Normally, I try to stay away from speaking in the first person here at soundofhockey.com, but I wanted to start this one with a personal anecdote. As Sound Of Hockey Podcast listeners know all too well, I grew up a Wild fan, and have been following them closely since their inception. Despite my shift in focus toward the Kraken, I still know the Wild roster very well.
At morning skate before Saturday’s game, I saw a diminutive Minnesota player that I did not recognize. When he got close enough, I was able to make out the number 16 on his helmet. A quick Google search reminded me that the Wild had claimed Rem Pitlick off waivers from Nashville during training camp. Hmm. Forgot they had that guy, I thought. Then I sipped from my coffee and went about my day.
Ok, anecdote over, usage of first person over.
The 24-year-old Pitlick had never scored an NHL goal in 15 career games entering Saturday’s matchup against the Seattle Kraken. When his 16th career game ended, he had scored three and almost single-handedly sent the Kraken to their fourth consecutive loss and sixth in seven games.
Things getting ugly for Kraken
Things are getting rough for the Kraken early in their inaugural season. Losing three in a row is a bad stretch, but four in a row, and we’re now using the phrase “losing streak.” There’s no doubt the players are feeling it, and they are fully aware that they’re dropping deeper and deeper into last place in the Pacific Division with every passing game and every missed opportunity.
“There’s definitely frustration, there’s no doubt about it,” captain Mark Giordano said after the 4-2 loss. “I mean, we’re not getting the results, we’re not winning games. You should be frustrated when you’re not winning games.”
Giordano, a 16-year veteran in the NHL, has been through times like this in his career. “From my experiences, you find a way to grind one out, get that one win, and then everyone starts feeling better about themselves, and we move forward.”
That did not happen on Saturday, though, and as is becoming too common for this budding franchise, the team found a new way to lose.
Here’s the irony. We would argue the team defense of the Kraken was actually quite good on Saturday. The Wild—even with sustained zone time in the first period—did not get much through to Grubauer when they were set up in the zone. What did get through in those situations was pretty low danger throughout the night, and Seattle ended the game with 62.5 percent of the high danger shot attempts and 55.78 percent of the expected goals for, according to naturalstattrick.com.
Heck, look at the five-on-five heat map.
If you take the three five-on-five goals away from Minnesota, scored off two breakaways and an awkward odd-man rush, things are looking pretty light in front of Philipp Grubauer. What doomed Seattle was a couple terrible turnovers in some of the worst possible areas.
A couple bad plays prove costly for Seattle
The first goal came at 12:33 of the first period off a slowly developing and downright awkward rush. Vince Dunn sent a soft shot toward Cam Talbot in the offensive end, but Alex Goligoski cleared it down the ice. The puck trickled deep into Seattle territory and toward the corner to Grubauer’s right.
Carson Soucy had to make the decision to try to win the race with Ryan Hartman or go to the front of the net and try to cut off a pass. He chose the race and lost. Hartman quickly got a pass to the netmouth and found Pitlick crashing, as a backchecking Marcus Johansson had stopped moving his feet. The puck just squeezed through Grubauer and limped over the line for Pitlick’s first career marker.
The second and third goals came in similar fashion to one another and featured the same cast of characters for Minnesota. Both were the direct results of bad second period turnovers in the middle third of the ice.
With Seattle rushing up the ice, Jared McCann, who somehow became the last player back, ran right into Hartman as he tried to make a neutral zone pass in transition. In one motion, Hartman again found Pitlick, sending him in all alone with all the time in the world to get Grubauer moving the wrong way. Pitlick executed to perfection, and he tapped it home at 7:44 of the second frame.
🚨REM PITLICK🚨 his second career goal and second of the night has the wild up 2-0 pic.twitter.com/DMqw6p4vGE
Then 11 minutes later, Giordano made an equally bad turnover at the Wild blue line when he… stop us if you’ve heard this one before… ran right into Hartman, who stripped him of the puck and quickly found Pitlick for a breakaway. Pitlick made the same move as his previous breakaway and buried it in a yawning cage as a smattering of hats from visiting fans hit the ice.
The timing of that third goal was also damning for Seattle. It came at 19:20 of the second, and instead of going to the dressing room trailing by two in a mostly tight-checking game, the Kraken now faced a practically insurmountable deficit against a strong defensive team.
Too little, too late for Kraken against Wild
To Seattle’s credit, it did push back in the third and injected some excitement into the home crowd at Climate Pledge Arena. Johansson got his first goal of the season on the power play at 9:19 to make it 3-1. After a few rounds of “one pass too many” to start the period had those home fans growing restless, Alex Wennberg found Johansson at the top of the crease. Johansson redirected it around the outstretched right pad of Talbot.
