Free NHL Picks Today: Detroit Red Wings vs Seattle Kraken 3/2/23

The Detroit Red Wings (28-24-8) will be hoping to end their losing run when they welcome the Seattle Kraken (33-21-6) at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday. Seattle is coming off a high-scoring 5-3 win over the Blues on Tuesday, breaking a run of three defeats in a row.

The Kraken committed four penalties in the game, though they held St. Louis without a power play goal. Morgan Geekie was the top goalscorer for the Kraken with two goals. Eeli Tolvanen had three assists to lead the team in scoring.

Martin Jones allowed three goals on 25 shots against (.880%) in the win. Detroit dropped their third straight game, falling 6-1 to the Senators on Tuesday. Dominik Kubalik netted the only goal for the Red Wings. Ville Husso only had 21 saves on 27 shots against (.777%) in the loss.

HEAD TO HEAD

The Kraken won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 4-2 victory in February. Jordan Eberle led Seattle with three points (2G 1A). Pius Suter and Dylan Larkin were on the scoresheet for Detroit. Philipp Grubauer got the win, saving 21 of 23 shots (.913%).

FACING OFF

Seattle is averaging 3.47 goals per game for the season, sixth in the NHL, and they are taking on a Red Wings team that is allowing 3.22 goals a game (19th). Meanwhile, Detroit has found the net 3.00 times a game on average, 21st in the league, and the Kraken are allowing opponents to score 3.15 goals per game (17th).

Detroit averages fewer shots per game (28.7) than most teams in the league, ranking 29th, though the team’s 10.6% shooting percentage is 10th. Seattle has proven to be one of the league’s less successful shot-stopping teams, ranking No. 29 with a team save percentage of .891%.

The Red Wings’ 20.28% power play percentage ranks 17th in the league, while the Kraken are 22nd with a conversion rate of 19.77%. While efficient on the power play, Seattle has been less impressive at penalty killing, as the away team owns the league’s fourth-lowest PK% at 73.41%. Detroit’s 77.53% ranks 18th in the NHL.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Eberle and Vince Dunn have been the top skaters for the Kraken this season with 47 and 44 points. In the net, Jones (23-10-3) is Seattle’s top goaltender by goals against average.

He has a 2.93 GAA and a .890% save percentage.Larkin leads the Red Wings in scoring with 57 points. He has 22 goals and 35 assists in 59 games. Husso (23-14-5) has the best goals against average for Detroit at 2.83. He has a save percentage of .907%.