Seattle's Lucky Run Meets a Wild Team Owed a Few Goals
Minnesota arrives still searching for a road win after Edmonton and Calgary, with barely any standings space between these Western clubs.
Written before the game
The Seattle Kraken have been winning games they probably shouldn't, and the Minnesota Wild have been losing games they probably shouldn't. Saturday's meeting puts both of those runs to the test.
Over their last 10 games, Minnesota has created far better chances. Its looks have been worth 4.08 expected goals a night (expected goals measures how many goals a team's chances should produce). Seattle's have been worth just 2.95, and the Kraken give up far more shot attempts than they take. Yet Seattle won six of those 10 games and Minnesota won five. In plain terms, the bounces have gone Seattle's way.
The standings are just as close. Seattle (7-3-1, 15 points) sits third in the West after two straight wins. Minnesota (6-3-2, 14 points) is fifth. The Wild are perfect at home at 4-0-0 but only 2-3-2 on the road, and they are coming off a shootout loss in Edmonton and a 2-1 loss in Calgary.
If the Wild keep generating chances at this rate, the finishing should eventually follow. The question is whether it starts in Seattle.