The NHL’s Global Series makes its way to Finland on Thursday, with the Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken a fitting pair of teams for the event. The Hurricanes' roster features three Finnish players, led by Sebastian Aho, while the Kraken also have three -- Kaapo Kakko being their most recognizable. Carolina left North America on a high note, defeating the lowly Chicago Blackhawks 9-2 in the last game. The 'Canes are 7-2-1 over their last 10 games and are three points clear of the next closest team in the Eastern Conference. While some teams have given them scares this season and they have lost five times, it still looks unlikely that any team will be able to outmatch them in a seven-game series by April.
The Kraken’s form wasn’t quite as good before heading to Finland, finishing off their schedule with a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday night. They are 5-4-1 over their last 10 games, which isn’t a bad result for a team that didn’t have big playoff expectations before the start of this season -- but the chances of them maintaining it over 84 games is in question. Seattle has been better than expected this season, and it’s hard to bet against the Hurricanes -- especially in a marquee game like this. However, the value we are getting with the Kraken in this game is too good to ignore. If you are ever going to bet against the Hurricanes, a Thursday afternoon game in Finland -- where anything can happen -- is probably the play.
Hurricanes vs Kraken prediction: Seattle ML (+220) available at time of publishing. Playable at that price.
