Seattle Kraken vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Pick & Prediction JANUARY 14th 2025

Preview and Prediction

So far, the year 2025 has not gone according to plan for either the Seattle Kraken or the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As they prepare for their game on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, both teams are struggling with their records in January. The Kraken have a record of 1-4-1, while the Penguins are 1-2-3. These are not the starts that either team had hoped for as they both fight for a wild-card spot in the playoffs.

The Kraken are currently on a five-game road trip, and all three games they have played so far have ended with a score of 6-2. They lost to Columbus on Thursday, managed to come back from a two-goal deficit against Buffalo on Saturday, and then lost again to Detroit on Sunday.

Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz, who is tied for second on the team with 29 points, expressed his frustration with their recent performances. He stated, "We just weren't prepared again. We need to turn things around quickly because this is unacceptable and we only have ourselves to blame. This has been happening a lot lately, it's not just a one-time thing."

Schwartz was able to assist on both goals scored by Oliver Bjorkstrand and Matty Beniers, but it was not enough to overcome the 6-0 lead that Detroit had built.

The Red Wings, who have won seven consecutive games, dominated the first period on Sunday by scoring four goals in just over four minutes.

Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson acknowledged the team's ongoing issue with starting games off on the wrong foot. He said, "We've had a lot of bad starts lately. It's something we've talked about, but we need to find a way to fix it."

As of Monday, the Kraken were in seventh place in the Western Conference's wild-card race, trailing the Vancouver Canucks by nine points for the final playoff spot.

Meanwhile, the Penguins are currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference's wild-card race, just two points behind the last playoff spot.

After defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 on Thursday, the Penguins suffered back-to-back losses at home over the weekend. They were shut out 5-0 by the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and then lost 5-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.

Despite the loss, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who leads the team with 48 points, believes that the team played well on Sunday. He stated, "They were two different games. On Saturday, we didn't give ourselves a chance at all. But on Sunday, I thought we deserved better. Unfortunately, you don't get points for playing well. We need to find a way to win games."

Rickard Rakell scored a goal and had an assist for the Penguins, while Kevin Hayes tied the game with a power-play goal early in the third period.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan praised the team's effort, saying, "The team is competing hard. Sunday was another example of that. It's just unfortunate how the game unraveled in the last couple of minutes because for the majority of the night, we were happy with our overall team game."

Goaltender Tristan Jarry, who made 14 saves, also acknowledged the team's strong performance despite the loss. He said, "It's tough. A loss is a loss at the end of the day. But I thought the team played well. We did a good job controlling the play. The chances that Tampa got were good ones, they were high-quality chances. That's just how it goes sometimes."

The Penguins have been dealing with injuries, as forward Evgeni Malkin has been out for the past four games with an upper-body injury and was recently placed on injured reserve. In addition, Michael Bunting was unable to play on Sunday after being involved in a car accident outside the arena before the game. However, Sullivan stated that Bunting did not sustain any serious injuries.

PREDICTION

Seattle Kraken

2

3

Pittsburgh Penguins