In last week’s Monday Musings, I mentioned that the Seattle Kraken would need at least four out of six available points against Detroit, Vancouver, and Minnesota, with at least one point coming against the Wild. That did not happen.
It was looking good heading into Saturday night’s matchup against the Wild. The Kraken were coming off one of their more impressive games of the season with a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, and it seemed like this team was starting to play with the type of purpose that would be required to contend for one of the last playoff spots.
Heading into Saturday night, the Kraken were also 9-1-0 in the last 10 games in which they scored first, so when Vince Dunn made it 1-0 just 36 seconds in, there was a reason to feel confident. Alas, the Wild went on to score the next five goals and cruise to a 5-2 win over the Kraken.
It was not the effort you wanted to see for a very important game in the race for one of the wild card spots. On top of that, the Kings, Predators, and Flames all won to either extend their leads on the Kraken or, in the case of Calgary, jump over the Kraken in the standings.
I’ve said it before, and Darren said it in Three Takeaways: the challenge is not necessarily the point gap between the Kraken and the last wild card spot, it is the number of teams ahead of them. The Kraken are now seven points back of the Nashville Predators with a game in hand for that last playoff spot, but there are also three more teams (St. Louis, Minnesota, and Calgary) they would need to jump over to get back in. That is a tall task.
Despite the poor showing on Saturday night, the Kraken are currently sitting with about a 20-percent chance of making the playoffs. That is better than I would have expected their chances to be, but if a week from now, they are still sitting on a 20-percent chance, it is highly likely they will sell off some of their pending UFA’s at the March 8 trade deadline.
Power play pressure
The Kraken had a season-high five power play opportunities on Saturday and came up empty on all five. The power play has been playing well of late with a goal in each of the prior three games. Despite coming away with no goals against the Wild, there were several power-play opportunities where the Kraken maintained offensive-zone possession, and that created shot opportunities, so I’m not terribly concerned about this particular area.
I don’t have the data, but there were a couple opportunities where the Kraken maintained offensive possession for the first 90 or so seconds of the respective power plays. If the Kraken can maintain this type of pressure in the upcoming games, the goals will eventually follow. Sustained offensive pressure can force the opposing penalty-killing unit to fatigue, leading to defensive breakdowns and increased vulnerability to scoring chances.
Shot quantity and locations for top line
One thing that has been going well is the play and production of the reunited Matty Beniers, Jordan Eberle, and Jared McCann line. Coach Dave Hakstol reunited the trio after the loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 10. That trio has at least one goal in each of the last five games and has a combined for 10 goals over that span.
Hakstol mentioned that they were struggling to get inside shot opportunities at the beginning of the season but are having much more success lately.
The rink map shows a lot more shot attempts inside over the last six games from that group compared to how they started the season.
That top line is also generating more shot attempts over the last six games compared to the start of the season, averaging over three more shot attempts per game.
Other Musings:
- Marc-Andre Fleury is now 5-1-1 against the Seattle Kraken. Only Stuart Skinner has more wins against the Kraken in their franchise history. Edmonton comes to town Saturday. 😐
- The Kraken are now 0-4-2 on Saturday games at Climate Pledge Arena this season. They have three more home Saturday games for the rest of the season.
- The Kraken were shorthanded six times on Saturday night against the Wild, which was tied for second as the most times they have been shorthanded in a single game in franchise history. The Wild converted on two of the six opportunities. This was out of character for the Kraken, as they are generally one of the more disciplined teams in the league.
- Saturday night’s game against the Wild is the 14th time the Seattle Kraken have been down by three goals in a game this season. They have lost all 63 games in franchise history when they have fallen behind by three goals. I keep telling myself that one day, a three-goal comeback will happen, and it will be epic when it does.
- Somehow the Kraken have a 2-2-1 all-time record against Boston.
- Oliver Bjorkstrand has not scored a goal in nine games, his longest drought of the season.
- The Moose Jaw Warriors come though the Puget Sound over the weekend, which brings opportunities to see Kraken prospect Jagger Firkus. He will be in Everett on Friday night, and on Saturday, you can do the double-header with the Edmonton Oilers at the Kraken at 1 pm, then Moose Jaw at the Seattle Thunderbirds down in Kent at 7 pm.
- Speaking of prospects, Scott Wheeler from The Athletic published the Seattle Kraken’s prospect rankings a little over a week ago. There weren’t a lot of surprises. Shane Wright was ranked No. 1, Carson Rehkopf No. 2, and Jagger Firkus was No. 3. If you have a subscription, it’s a fun read; just remember prospects are like chips on a roulette table. Most prospects face long odds, and there are probably only a couple of real winners in there.
Player performances
David Goyette (SBY) – Goyette has an active 14-game point streak and has four goals and three assists over his last three games.
Carson Rehkopf (KIT) – Rehkopf continues to score in bunches in the OHL. He had nine points over three games, including the below six-point game on Saturday.
Andrei Loshko (ROU) – I’ve mentioned Andrei Loshko before, but the fourth-round pick from the 2023 NHL Draft tends to fly under the radar. He had three goals in two games for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the QMJHL.
You don’t see that everyday
I saw the stick break at the game on Saturday, but I didn’t see McCann’s ninja like skills until the next day.
The week ahead
With the NHL trade deadline fast approaching, the Kraken find themselves at a pivotal juncture in their season. This feels like a do-or-die type week. To remain in contention for a playoff spot, they must secure at least five out of the six points available in their three games this week. Failure to do so will realistically eliminate any postseason hopes and could trigger selling assets at the deadline. It will not be easy, as the Kraken face Boston on Monday, Pittsburgh on Thursday, and Edmonton on Saturday.
Here is a look at the rest of the wild card contenders schedule this week:
There are several games around the league with wild card contenders facing off against each other. That further illustrates why it is so challenging to jump over multiple teams, as one of the two will get two points, and there’s always the chance of an OT loser point.
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