Seattle Kraken vs. Columbus Blue Jackets March 3 Betting Preview

On Friday night, the Seattle Kraken will pay a visit to Ohio to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. On paper, this game is something of a mismatch, as the Kraken enter this game with 14 more wins than their hosts. But the Blue Jackets cannot be counted out in this matchup, as the Jackets have played some of the best teams in the NHL tough over the last couple of weeks.

Seattle Kraken

Coming into Friday night, the Seattle Kraken are in third place in the Pacific Division, just four points behind the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights for first place. 

The Kraken have won two games in a row, beating the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings on the road. Here, they play for the second night in a row, after they were in Detroit just one night ago, which could cause problems for them tonight.

Seattle is a -173 favorite going into this contest, which could make them overpriced, given that they are just a night removed from an overtime game against the Red Wings. There is the potential for tired legs after that performance, especially after a game that featured nine total goals. That could really work in Columbus’ favor, with the question being whether or not the Jackets can take advantage.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus comes into this contest off of a win in their last game, after the Blue Jackets beat the Buffalo Sabres in their last outing. 

That moved the Blue Jackets up to 46 points on the season, just one point behind the Chicago Blackhawks at the bottom of the league standings. Columbus has a chance to move ahead of Chicago if they can get a win here, which could be an undeniable positive in what has been a negative season as a whole.

However, the Blue Jackets have their own scheduling concerns to worry about going into Friday night against Seattle. Columbus is on the first leg of a back-to-back here, as they play on the road against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. That could impact how much the Jackets throw into this game, as they have to leave something in the tank for a road trip North of the border over the weekend.

Keys To The Game

The number one key to this game for the Kraken will be their energy level after they had to play last night. Playing two nights in a row in a sport as grueling as hockey is tough enough, but it is even tougher after having to play an overtime period on night one. How the Kraken start this game will be very telling, and could shed light on some interesting in-play betting opportunities.

Meanwhile, the key to this game for Columbus will be their level of aggression coming out of the gate. They need to put pressure on what could be a tired Kraken team right from the opening face-off. If they can do that, they could move out of the league’s cellar here.