Interestingly, the Kraken power play had been in an absolutely dismal stretch and had recently dropped to last place in the NHL. Johansson returned from injured reserve Tuesday against Vegas, and in his first game back created a Jordan Eberle goal while playing the netfront role. Then Saturday, he scored on the power play in that same position. Coach Dave Hakstol said after the game he could sense in practice that the chemistry was starting to come on the power play, so perhaps that’s one area of Seattle’s game that is on the rise.
Seattle continued to push throughout the third, dominating possession and getting plenty of good looks on Talbot. With all the momentum, it felt like the game was on the brink of becoming a one-goal contest.
That’s also why it was perplexing to see Grubauer skating to Seattle’s bench with 5:22 left on the clock. It took all of 16 seconds for Nico Sturm to put the game back out of reach with an empty netter. We are aware that advanced analytics say you should pull the goalie early, especially when trailing by two goals. But when there are more than five minutes left and you have the ice tilted at five-on-five? That’s a head scratcher of a decision, about which we will certainly argue on an upcoming episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast.
With the net empty again, Wennberg did score his second goal of the season to bring Seattle back within two, but with under a minute left, it was too little and way too late.
The Kraken now have a couple days off to lick their wounds before welcoming a bad Chicago Blackhawks team to town on Wednesday. After that, they face a murderer’s row of opponents, so if they don’t get it figured out quickly and start playing with confidence, this losing streak could get much worse .
Seattle Kraken versus Minnesota Wild 7 p.m. Pacific Time Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington TV: ROOT Sports Radio: AM 950 KJR
We’ve said on several occasions that the time for excuses has passed for the struggling Seattle Kraken, who have lost three straight and five of their last six games. Most of the excuses themselves—new team, new building, new systems—evaporated as we eclipsed the one-month mark of the season. But there was always that one little “injury and illness” excuse bouncing around in the backs of our brains, and now even that excuse is almost entirely gone for the last-place Kraken (4-9-1), who desperately need to find a win Saturday at home against the Minnesota Wild (9-4-0).
At long last, Colin Blackwell will play his first game for the Kraken on Saturday, meaning coach Dave Hakstol will (almost) have his whole group available to him for the first time.
Colin Blackwell making debut, Riley Sheahan on waivers
Seattle held a lightly attended optional practice on Friday, so morning skate Saturday was far more structured than we’ve seen on other game days. The team had almost full participation and actually did line rushes and power play work, both of which are rare at morning skates.
The only players that weren’t on the ice were Jaden Schwartz (some members of the media thought they had seen him early on, but then Nathan Bastian took his place in line rushes) and Riley Sheahan. Hakstol confirmed Schwartz is available, so his absence is nothing to worry about, and Sheahan… well, Sheahan was placed on waivers to make room for Blackwell.
We at Sound Of Hockey were not surprised to see Blackwell inserted into the lineup, because it was obvious that he was getting closer and closer to returning from a nagging lower-body injury that had kept him out since the start of training camp. We were surprised, though, that the corresponding roster move was to waive Sheahan, who had played all 14 games for the Kraken to date. We thought Sheahan would come out of the lineup, but we also figured Will Borgen—who has not yet played a game—would be the one waived.
Of course, Borgen is younger and as a right-shot defenseman with upside is more likely to be claimed than a veteran grinder like Sheahan. So, it makes sense from that perspective, but it’s a reminder of what a brutal business the NHL can be. Sheahan had been a good soldier who played his role well, while Borgen is likely to continue watching games from the press box and not getting any opportunity to play games in either the NHL or the AHL.
Blackwell, an affable guy and big personality, was over the moon to be making his debut.
“I’m ready to go, finally,” Blackwell said Saturday. “It’s been a long process, just trying to get better every single day, and I’ve been feeling really good recently. I got cleared so really looking forward to tonight and finally getting out there with these guys. They’ve been battling for a little while, so wish I could have been out there. Just being out there at Climate Pledge [Arena] too for me, it’s going to be pretty special.”
Almost the full roster for Seattle
With Blackwell in for the first time Saturday, and Jared McCann back as of Thursday when he scored two goals against the Ducks, the Kraken will dress their deepest lineup to date. They’ve had COVID issues and several injuries to this point, and now with only Mason Appleton out with a lower-body injury, we will see what a (mostly) complete roster can do.
