The Calgary Flames open their season at home on Thursday night, and the Seattle Kraken arrive priced on almost even terms. Both clubs won exactly 34 games last season, and both missed the playoffs. The moneyline reflects that symmetry closely, with Calgary a shade under even money and Seattle sitting right beside them. Dustin Wolf is confirmed in the Calgary net, and that matters more here than any team statistic. The total has already climbed half a goal since this game was first posted. There is a side worth backing and a second angle on the scoring, and the reasoning behind each one follows below.
Last Updated: October 1, 2026
Seattle Kraken vs. Calgary Flames — Game Info
| Where | Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta |
| When | October 1 – 9:00 PM ET |
| TV | Sportsnet West, Prime Video, KONG |
Seattle Kraken vs. Calgary Flames Betting Preview
Goaltending frames this opener, and only one team has given a firm answer. Dustin Wolf will start for Calgary, and he played 57 games last season while finishing at .899 with a 3.01 goals-against average. That is a clear step back from the Calder Trophy finalist season before it. Seattle has not confirmed its starter, though Joey Daccord is the expectation after going 20-20-6 with a .897 save percentage. Those two lines are nearly identical, and neither man reached the .900 mark.
The caveat cuts toward Seattle, because Philipp Grubauer posted a .909 save percentage in a smaller sample last season. The Kraken may yet hand the net to the better of their two options. Until Seattle names a starter, every read on this game stays provisional.
The scoring picture is bleaker than the goaltending. Calgary scored 2.54 goals per game last season, the lowest figure in the league, and finished at minus-48 on goal differential. Seattle ranked 28th in scoring. The Kraken did handle Calgary twice late in the year, however, winning 5-1 in January and then 4-1 in Seattle on April 11.
Special teams cut in opposite directions, and Seattle’s penalty kill ranked 31st at 72.2 percent, a genuine liability. Calgary’s power play also ranked 31st, at 16.2 percent. So the Flames’ most obvious route to goals runs straight into Seattle’s worst unit, and the two flaws may simply cancel each other out. The other side of the sheet favors Calgary, which killed at 80.4 percent against a Seattle power play that finished 20th at 19.5 percent.
Injuries hurt Calgary more, and Jonathan Huberdeau opens the year on injured reserve after hip resurfacing surgery in March. General manager Craig Conroy also confirmed a setback in his skating during the recovery. Seattle is without Mackie Samoskevich, who was hurt against these same Flames in late September.
The market has moved since this game was posted on September 27. Calgary opened at -115 on the moneyline and now sits at -112, while Seattle has shortened from -105 to -108. The puck line has followed the same path, and the total opened at 5.5 with even pricing on both sides before reaching 6.0. For more of this week’s card, see our Kings vs. Avalanche prediction.
Seattle Kraken vs. Calgary Flames Odds
| Puck Line | Moneyline | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraken | +1.5 (-280) | -108 | O 6.0 (+100) |
| Flames | -1.5 (+230) | -112 | U 6.0 (-120) |
Odds accurate as of October 1, 2026 via TheSpread.com. Odds change, get the latest NHL Odds – Futures – Props
Seattle Kraken vs. Calgary Flames — Who Is the Public Betting?
| Seattle Kraken | 84% | 16% | Calgary Flames |
See the latest NHL Public Betting Splits and make smarter wagers!
Kraken vs. Flames Prediction — Two 34-Win Teams, One Pick’em Price
Start with the market, because it is doing something quietly useful. Calgary has drifted from -115 to -112 since this game was first priced. Seattle has shortened in the same window, while 59 percent of moneyline tickets sit on Calgary. The price is moving away from the side the tickets are on, and that pattern is reverse line movement. It is the most informative single market signal available, though a three-cent move deserves weight without being oversold.
The research points the same direction, and that agreement is what matters. Calgary could not score last season, and the power play that might have fixed the problem finished 31st in the league. Huberdeau’s absence removes a top-six forward from a group already short of finishers. Calgary did add Simon Nemec and Jake Middleton on defense, which should help the goals-against column, but neither one solves a shooting problem. Seattle has scoring trouble of its own, yet it beat these Flames by a combined 9-2 in the two most recent meetings.
