Check out a top prediction and pick for tonight’s Winnipeg Jets vs. Seattle Kraken matchup as part of Thursday’s 10-game NHL slate.

Thursday’s 10-game NHL slate winds down at 10 p.m. EST with a Western Conference clash. The Winnipeg Jets sit among the top teams in the conference with 20 points and take on the Kraken, another playoff hopeful with 19 points of their own.

Prepare for Thursday’s contest with a Jets vs. Kraken prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Jets vs. Kraken prediction, preview

Winnipeg Jets

The visiting Jets hit turbulence over the last week and a half with three straight losses; however, they’ve snapped out of the funk with a win on Tuesday over the Canucks with five goals, more than they’d scored in all games of that losing streak combined. Winnipeg’s 3.25 GF/GM rank 13th in the league, as does a power play hitting at 22.2%. Mark Scheifele’s 21 points rank among the league’s best and line partner Kyle Connor has 19 of his own. Defenseman Josh Morrissey is third on the team with 16 points, tied for second-most of any NHL skater at the position behind Cale Makar (of course). The Jets’ defense is sixth with just 2.63 GA/GP due in no small part to Connor Hellebuyck’s 2.35 GAA and .921 SV%. The penalty kill also sits fifth at 85.7%.

Seattle Kraken

The Kraken remain just one point behind the Jets but have been less dominant with five overtime games compared to none for Winnipeg. This is very much a defensive hockey team that looks to win the possession battle and grind opponents into submission, allowing just 2.75 GA/GM (eighth) while scoring only 2.50 GF/GM (31st). Only two Kraken skaters have reached a double-digit point total as Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz have 11 apiece. Matty Beniers has just nine points himself and sits tied with defensemen Brandon Montour and Vince Dunn. In net tonight is Philipp Grubauer with a 2.49 GAA and .875 SV% in three games. As for special teams, Seattle’s 18.8% PP% ranks 18th while the PK% of 69.8% sits third-to-last.

Jets vs. Kraken pick, best bet

On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Jets are -142 Moneyline favorites on the road while the Kraken are listed at +120 to win outright. The total sits at 5.5 goals.

There’s a massive talent disparity between these squads when it comes to both skaters and goaltenders. Winnipeg boasts genuine firepower at the top with Scheifele, Connor, Morrissey and Gabriel Vilardi, plus Cole Perfetti just made his season debut recently. Hellebuyck is, of course, one of the NHL’s most elite netminders as well. Seattle just doesn’t have the star power to keep up with the top-six the Jets deploy, and their play between the posts is also inferior in comparison.

Winnipeg is also solid on the road at 5-3-0 so far and boasts a goal differential of +10 overall on the campaign. Meanwhile, the Kraken are 4-1-3 at home but have a differential of -6, putting a canyon-sized gap between these sides. The Jets should dominate this one in all facets of the game and I expect them to cover the puck line handily.

Best Bet: WPG Jets -1.5 (+170)