by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Feb 20, 2023
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Venue: SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Where to watch: ROOT-NW, NBCSCA
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Kraken -150, Sharks +130
FanDuel: Kraken -156, Sharks +130
BetMGM: Kraken -150, Sharks +125
Caesars: Kraken -145, Sharks +122
Season record
Kraken: 32-18-6
Sharks: 17-29-11
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!
Kraken - Sharks preview, prediction and analysis
The Seattle Kraken will be playing the San Jose Sharks on Monday, February 20 in San Jose, California.
The Seattle Kraken won against the Detroit Red Wings last Saturday, February 18 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington with a score of 4-2. The Seattle Kraken currently rank 3rd in the Pacific Division.
Jordan Eberle had two goals and an assist for the Seattle Kraken. Eberle, a forward, has scored three goals in his past four games after going 12 without one.
"The biggest thing is you just want to try and do the same things, create as much as you can," Eberle said. "Odds are things always equal out in the end. I've heard that many times and as long as you're doing the right things and you're creating and getting chances, I mean, things tend to equal out."
Matty Beniers had two assists, and Philipp Grubauer made 21 saves for the Kraken (32-18-6), who are 3-0-1 in their past four.
"I was happy with the effort," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "We got off to a good start, we built a lead. We didn't manage the puck very well in the last 10 minutes and that caused a lot of trouble for us, but [Grubauer] was good and we got through it. We had the benefit of the lead that we built in the first 50 [minutes]."
Eberle gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead at 16:50 of the first period when his wrist shot from between the face-off circles trickled between Husso's skates. Pius Suter tied it 1-1 with 16 seconds left in the first. Shortly after intercepting Vince Dunn's pass in the neutral zone, Suter turned and fired a rebound from between the circles past Grubauer.
Eberle scored again at 2:05 of the second period. Beniers drove the left wing against Larkin and managed to feed Eberle, who snapped a shot from the edge of the left circle to give Seattle a 2-1 lead.
Jamie Oleksiak made it 3-1 with eight seconds left in the second when he drove toward the net during a 4-on-4 situation and redirected Beniers' feed from the right circle.
"I kind of had some time and just got my head up, and [Oleksiak's] sitting backdoor," Beniers said. "It was a great play by him to jump into the play and get there and sneak behind their defender, and it was just an easy pass."
Eeli Tolvanen scored at 4:49 of the third period, poking in a loose puck after Will Borgen's shot was knocked down in front to make it 4-1. Dylan Larkin roofed a shot over Grubauer at 17:39 for the 4-2 final.
"The strength of this team is the depth we have," Eberle said. "We get contributions from different lines each night, from the back end each night. For me, you go into playoffs and you have that, that's a tough thing to beat."
The Seattle Kraken have won five of their last 10 games.
The San Jose Sharks lost against the Buffalo Sabres last Saturday, February 18 at SAP Center in San Jose, California with a score of 4-2. The San Jose Sharks currently rank 7th in the Pacific Division.
Evgeny Svechnikov and Alexander Barabanov scored for the Sharks (17-29-11), who have lost three straight. Kaapo Kahkonen made 27 saves.
Dylan Cozens gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 3:01 of the first period, finishing an end-to-end rush by beating Kahkonen five-hole from the bottom of the right circle. Svechnikov tied it 1-1 at 16:49 when he redirected a wrist shot from Jacob MacDonald.
Owen Power put the Sabres back in front 2-1 at 6:26 of the second period with a backhand five-hole from in front. Barabanov tied it again 2-2 at 11:57. He scored into an open net after Erik Karlsson's shot deflected wide off the stick of Logan Couture and caromed to him off the end boards.
"I thought we did a good job twice [of answering] and just ran out of time for a third one," MacDonald said. "But I think that the mindset is there to do that. If things go a different way on a couple of shots, it's a different game."
Jeff Skinner put the Sabres ahead 3-2 at 9:52 of the third. After winning a battle with Mario Ferraro behind the net, Tage Thompson poked the loose puck at the edge of the crease to Skinner, who shot into an open net. Skinner's goal came after Kahkonen stopped Peyton Krebs on a penalty shot at 1:23 of the third.
"It really seemed like we got very demoralized after they went up 3-2. Whereas when it was 1-0 and 2-1 we kept playing," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "I thought we really played well the first two periods and controlled a lot of the play. I didn't love our third. They turned it up a notch. I thought we took a step back, and just miscommunication on the [third] goal. It looked like we got easily demoralized after they went up 3-2. We didn't do much after that."
Alex Tuch scored into an empty net at 18:59 for the 4-2 final.
The San Jose Sharks have won three of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The Sharks just can't get anything good to go their way. Seattle can blitz this group with no trouble. Kraken 4, Sharks 2
The Seattle Kraken won against the Detroit Red Wings last Saturday, February 18 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington with a score of 4-2. The Seattle Kraken currently rank 3rd in the Pacific Division.
Jordan Eberle had two goals and an assist for the Seattle Kraken. Eberle, a forward, has scored three goals in his past four games after going 12 without one.