The case against is real, because Wolf is confirmed while Seattle’s starter is not, so this read rests on an unpublished input. Seattle also closed last season badly, collapsing to 7-17-2 over its final 26 games. A home opener in a full Saddledome carries genuine emotional weight too. Vehicle choice matters as well, since the board offers a regulation-time three-way that settles after 60 minutes. This read is about who wins however the night ends, not who leads at the horn.
The Pick: Seattle Kraken Moneyline, Full Game (-108)
Kraken vs. Flames Prediction — Two Bottom-Five Offenses Open Their Seasons
The scoring market deserves a harder look than the side does, because the number has already travelled half a goal upward. Read that move together with its pricing, because the book raised its figure and then still had to charge for the low side. That says its own expectation sits just beneath the posted number. A move up is normally an argument for scoring, yet here it looks more like a correction toward fair value.
Last season’s rates support the quieter projection, as Calgary scored 2.54 per game and allowed 3.12. Seattle scored 2.78 and ranked 23rd in goals against, so blending those figures puts the honest estimate near 5.8 goals. The December, January and April meetings produced six, six and five goals, which is not a shootout profile. Still, that run does not sit far below the posted number either.
The case against carries real weight, and in hockey it usually does. Empty-net goals matter more in this sport than in any other. A one-goal game in the final minute routinely becomes a two-goal game once the trailing team pulls its goaltender. Seattle’s 31st-ranked penalty kill offers a second route to extra scoring. The full-game total also includes overtime and the shootout, so a game level after 60 minutes delivers at least one more goal for settlement. The edge on this one is thin, and the upward move is a warning rather than a footnote.
The Pick: Under 6.0 Goals, Full-Game Total (-120)
Our Final Word on Kraken vs. Flames
This is a coin-flip opener between two clubs that finished last season two points apart, and neither side looks badly mispriced. Goaltending is the hinge, because Wolf is confirmed while Seattle’s man is not, and both reads shift if the Kraken start Grubauer. Both picks also lean partly on the same input, which is Calgary’s inability to score, so they are not fully independent of each other. That overlap is worth naming rather than presenting as two separate edges. For the rest of the week’s card, our NHL best bets for Tuesday’s slate covers the wider board.
Seattle Kraken Moneyline (-108) is the stronger call, because the price keeps drifting away from the 59 percent of tickets on Calgary. Under 6.0 (-120) is thinner, supported mainly by two bottom-five offenses meeting on opening night.
NHL Kraken vs. Flames FAQ: October 1, 2026
What time does the Kraken vs. Flames game start?
The Kraken and Flames drop the puck at 9:00 PM ET on Thursday, October 1, 2026, which is 7:00 PM local time in Calgary. It is the Flames’ home opener at the Scotiabank Saddledome and the first game of the season for both clubs.
What channel is the Kraken vs. Flames game on?
Sportsnet West carries the game across Canada, while KONG handles the local broadcast in the Seattle market. Prime Video also streams it for in-market viewers in the United States. Sportsnet+ offers the Canadian streaming option for subscribers without a cable package.
Who is starting in goal for the Flames?
Dustin Wolf is confirmed as Calgary’s starter for the opener. He appeared in 57 games last season and finished with a .899 save percentage and a 3.01 goals-against average. That was a step down from his Calder Trophy finalist campaign the year before.
Who won the last meeting between the Kraken and Flames?
Seattle won the most recent meeting 4-1 on April 11, 2026, the final game of the Kraken’s season. They also won the meeting before that by 5-1, which gives Seattle the last two results in this series. Both wins came by multiple goals.
Is Jonathan Huberdeau playing tonight?
No. Huberdeau opens the season on injured reserve after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in March 2026. General manager Craig Conroy confirmed a setback in the forward’s skating during his recovery, and the club has not committed to a return date.