Blackwell was skating Saturday with Morgan Geekie and Brandon Tanev on what figures to be the fourth line. That’s a pretty unique fourth line, though, with more skill than you would typically see from a bottom trio. This should give Hakstol an opportunity to roll all four of his lines with a potential for offensive output from every layer of the forward group.
It’s also interesting to think how quickly the fourth line has evolved with guys coming back from protocol and injured reserve. For so many games we saw Sheahan centering Max McCormick and Nathan Bastian. Saturday, McCormick is in the AHL, Sheahan is on waivers, and Bastian is likely a healthy scratch for the second game in a row.
This is what happens when you get (almost) your whole group healthy at the same time.
Minnesota Wild
The Kraken take on the Minnesota Wild for the second meeting of the season. These two teams played at Climate Pledge Arena on Oct. 28, a night when Seattle really turned in a complete effort in front of Philipp Grubauer—who had one of his most solid performances of the season, stopping 30 of 31 shots—and came away with a 4-1 win.
That night, Seattle got the timely save by Grubauer that it has been lacking on a lot of nights. In the closing minutes of the second period, Yanni Gourde turned a puck over to Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov in the neutral zone. Kaprizov came in all alone, and Grubauer made a huge save with his blocker. It’s a moment that stands out as exactly what Seattle needs more of to be successful.
On their first visit to Seattle, Mats Zuccarello was in COVID protocol, meaning Kaprizov did not have his favorite teammate dishing the puck to him. Zuccarello is back for Saturday’s game. Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala also had not been scoring prior to that contest, but they have since notched three and two goals respectively, and both have constantly looked dangerous.
The Wild have won four of their last five, but came up short in their last game Thursday against Vegas. They’ve been comeback kids all season long, so hold on tightly if the Kraken find themselves with a one- or two-goal lead in the third period.
Hockey is a chaotic sport, and perhaps that’s what makes it so entertaining to watch. Every time you go to the rink, you just never know what kind of a game you’re going to see. Thursday’s 7-4 Kraken defeat at the hands of the upstart Anaheim Ducks, though disappointing in terms of the result, truly had everything you could possibly want in a hockey game. It was high scoring, high flying, high intensity, and high drama.
The disheartening result is damaging for Seattle and huge for Anaheim, which has now vaulted into second place in the Pacific Division with its sixth win in as many games. The third straight Kraken loss simply means the challenge of getting back in the race is even tougher now.
For the Kraken, the intensity didn’t switch on until the second period, and they were back to chasing the game from the jump. To their credit, they never quit and continued to battle back, even as one-goal deficits turned into two-goal deficits. Every time that happened, they picked themselves up and got back to within striking distance of a tying goal, but that equalizer proved elusive.
Every inch Seattle took it gave right back to Anaheim.
Slow start proves costly for Kraken against Ducks
Of their several defensive breakdowns in the first period, only one was costly, as Grubauer stood tall to turn away the other 13 shots he faced.
That most glaring miscue came fewer than five minutes into the game. In transition, Carson Soucy—playing left defense—found himself just a few feet away from partner Vince Dunn on the right side of the ice. That meant Max Comtois was gliding in all alone on the weak side. From the dot, he wound and fired a shot that Grubauer stopped, but as the puck bounced around in front of the net, 18-year-old Mason McTavish found it and buried his second career NHL goal.
There was no pushback offensively, and Seattle got just four pucks on the usually impermeable John Gibson. As the Kraken went to the dressing room, it was clear they would need to bring a lot more heat to break through.
Said Jordan Eberle, “We’re finding ways to lose. Tonight was a little different. I thought we started really slow, they really took it to us and [Philipp Grubauer] really kept us in it. We were lucky to be down one after one there.”
A very strange, high-flying period of hockey
The Kraken did break through in the second, but so too did the Ducks in a bizarre period of hockey.
It started with Jeremy Lauzon laying a high hit on Isac Lundestrom, which the Ducks did not like. Comtois went right after Lauzon, and the two tussled, both landing themselves in the penalty box. Oddly, Lauzon got an extra minor penalty on the play for his initial hit, while Comtois—who started the brouhaha—only got the one for roughing. That dustup set the tone for the strange frame.
Troy Terry used Mark Giordano as a screen to score his 10th (!!!) goal and 17th point of the season, giving Anaheim its first two-goal lead at 3:10. Terry looked dangerous every time he touched the puck, which is no surprise with the incredible hot streak he’s been on to start the season. The 24-year-old is just oozing confidence right now, and he showed it Thursday.
Jaden Schwartz answered 35 seconds later when he took a pass from Jordan Eberle off the rush and rifled it off the crossbar and in to bring the Kraken back within one.