"The biggest thing is you just want to try and do the same things, create as much as you can," Eberle said. "Odds are things always equal out in the end. I've heard that many times and as long as you're doing the right things and you're creating and getting chances, I mean, things tend to equal out."
Matty Beniers had two assists, and Philipp Grubauer made 21 saves for the Kraken (32-18-6), who are 3-0-1 in their past four.
"I was happy with the effort," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "We got off to a good start, we built a lead. We didn't manage the puck very well in the last 10 minutes and that caused a lot of trouble for us, but [Grubauer] was good and we got through it. We had the benefit of the lead that we built in the first 50 [minutes]."
Eberle gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead at 16:50 of the first period when his wrist shot from between the face-off circles trickled between Husso's skates. Pius Suter tied it 1-1 with 16 seconds left in the first. Shortly after intercepting Vince Dunn's pass in the neutral zone, Suter turned and fired a rebound from between the circles past Grubauer.
Eberle scored again at 2:05 of the second period. Beniers drove the left wing against Larkin and managed to feed Eberle, who snapped a shot from the edge of the left circle to give Seattle a 2-1 lead.
Jamie Oleksiak made it 3-1 with eight seconds left in the second when he drove toward the net during a 4-on-4 situation and redirected Beniers' feed from the right circle.
"I kind of had some time and just got my head up, and [Oleksiak's] sitting backdoor," Beniers said. "It was a great play by him to jump into the play and get there and sneak behind their defender, and it was just an easy pass."
Eeli Tolvanen scored at 4:49 of the third period, poking in a loose puck after Will Borgen's shot was knocked down in front to make it 4-1. Dylan Larkin roofed a shot over Grubauer at 17:39 for the 4-2 final.
"The strength of this team is the depth we have," Eberle said. "We get contributions from different lines each night, from the back end each night. For me, you go into playoffs and you have that, that's a tough thing to beat."
The Seattle Kraken have won five of their last 10 games.
The San Jose Sharks lost against the Buffalo Sabres last Saturday, February 18 at SAP Center in San Jose, California with a score of 4-2. The San Jose Sharks currently rank 7th in the Pacific Division.
Evgeny Svechnikov and Alexander Barabanov scored for the Sharks (17-29-11), who have lost three straight. Kaapo Kahkonen made 27 saves.
Dylan Cozens gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 3:01 of the first period, finishing an end-to-end rush by beating Kahkonen five-hole from the bottom of the right circle. Svechnikov tied it 1-1 at 16:49 when he redirected a wrist shot from Jacob MacDonald.
Owen Power put the Sabres back in front 2-1 at 6:26 of the second period with a backhand five-hole from in front. Barabanov tied it again 2-2 at 11:57. He scored into an open net after Erik Karlsson's shot deflected wide off the stick of Logan Couture and caromed to him off the end boards.
"I thought we did a good job twice [of answering] and just ran out of time for a third one," MacDonald said. "But I think that the mindset is there to do that. If things go a different way on a couple of shots, it's a different game."
Jeff Skinner put the Sabres ahead 3-2 at 9:52 of the third. After winning a battle with Mario Ferraro behind the net, Tage Thompson poked the loose puck at the edge of the crease to Skinner, who shot into an open net. Skinner's goal came after Kahkonen stopped Peyton Krebs on a penalty shot at 1:23 of the third.
"It really seemed like we got very demoralized after they went up 3-2. Whereas when it was 1-0 and 2-1 we kept playing," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "I thought we really played well the first two periods and controlled a lot of the play. I didn't love our third. They turned it up a notch. I thought we took a step back, and just miscommunication on the [third] goal. It looked like we got easily demoralized after they went up 3-2. We didn't do much after that."
Alex Tuch scored into an empty net at 18:59 for the 4-2 final.
The San Jose Sharks have won three of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The Sharks just can't get anything good to go their way. Seattle can blitz this group with no trouble. Kraken 4, Sharks 2
Betting trends
Favorite has won the last four meetings.
Home team has also won the last four meetings.
Kraken have won four of the last five meetings.
Projected lines
Kraken:
Jared McCann -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen -- Yanni Gourde -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Jaden Schwartz - Alex Wennberg -- Brandon Tanev
Ryan Donato -- Morgan Geekie -- Daniel Sprong
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 -- Daniel Sprong
Vince Dunn -- Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak -- Will Borgen
Carson Soucy -- Justin Schultz
Philipp Grubauer
Sharks:
Tomas Hertl -- Nick Bonino -- Timo Meier
Michael Eyssimont -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Kevin Labanc -- Nico Sturm -- Noah Gregor
Oskar Lindblom -- Steven Lorentz -- Evgeny Svechnikov
Scott Harrington -- Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Matt Benning
Mario Ferraro -- Jacob MacDonald
James Reimer
Tomas Hertl -- Nick Bonino -- Timo Meier
Michael Eyssimont -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Kevin Labanc -- Nico Sturm -- Noah Gregor
Oskar Lindblom -- Steven Lorentz -- Evgeny Svechnikov
Scott Harrington -- Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Matt Benning
Mario Ferraro -- Jacob MacDonald
James Reimer
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Seattle Kraken - San Jose Sharks prediction, 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.
