Minnesota Wild vs Seattle Kraken Prediction 1/8/2026 Today’s NHL Picks

The Minnesota Wild and the Seattle Kraken meet Thursday in NHL action from Climate Pledge Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Minnesota Wild vs. Seattle Kraken prediction.

Minnesota Wild Recap

The Minnesota Wild come into this game looking to bounce back from a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings last time out to sit at 25-11-8 this season. After this game, Minnesota will head home for a game against the Islanders.

Wild Drop Back-To-Back Games

Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild in scoring with 49 points including 24 goals and a team-high 25 assists while Matt Boldy has 48 points including a team-high 26 goals and 22 assists. Marcus Johansson has 32 points with 12 goals and 20 assists. Joel Eriksson Ek has 32 points with 11 goals and 21 assists while Brock Faber has 24 points with 9 goals and 15 assists. Filip Gustavsson’s gone 14-9-4 with a 2.48 GAA and a .912 save percentage while Jesper Wallstedt is 11-2-4 with a 2.30 GAA and a .928 save percentage in goal for Minnesota this season. 

Seattle Kraken Recap

The Seattle Kraken come into this game looking to add on to their 7-4 win over the Boston Bruins last time out to sit at 20-14-7 this season. After this game, Seattle will head on the road for a game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Kraken Win 4 In A Row

Eeli Tolvanen has 25 points with a team-high 18 assists along with 7 goals while Jordan Eberle has 25 points with a team-high 14 goals and 11 assists. Chandler Stephenson has 24 points with 10 goals and 14 assists and Matty Beniers has 21 points with 17 assists. Vince Dunn’s added 20 points with 5 goals and 15 assists and Brandon Montour has 16 points with 6 goals and 10 assists. Joey Daccord has gone 12-9-5 with a 2.82 GAA and a .903 save percentage while Philipp Grubauer is 8-3-1 with a 2.22 GAA and a .926 save percentage this season. Matt Murray is also 0-2-1 with a 2.21 GAA and a .922 save percentage this season.

Minnesota Wild @ Seattle Kraken Betting Trends: January 8, 2026

Why the Seattle Kraken will win

• The Kraken have won eight of their last nine games as underdogs.
• The Wild have lost each of their last two games as favorites against opponents on a winning streak.
• The Kraken have covered the puck line in each of their last nine games.
• The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in eight of their last nine road games against opponents on a winning streak.
• The Wild have lost the second period in each of their last four games as road favorites against Pacific Division opponents when trailing after the first period.

Why the Minnesota Wild will win

• The Wild have won each of their last six road games against the Kraken.
• The Kraken have lost each of their last four games against opponents on a losing streak.
• The Wild have covered the puck line in each of their last four road games against the Kraken.
• The Kraken have failed to cover the puck line in three of their last four games against Central Division opponents.
• The Kraken have lost the second period in each of their last eight games as underdogs against Central Division opponents when leading after the first period.

Total Goals Facts

• Each of the Wild’s last seven road games have gone OVER the total goals line.
• Seven of the Kraken’s last eight home games against Western Conference opponents have gone UNDER the total goals line.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3’ market has hit in each of the Wild’s last 11 road games against opponents on a winning streak.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1’ market has hit in each of the Kraken’s last three home games.

Seattle Kraken Player Prop Facts

• Jared McCann has scored a goal in each of his last six Thursday appearances against Western Conference opponents.
• Kaapo Kakko has recorded an assist in each of the Kraken’s last four games.
• Kaapo Kakko has recorded an assist in each of his last four appearances – equal-longest active streak in the league.

Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts

• Matthew Boldy has recorded at least one assist in four of the Wild’s last five games against the Kraken.
• Kirill Kaprizov has scored at least one goal in each of his last four appearances against the Kraken.
• Quinn Hughes ranks 1st in the league for average time on ice (27:26) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Seattle Kraken rank 32nd in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (70.43%).
• The Seattle Kraken rank 26th in the league for goals per game this season (2.78).
• The Minnesota Wild rank 2nd in the league for goals against per game this season (2.64).
• The Minnesota Wild rank 26th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (76.92%).

Minnesota Wild vs. Seattle Kraken Prediction

I’m on Seattle here. Maybe it’s odd that the hotter team is catching this kind of plus money at home, but I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth. Seattle’s just playing the better hockey right now, plain and simple and I think this price is based on the lineups on both sides and not what these two have been doing as of late on the ice. So give me Seattle and the plus money.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: Seattle +135