Just when you thought the Kraken were starting to cook, Josh Mahura, off an offensive zone face-off win, blasted it through traffic. It beat Grubauer on a shot he never saw, and just like that it was again a two-goal deficit for Seattle.
The earlier issue with Lauzon was apparently not settled in the eyes of the Ducks, as Josh Manson challenged him, and the two dropped the gloves and threw a bunch of right jabs and crosses at one another, before Lauzon ultimately took Manson down to the ice.
The fight appeared to re-energize the Kraken, as Jared McCann, playing his first game since a bout with COVID, went hard to the net and a Ryan Donato pass bounced off him and through Gibson. In case you’ve lost count, the score at that point was 3-2.
The second period scoring was not quite done, though, as Kevin Shattenkirk re-established Anaheim’s two-goal lead at 15:46 on the one goal of the night that Grubauer would have wanted back. From the right dot, Shattenkirk snapped a shot that just squeezed through Grubauer’s armpit, and as soon as he realized it had gotten through, he looked skyward in disgust.
That brought the game to 4-2 to close out the second, and surely this thing was over, right?
Not so fast. The third period was every bit as wild as the second. Oh, and before we go there, just to add one bizarre cherry on top of a bizarre period, Gibson got in the grill of Brandon Tanev behind the play and held onto his stick for a good ten seconds. The referees stood and waited for them to sort it out, even though Gibson was visibly preventing Tanev from skating away.
It was all very strange.
Eberle stays hot, but Kraken come up short
Eberle continued his hot streak 3:57 into the final frame. On a two-on-one rush, Alex Wennberg sauced a perfect pass onto Eberle’s tape. As Gibson sprawled to cover the yawning cage, a confident Eberle buried it, putting Seattle back in business. That’s the sixth goal in four games for Eberle and his eighth in Seattle’s last eight.
Six minutes later, Hampus Lindholm pinballed one through traffic, making it 5-3. NOW it was over, right? Still no.
Exactly one minute elapsed before McCann took a pass from Donato while streaking into the offensive zone. He made a hard and deft cut to the middle, and in one fell swoop let go a howitzer that pinged off the right post and in to cut the deficit to one yet again.
The Kraken continued to push, and the line of Eberle, Schwartz, and Wennberg just missed on several prime scoring chances in the closing minutes. But an ill-timed goalie pull, just as that line was changing, gave Sam Carrick an easy empty netter and put the nail in the coffin.
Just to rub a little salt in the wound, Terry added another empty netter for his 11th (!!!) of the season and brought the final score to 7-4.
Frustrating loss against a good team
This latest loss was frustrating for players and fans alike on a lot of levels. The start was not good, but Grubauer bailed the team out in the first period and gave Seattle a chance going into the second.
Then as the game went on, the Kraken would gain ground but give it right back like they were engaged in trench warfare. That simply can’t continue to happen. For all the resiliency that this team has demonstrated, it rarely seems to get over the hump when it’s trying to mount a comeback. Giving back goals after working so hard to score just kills Seattle’s momentum, and it’s the latest troubling trend for this group.
As the standings climb gets more and more daunting, nights like Thursday are a stark reminder that the Pacific Division is better than it has been in recent years. The Ducks used to be viewed as easy points, but not anymore. Their long-standing youth movement is finally bearing fruit. They have evolved into a talented, fast, and exciting hockey club, with more young, impactful players still on the way.
The Kraken truly can’t afford to take more time to figure out ways to win instead of ways to lose. The climb back into the playoff race is getting steeper by the day.
Seattle will face the Minnesota Wild Saturday in the second game of this six-game homestand.
Seattle Kraken versus Anaheim Ducks 7 p.m. Pacific time Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington TV: ROOT Sports Radio: AM 950 KJR
As the saying goes, you have to make hay when the sun is shining. Of course, this is November in Seattle, and the sun almost never shines this time of year, but as it pertains to the Kraken, they are in last place and are now entering an uber-important six-game homestand. Sunshine or not, it’s time to make some hay.
The sun does shine in Anaheim this time of year, and it has been particularly bright there in the early stages of this season. A young team, the Ducks are on fire and represent a herculean task for the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
Lineup questions
Coach Dave Hakstol was mostly coy in his morning press availability on Thursday (as he always is) about his lineup plans and indicated there will be a few “game-time decisions” for him and his staff. He did confirm that Jared McCann will play in his first game since entering COVID protocol two weeks ago.
