The Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken both opened the Stanley Cup Playoffs with Round 1 victories, and they’re now set to do battle in Round 2 action. Dallas came out on top in a tight six-game series over the Minnesota Wild. At the same time, the Kraken stunned the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in seven games to advance. Dallas Stars (-188) vs. Seattle Kraken (+152)
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars Round 1 series played out exactly how many expected it to. Dallas proved during the 2022 postseason that they had what it takes to play a postseason brand of hockey, and that trend continued against Minnesota.
This is a solid hockey team and one that boasts one of the top goaltenders in the NHL, Jake Oettinger. The young netminder was sensational again in the opening round of the playoffs, and there’s a lot to like about the prospects of that continuing in this matchup against the Seattle Kraken.
Not only does Dallas have a strong defensive structure, but they also have some studs up front, like Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson. Hintz was dominant in Round 1 against Minny, tallying 12 points in six games. If Dallas can continue to get this type of production and elite goaltending, the sky is the limit for this team.
Seattle Kraken
If you had predicted the Kraken would advance over the Avalanche in Round 1, you were likely on an island. Sure, we projected them to make a series of it and keep things close, but in no way did we think they’d find themselves in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Even though Seattle is making its first postseason appearance, with them being an expansion team, many players on this roster still have playoff pedigree. Their approach of scoring by committee continued in Round 1, which can also be sustainable in this matchup. Still, facing off with Oettinger is a different beast, and offense may be hard to come by in this series.
Seattle got the best version of Philipp Grubauer that we’ve seen in a Kraken uniform during Round 1, and if that carries over, we might be in for one heck of a second-round series.
Verdict
Seattle has been a great story this season, and although it came out of left field, it probably shouldn’t if we evaluated the situation closer heading into their sophomore year. Still, we envision their run coming to an end in this matchup against the Dallas Stars.
Oettinger will be the difference in this series, along with the Stars simply having more high-end star power on their roster. The Stars have been undervalued in the playoffs, and there’s a lot to like about their chances to move onto the Western Conference Final here.
Best Bet: Stars to Win Series (-188)
