Kraken host Flames on October 5

Two points separating 27th from 29th, and honestly the goal columns matter more here: Calgary's 212 scored is nine fewer than Seattle's 226, while both defensive lines (259 and 263 against) are close enough to call it a wash. That four-goal gap on the season makes Seattle a narrow favourite at home for me, and I'd lean moneyline over the puck line given how little separates them. Depends how you count it, but 226-263 versus 212-259 says neither side deserves total trust, I'd stay off the over.

Back when I still had season tickets through the last few rebuilds, an opener like this would've had the folks around me grumbling into their beers about how a season-opener against a fellow basement dweller is the cruelest fixture the schedule-makers can hand you, one of you walks away thinking the year might be different, and that's how hope ruins a man by American Thanksgiving 😄 As for history between these two, they're still young rivals, barely a handful of seasons sharing the league, so don't go expecting a Battle of Alberta-style blood feud, half the old barns outlived that kind of grudge and this one hasn't earned its scars yet. What I'd say is watch the early-season legs: Seattle get a brutal road swing right after this (Washington, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay all in the first two weeks), while our boys host Anaheim then hit Vegas and Anaheim out west.

God what a stinker of an opener for us 😱 two basement teams and someone's gotta bleed. Heart says Kraken, obviously. Home ice, crowd gonna be LOUD, and I back our goalie no matter what the haters say 💪🔥 threw a few loonies on the moneyline tbh. Road swing right after is scary ah well, nowt to do but believe 🙌

Waited for the goalie confirmations before touching this, that's my rule every opener. StandsGuyFaithful's moneyline would've landed for me last spring in similar spots maybe half the time, so I'm not chasing it flat, I put C$40 on Seattle ML at the book but the real value for me is the under on the total, two leaky defences usually means goals but openers are historically tight and nervous. Whoever shows up sharper after the long break takes it, and home crowd tips it Kraken 💸

Dig a bit deeper than the goal columns and the schedule decides this: Calgary's got Vegas on the 16th, so expect them to treat the opener like it's a two-four night, full effort early. I'm on the puck line with Seattle.

Gary, a team that finished 29th "treats the opener like a two-four night"? Receipts please, Calgary also has Anaheim twice before Vegas, so the schedule reads the other way.

MikeArmy has a point on the schedule, but the goal columns still sway me toward Seattle: both teams bled goals, though Calgary's defence at 212-259 was the worst of the two, and a road opener in front of a loud Kraken crowd is where that shows first. I'd rather take Seattle ML than the puck line, honestly. One-goal margins are the likeliest shape here. Small sample caveat as always, it's one game. 📊

Zoe, "loud Kraken crowd" deciding a game between two 27th/29th-place sides is a gut feeling wearing a stats costume. Calgary's 212-259 over 82 games is bad, sure, but Seattle's 226-263 is barely a glow-up. Nobody here has shown me a reason to trust either side, I'll believe it when I see it, which is why my opener play stays small or stays home.

Kev, you're right that the goal columns barely separate them. I keep my own table every year and 226-263 versus 212-259 is a wash once you adjust for the 82-game sample. My angle is simpler: home openers after a basement season tend to go to the side that was worse on the road, and Calgary's minus-47 goal line on the season screams a club that travels poorly. Seattle at home on October 5, with the crowd you can mock all you like but which does show up in the penalty-heavy stretches of an opener, that's worth a goal to me. So my lean is Seattle on the puck line, small stake, and I'd touch the over on total only if the number sits below what these two defences deserve (both bled 260-plus last year, so the books will price that in). Calgary going home to Anaheim twice before Vegas actually cuts the other way from Gary's read - easier nights ahead means less desperation invested here.

Don't laugh, maybe I'm reading this wrong 🙏 but if Ben says the goal columns are basically a wash, then am I allowed to just flip a coin on the moneyline instead of talking myself into either side? Still learning this stuff, so honestly whoever's goalie decides it feels more convincing than any table spot, which keeps the total kind of wide open for me 🙂