The Minnesota Wild head to Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday looking to snap a three-game road skid, while the Seattle Kraken bring a 7-3-1 record into a 10 p.m. ET meeting on ESPN+.
The computer projection model leans Seattle in a tight one, calling for a 4-3 Kraken win.
Minnesota has built its 6-3-2 start with a knack for hanging around in close games. The Wild are 2-2-2 in six one-goal contests, and their only game with just one goal ended in a loss.
When they’ve managed exactly two goals, they’ve taken three points from four games, going 1-2-1. The offense has been much more dangerous when the Wild get to three or more; they’ve done that in six games and come away 5-0-1.
They’ve also been effective when special teams chip in, going 5-1-1 in seven games in which they’ve scored once on the power play. And when Minnesota wins the shot battle, it usually pays off - the Wild are 5-2-0 in those games.
If they get outshot, the margin gets much thinner, with a 1-1-2 record in four such contests.
Seattle’s start has been even stronger, and the Kraken have shown a similar pattern: score enough, and they’re tough to slow down. They are 2-1-3 in overtime games, and the lone time they scored only once, they lost.
In the two games when they scored two goals, Seattle picked up one win and one loss. But when the Kraken reach three goals or more, they’ve piled up 13 points in eight games.
They’ve also been productive in the one-power-play-goal range, going 4-2-1 in seven such matchups. Shot volume has mattered too: Seattle is 3-0-0 when it outshoots its opponent.
Even when the other team has more attempts, the Kraken have still stayed afloat, going 4-3-1 in eight of those games.
The broader numbers show the contrast between the two teams. Minnesota ranks 17th in goals scored at 2.91 per game and 5th in goals allowed at 2.45.
Seattle sits 4th in goals scored at 3.82 per game, though its defense has been looser, ranking 24th with 3.36 goals allowed. The Wild are also ahead in shot prevention, giving up 25.7 shots per game to Seattle’s 31.5, and Minnesota’s power play has been the sharper unit so far at 25.71% compared with the Kraken’s 25.00%.
On the penalty kill, though, Seattle has work to do: the Wild are at 78.38%, while the Kraken sit at 68.75%.
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