Florida Panthers vs Seattle Kraken 17 October 2026 Prediction

Florida Panthers vs Seattle Kraken brings together teams from opposite conferences in Sunrise. Florida is near the playoff cutoff, while Seattle has 11 points and is among the leaders in the West. The Panthers won the last meeting, but the Kraken’s recent form makes this a difficult home game for Florida.

Florida's Slow Start

Florida has not met preseason expectations. The Panthers have 10 points through eight games and have lost four of their last seven. Their defense has been steady, but scoring remains a concern: Paul Maurice’s team averages 2.8 goals per game.

Brady Tkachuk went several games without a point before recording back-to-back hat tricks. He scored all three of Florida’s goals in a 3-2 overtime win over Vancouver, helping the Panthers come back from a 2-0 deficit.

Florida Panthers Predicted Lineup: Schmidt (Black) — Forsling, Ekblad — B. Tkachuk, Bennett, M. Tkachuk

Remaining Roster: Defensemen — Mikkola, Jones, Kulikov, Balinskis; forwards — Verhaeghe, Reinhart, Eller, Luostarinen, Lundell, Vilmanis, Imama, Lafferty, Hathaway

Out: Gadjovich, Barkov, Marchand, Gudas, Markstrom (all injured)

Manager: Paul Maurice

Seattle's Strong Start

Seattle is among the Western Conference leaders despite a quiet offseason and modest expectations. The Kraken average four goals per game. They recently beat Washington 5-3, scoring on 18.5% of their shots despite being outshot 36-27.

Seattle also generated offense in a 4-3 overtime loss to Tampa Bay, converting 11.1% of its shots and scoring on the power play. Defense was the bigger issue: the Lightning finished with 3.6 expected goals and scored four times.

Seattle Kraken Predicted Lineup: Daccord (Grubauer) — Dunn, Larsson — McCann, Beniers, Samoskevich

Remaining Roster: Defensemen — Evans, Fleury, Mahura, Ottavainen; forwards — McMann, Stephenson, Eberle, Kakko, Catton, Wright, Myers, Gaudreau, Winterton

Out: Melanson, Lindgren (both injured); Montour (questionable)

Manager: Lane Lambert

Recent Head-to-Head Results

The teams traded home wins in March. Florida lost 6-2 in Seattle before winning 5-4 in a shootout in Sunrise. The Panthers led by three goals with eight minutes left in that second game, but the Kraken tied it with three late goals. Florida then won the shootout.

Key Stats

Seattle has scored on 14.8% of its shots, a rate surpassed only by Edmonton.

Florida averages 3.4 expected goals per game, eighth in the league.

The Kraken average 1.4 first-period goals per game. Only five teams average more.

Florida Panthers vs Seattle Kraken Prediction: Seattle to Win or Tie in Regulation

Main prediction: Seattle has won five of its eight road games, including preseason contests. Florida has lost two of its last three home games and scored six goals across those three matchups. The Kraken have also won three of the last five meetings between these teams. The pick is Seattle to win or tie in regulation at 1.91. Predicted score: 3-4.

Goals prediction: At least eight goals were scored in two of Florida’s last three games. Six of Seattle’s last nine games had at least seven goals in regulation. The pick is over 6.5 total goals at 2.16.