{"id":537074,"date":"2026-04-02T19:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/537074\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T19:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:03:12","slug":"mammoth-and-kraken-meet-in-fight-for-wild-card-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/537074\/","title":{"rendered":"Mammoth and Kraken Meet in Fight for Wild Card Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at\u00a0Last Word On Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. In this edition, we look at the Utah Mammoth<\/a> taking on the Seattle Kraken<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to check out more NHL Predictions, as our writers continue this series throughout the 2025-26 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions: Utah Mammoth vs Seattle Kraken<\/p>\n

Head-to-Head: Mammoth 2-0 Kraken<\/p>\n

How to Watch<\/a>: US TV: ESPN+; Hulu<\/p>\n

Time: 10:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)<\/p>\n

Location: Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington<\/p>\n

The Mammoth Side<\/p>\n

The Mammoth (38-30-6) come in after getting a crucial 6-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Not only are the Kings chasing Utah in the wild card race, the Kraken are as well. The Mammoth still control the first wild card spot in the Western Conference with 82 points, while Los Angeles and Seattle are on the outside. Logan Cooley<\/a> scored a pair of goals in the win. He\u2019s struggled to score since returning from injury, so he may be finding his scoring touch again. It would be a good time with the Mammoth pushing, and the playoffs just around the corner. Utah\u2019s 4-5-1 in their last 10 games.<\/p>\n

Since the Mammoth haven\u2019t played since Saturday, so expect Karel Vejmelka<\/a> (33-19-3) to start versus the Kraken.<\/p>\n

Injuries: Barrett Hayton<\/a>\u2013 OUT (Upper-body)<\/p>\n

(Credit Image: \u00a9 Alex Cave\/ZUMA Press Wire)<\/p>\n

The Kraken Side<\/p>\n

The Kraken (32-30-11) come in having lost two straight and are 3-5-2 in their last 10. Because the race is so tight, Seattle needs to string together wins if they hope to make the playoffs. The Kraken are four spots out of the second wild card with 75 points. Bobby McMann<\/a> has been Seattle\u2019s top performer of late. Since the trade deadline move from the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>, McMann has 11 points in nine games. He missed five due to the visa process. The Kraken will need Joey Daccord<\/a> to play like he did last season, where he had 27 wins. The goaltender\u2019s numbers have dipped this year, so Daccord needs to find his game and fast.<\/p>\n

Expect Daccord (19-18-6) to start against the Mammoth.<\/p>\n

Injuries:\u00a0Shane Wright<\/a>-DAY-TO-DAY (Upper-body); Ryan Winterton<\/a>\u2013 OUT (Personal)<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/p>\n

Both the Mammoth and Kraken will be playing like it\u2019s the playoffs because everything rides on this game. Utah remains in control of their own destiny, while Seattle needs a win streak and some help. In terms of stats, the Mammoth have the clear advantage. They\u2019re 13th in goals, sixth in goals against, and fifth in shots allowed. The Kraken are the opposite. They\u2019re 26th in goals, 13th in goals allowed, and 31st in shots allowed. Seattle will need players like captain Jordan Eberle<\/a> and Matty Beniers<\/a> to lead the team. While, Utah will look to captain Clayton Keller<\/a> and Dylan Guenther<\/a> for offence. Because of the circumstances, we think this\u2019ll be a close finish. However, the Mammoth will win.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Mammoth win 3-2<\/p>\n

Prop Bets<\/p>\n

Any time goal scorers:<\/p>\n

Logan Cooley (+240)- Cooley has three goals on the last two games, including a two goal game. He could be on track to get another against the Kraken.<\/p>\n

Jordan Eberle (+290)- Eberle\u2019s been one of Seattle\u2019s most consistent players this season. He has 23 goals this year.<\/p>\n

Projected lineups are based on available data at the time of writing. Please check social media and official team sources for the very latest lineup news before locking in any daily fantasy roster or prop wagers.<\/p>\n

Main photo by: Rob Gray-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at\u00a0Last Word On Hockey look at the games…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5130],"tags":[5,6208,4188,1522,4,2686,234,42563,5318,40212],"class_list":{"0":"post-537074","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-seattle-kraken","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-jordan-eberle","10":"tag-kraken","11":"tag-logan-cooley","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-seattle","14":"tag-seattle-kraken","15":"tag-seattle-kraken-predictions","16":"tag-seattlekraken","17":"tag-utah-mammoth-predictions"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116336669902403191","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}