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Kraken vs Ducks: Who wins the Pacific Division matchup?
The Anaheim Ducks will host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night at the Honda Center looking for their only second home win in December.
Can Seattle catch up with the rest of the conference?
The Seattle Kraken made things happen last season, but this campaign does not look that promising. Currently, they are 13th in the Western Conference with an 11-14-9 record. Recently, the Kraken were on an eight-game losing streak which cost them a significant drop in the standings. They have won 3 of the last 5 games with both of those losses coming after a tie in regulation. Seattle is traveling to Anaheim after an impressive 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
How bad the Ducks actually are?
The Anaheim Ducks are 14th in the Western Conference with a 12-20-0 record. They have the worst home record in the entire NHL, winning only 5 of 16 games on home ice. The Ducks won only one game from mid-November to mid-December and then beat the Devils and the Red Wings in back-to-back nights before losing to the Flames 3-0 in their last game. Trevor Zegras is still out with an injury, which is one of the main reasons for the Ducks’ poor season.
Betting Trends
Seattle is 4-1 straight up in the last 5 games against Anaheim. The Ducks are only 3-14 straight up in the last 17 games overall and 1-7 in the last 8 home games, and 1-9 in their last 10 games against an opponent in the Western Conference.
Player to watch
Despite their current position in the standings, the Kraken are a solid defensive team, being ranked 14th in goals allowed per game with 3.12. The main reason for that is goalie Joey Daccord, who is ranked 13th in the league in goals allowed per game with 2.56 and 16th in save percentage with 31.1%.
Injury Reports
Trevor Zegras and Isac Lundestrom are out for Seattle while Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Andre Burakovsky, Philipp Grubauer, and Jaden Schwartz are out for the Ducks.
Prediction and Conclusion
This is a matchup between two teams from the bottom third of the Western Conference standings, but there is actually a huge quality gap between them. The Ducks are terrible all season long, and despite winning two in a row recently, things have not significantly changed. The Kraken have the potential to be much better and will prove that tonight with a road win against their division rival.
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