Two teams trying to make up ground in the play race in their respective conferences will face off on Thursday night when the Washington Capitals travel to Seattle, Washington, to face the Seattle Kraken at the Climate Pledge Arena, with the puck scheduled to drop at 10:00 PM ET and will air on Root Sports Northeast.

Washington is on a two-game losing streak and on a streak of losing by multiple goals following Monday’s 0-3 shutout loss on the road against the Winnipeg Jets and Wednesday’s 2-7 loss on the road against the Edmonton Oilers. Struggling to score goals this season is nothing new for the Capitals as they have been a below-average team all season, averaging the 4^th fewest goals per game in the league with an average of 2.7 goals per game. 

The Capitals looked like they had improved at the beginning of the month. They won three of their first four games in March and were highly effective at scoring goals, averaging 4.25 goals per game over that stretch. However, Washington has only scored two goals total over their last two games. Washington was blown out at home against Seattle in the only other matchup this season and lost by a score of 1-4. 

The Capitals will look to avenge that loss on Thursday night when they travel to face the Kraken on the road.

Like the Capitals, the Seattle Kraken enter this game having lost two games in a row following Tuesday’s 4-5 loss in overtime against the Vegas Golden Knights and also lost to the Winnipeg Jets 0-3. Seattle, a playoff team last season, has not had the same success this season as they enter this game with a record of 28-24-12 and 68 points, which puts them in 11^th place in the Western Conference and 9 points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the final Wild Card spots. 

Seattle’s struggles this season have been a result of its offensive play. They are averaging the 5^th fewest goals per game with an average of 2.78 goals per game. However, the Kraken have scored four goals in three of their last four games this season. 

The Kraken won convincingly in the first matchup this season against the Washington Capitals by a score of 4-1. They will look to end their two-game losing streak and improve their record to 2-0 against the Capitals when they face Washington at home on Thursday night.

WagerWeb lists the Seattle Kraken as -165 moneyline favorites at home against the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. Seattle holds the slight series edge all-time with a record of 3-2, with two of the three wins coming at home. Seattle has won by an average margin of two goals per game when hosting the Capitals in the series.

Both teams enter this matchup on two-game losing streaks. However, Seattle has been playing better offensively, as they have scored at least four goals in three of their last four games, while Washington has only scored two goals in their previous two games this season. The Kraken have not lost to the Washington Capitals at home since their expansion with a record of 2-0 against the Capitals and have won the games by an average margin of two goals per game. 

The Kraken also defeated the Capitals on the road earlier this season by a score of 4-1. I look for the Seattle Kraken to win this game convincingly, which is why I am taking the puck line for the Seattle Kraken at -1.5 when they host the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.