unders. 31-18 OVER after a division game. 30-17 OVER after 2 or more consecutive losses.

Colorado Avalanche: 13-4 (+7.4 units) on the moneyline after scoring 4 goals or more in 2 straight games. 15-6 (+8.2 units) on the moneyline revenging a same season loss vs opponent. 29-13 OVER off 2 consecutive wins against division rivals. 30-19 OVER off a road win scoring 4 or more goals.

Seattle Kraken:  D. Sprong (RW) Ques Tues - Undisclosed. M. Jones (G) Prob Tues - Hand. A. Burakovsky (LW) Out indefinitely - Lower Body. J. Hayden (C) out for season - Lower Body. J. Donskoi (RW) Out indefinitely - Concussion.

Colorado Avalanche:  A. Cogliano (C) Ques Tues - Upper Body. D. Malgin (C) Ques Tues - Undisclosed. G. Landeskog (LW) out for season - Knee. D. Helm (LW) Out indefinitely - Lower Body. C. Makar (D) Out indefinitely - Lower Body. J. Manson (D) Out indefinitely - Lower Body.

“We played pretty damn hard. We had some good looks. I thought we could have created maybe a little bit more, mostly in the third period. I thought we worked really hard offensively. We generated enough.” - Dave Hakstol after his team’s loss against the Golden Knights in their final game of the regular season.

“These guys have put their heart and soul into this season, this regular season. Getting stronger and stronger as the year has gone on against whatever adversity we have faced. We’ve had different guys step up at different times and our leaders have been outstanding.” - Jared Bednar after his team’s win against the Predators in their final game of the regular season.

LW McCann, Jared

C Beniers, Matthew

RW Eberle, Jordan

LD Dunn, Vince

RD Larsson, Adam

G Grubauer, Philipp

LW Rodrigues, Evan

C MacKinnon, Nathan

RW Rantanen, Mikko

LD Girard, Samuel

RD Toews, Devon

G Georgiev, Alexandar

Points: J. McCann (70)

Goals: J. McCann (40)

Assists: V. Dunn (50)

GAA: P. Grubauer (2.85)

Points: N. MacKinnon (111)

Goals: M. Rantanen (55)

Assists: N. MacKinnon (69)

GAA: A. Georgiev (2.53)

Coaches:

Seattle Kraken: Dave Hakstol (2nd season)

Colorado Avalanche: Jared Bednar (7th season)