Kraken vs Golden Knights Odds, Lines and Picks – Vegas Heavily Favored in Seattle’s Debut

• The Seattle Kraken begin their inaugural season against Vegas on Tuesday, October 12th 2021
• The Golden Knights are listed as heavy home favorites at T-Mobile Arena
• Read below for the odds, game preview and betting pick

The Seattle Kraken will play their first game in franchise history when they travel to Vegas to face the Golden Knights on Tuesday, October 12th 2021. Puck drop is slated for 10:00 PM EST at T-Mobile Arena. The broadcast will be carried by ESPN.

The Golden Knights are listed as heavy home favorites after posting an impressing record at the Fortress last season. The Kraken excelled in the preseason, but could be missing several key players for their regular-season debut.

Can the Kraken spoil Vegas’ home opener?

Seattle Kraken vs Vegas Golden Knights NHL Odds

Odds as of Oct. 11 at DraftKings.

Release The Kraken

The Seattle Kraken will play their first-ever NHL regular-season game Tuesday evening after drafting their roster during the Expansion Draft this offseason. The Kraken have several notable players on their team, including defenseman Mark Giordano, goalie Philipp Grubauer and forward Jordan Eberle. The group went 4-2-0 in the preseason.

Captain of the Seattle Kraken has a nice ring to it.

We’re proud to announce Mark Giordano (@MarkGio05) as the first-ever Captain in our organization’s history. pic.twitter.com/zHu95dI1Lm

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) October 11, 2021

The Kraken will have to find a way to win without several important pieces. Yanni Gourde and Colin Blackwell will miss the opener due to injury, while Calle Jarnkrok, Marcus Johansson, Jared McCann, Jamie Oleksiak and Joonas Donskoi are all on the COVID protocol list. It’s unclear if any of them will be available against Vegas.

Seattle will be looking to follow in the footsteps of the last NHL expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas entered the league in 2017 and went out to reach the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. It’s only fitting Seattle plays Vegas in its first game of the season. The two teams didn’t meet in the preseason.

Vegas Thrives At Fortress

The Golden Knights will look to build off their success at T-Mobile Arena last season when they welcome Seattle to Vegas on Tuesday. The Golden Knights were one of the league’s best home teams last year, posting a 21-5-2 record at the Fortress. They weren’t necessarily dominant wins, however, as Vegas went 12-16 ATS at home.

Hang it in a museum 🖼 pic.twitter.com/dkUuCrwrdu

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 8, 2021

Vegas is heavily favored to win the Pacific in the NHL Divisional odds after finishing second behind Colorado in the West Division last year. The Golden Knights return almost all their key players from that roster, including forward Mark Stone, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and goalie Robin Lehner.

The concern for Vegas entering the regular season is they didn’t look all that impressive in preseason. VGK posted a 3-4-0 record in exhibition play, including a 4-0 loss to San Jose in their preseason finale. The team is also dealing with some injuries, as Nic Roy and Brett Howden are not expected to play Tuesday, while Mattias Janmark is in COVID protocol.

Kraken vs Golden Knights NHL Predictions

You never want to read much into preseason, but the Vegas team that got shutout by San Jose on Saturday is very similar to the team that will be playing Seattle. The Golden Knights could be potentially in for a slow start, while the Kraken are sure to be amped up for their first-ever regular-season game.

preppin' for vegas.👊 pic.twitter.com/CzTwuxWNoI

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) October 7, 2021

The COVID protocol list is key to betting this game. Seattle is already thin on offense, and if Jarnkrok, Johansson, McCann and  Donskoi are all unavailable Tuesday, the Kraken will struggle to find the back of the net. Seattle’s defense is solid, however, and Grubauer is a top-five contender in the Vezina odds.

With the Golden Knights preseason struggles and Seattle’s COVID concerns, this game has low-scoring written all over it. Lehner should shut the door in his first start since the Marc-Andre Fleury trade, while Grubauer will look to make a statement in his first game with his new team. Trust the two talented goalies and bet the “under”.

Pick: Under 5.5 (-130)