New Years Day Game: Kraken vs VGK Prediction
Written by: Brad Blakemore
Last Update: Mon Jan 01, 2024, 2:17 pm ET
Read Time: 5 minutes
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Happy New Year everyone! We get to kick off 2024 with one of the NHL's marquee events, the Winter Classic. This is always an outdoors event which usually involves some of the top and most beloved teams of the league. This year we get the two "misfits" facing off in Seattle. That's right, two expansion teams. Teams who were both created from castoffs of from other franchises and two teams who have already found success in their brief existence. Today the Vegas Golden Knights will face the Seattle Kraken and we have a slew of NHL best bets to cover! But first, find all the betting information and lines for today's games on our NHL Picks page to give you an advantage when jumping into the NHL free bets!
Let's dive in!
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NHL Best Bet: VGK/SEA u6 (-117) Get 50% up to $750 Deposit on Bovada for this pick
Winter Classics are notorious for some turbulence. These are outdoor hockey events so the weather can effect the quality of the ice and pace of the game. While these evens are truly spectacular to watch, they don't always lead to the most predictable outcomes.
Out of the 14 Winter Classics only two have had more than 7 goals and only three additional games had 6 goals. Nearly a third of the Winter Classics have gone under 6 goals. Todays match also features two more defensive teams in the league. The history is tough to ignore and the push potential at 6 increases my confidence in the under 6 goals.
The Seattle Kraken are the leakier of the two teams. They are in the back half of goals against per game. Vegas is even stronger than them only allowing the 8th most goals against in the league. Vegas can put pucks in the back of the net, but on the flip side Seattle ranks 28th in goals for per game. They have struggled to score consistently all season. Combine this with unpredictable weather and ice quality and the under 6 goals feels like on of the NHL best bets today.
NHL Player Prop: Ivan Barbashev Point (+100) Get 50% up to $750 Deposit on Bovada for this pick
The Vegas Golden Knights can put pucks in nets. They rank 9th in goals for per game played in the league. And their top line has generated a good amount of this offensive output. Premier center of the league Jack Eichel centers the top line with Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev.
Both Eichel and Stone are -200 for a point, which shows how frequently they produce. But left winger Barbashev has a ton of value at +100. Barbashev has a point in 8 of his last 10 games since being put back on the top line.
As mentioned above Seattle is a stronger defensive team. But getting a top line winger at even money is too hard to pass up. Barbashev also has recorded a point in half of the last 8 games he has played against Seattle. If you would like to get more action on this top line you could take Eichel or Stone assists for -110. All three of these options feels like strong NHL bets today.
NHL Best Bet: Vince Dunn Point (-120)
While the Kraken have not been able to generate many goals game to game, they have had one consistent point producer. Their top defenseman Vince Dunn has been having another fantastic season as one of the leagues top puck movers. We are going straight to his point as my favorite player prop from the Kraken.
Dunn has a point in 60% of all games this season. This number gets even better at home where he has gotten on the scoresheet in 78% of games. While this game is a little different than the typical home game, he still seems to bring it in front of the home crowd. This consistency makes his point a great NHL free pick.
Vegas has struggled with their goaltenders lately. They have had some injuries which caused them to climb up the goals against per game list. In the last 10 games they have allowed the 4th most goals against in the league.
Now Vegas has gotten their starting netminder Logan Thomas back who will start today. This should help us with our under bet as he has a 2.8 goals against average this season. But even if Vegas is not be as leaky as their recent data shows with Thomas in net, their recent goals against average shows that there are cracks in their defense.
Vince Dunn point at -120 feels like fantastic value in such a marquee event.
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Brad Blakemore, better known as Betzky, is a desert rat who was born and raised in Tempe Arizona. Shockingly this didn't stop Betzky from becoming a hockey fanatic. He specializes in NHL capping, and is (unfortunately) a diehard Coyotes fan, through all the highs and (mostly) lows. When not consuming NHL action Betzky collects records of all genres, attends tons of concerts and spends time with the Mrs, their cat Brain and doggo Ned. Follow Betzky on Twitter/X @gretzkybetzkys or on the Parlay Science discord.
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