McCann, who has seven points in eight games (3-4=7), is a key piece of the offensive attack for Seattle, and his absence was noticeable. He shared on Wednesday that he was hit hard by COVID, losing his senses of taste and smell, and lacked energy. Wednesday was also his first time back on the ice, so we shall see if he can perform to the best of his abilities Thursday.
In pre-season, McCann centered a dynamic line with Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz that dominated at times. The trio was broken up early in the regular season, though, as Hakstol tried to squeeze goals out of his snake bitten group.
Toward the end of McCann’s absence, Alex Wennberg got slotted between Eberle and Schwartz, at which point Eberle got hot and scored five goals in three games. Interestingly, McCann was back in that spot at practice Wednesday and spoke as if he expects to play with Schwartz and Eberle.
What remains unclear is whether Yanni Gourde will be available Thursday. It is believed he was injured when he blocked a shot with his knee in the first period against Vegas on Tuesday. He did return after that and scored a goal but missed most of the third. He did not participate in practice Wednesday but was on the ice at Thursday’s optional morning skate. UPDATE: Looks like Gourde is in, as is Ryan Donato.
Goalie talk
The goaltending has gotten a lot of attention from the fledgling Kraken fanbase of late. Chris Driedger made his first start Tuesday in a 4-2 loss to the Golden Knights after Philipp Grubauer had a tough night in Arizona on Saturday. Neither netminder has particularly impressive stats, but we believe there’s improvement on the horizon for both.
Hakstol stressed Thursday that he doesn’t really care about their save percentages, but he does care about getting timely saves, which can have such a huge impact on the momentum of a game. At key points—like right after a Kraken goal, for example, or in the opening or closing minutes of a period—does Grubauer come up with the big save? Seattle hasn’t gotten that recently, so that will be something to look for as Grubauer returns to the crease against Anaheim.
Anaheim Ducks
These aren’t the same Ducks that had become so pleasant to play against in recent seasons. The youth movement that was put in motion several years ago—centered around players like Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, Maxime Comtois, Sam Steel, and others—is starting to pay off, as Anaheim has gotten off to a great start to its season and sits in third place in the Pacific at 7-4-3.
Of course, the man who started that movement, general manager Bob Murray, has just resigned with allegations swirling about his treatment of those inside the organization and an investigation into his conduct underway. Murray’s fingerprints will remain on this roster for years to come, and while what he did behind the scenes is very much in question, the on-ice product appears to be dramatically improving.
Driving that improvement has been the emergence of Terry, who has been unstoppable in his 13 games played this season. The 24-year-old right winger is third in the league in goals with nine and has added seven assists. He scored the game-winning goal for the second straight game Tuesday in Vancouver, which led the Ducks to their fifth consecutive win.
There’s also been a feeling over the past few years that the rebuild in Anaheim has been wasting an exceptional talent in netminder John Gibson, who is now 28 years old. If this team does prove to be the real deal as the season wears on, Gibson will be a huge piece of the success. Gibson gets the nod Thursday. A shoo-in for Team USA in the upcoming Olympics, he is again proving tough to beat with a 2.34 goals against average and .927 save percentage.
Projected lineup
We’re basing this on lines from practice on Wednesday and guessing that Gourde will not play. Of course, this could change dramatically if he does go. UPDATE: With Gourde apparently… Gourde to go, the lines looked very different than they have before in warmups. This is reflected in the projection below.
Seattle Kraken at Vegas Golden Knights 7 p.m. Pacific time T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada Watch: ESPN+, Hulu (Streaming only) Radio: AM 950 KJR
Back to where it all began, the Seattle Kraken are in Vegas on Tuesday to take on the Golden Knights for the second time in their existence and the first time since opening their inaugural season on the Strip. Circumstances are a bit different this time around, as we know a lot more about both teams, but this is still a tough building and a tough opponent, and it is again an important game for Seattle.
The Kraken are coming off a painful loss to the worst team in the league, the previously winless Arizona Coyotes, on Saturday. It was a game in which Seattle scored two goals and chased the opposing netminder in the very first minute of the game. In the second and third periods the Kraken allowed three unanswered goals to give Arizona a lead, then fought back to find the tying goal with 1:18 left. But just seconds later, a bad Adam Larsson turnover in the corner led to the game-winning goal by Lawson Crouse.
It was a night that Seattle fans hope to forget, but it will live on in infamy as the night those same fans completely lost it on Twitter for the first time (seriously, our mentions were… something).
Dave Hakstol acknowledged that it was a difficult game for the team, but hopes they can learn from it. “You gotta grow as a team out of some of the tough experiences,” he said Monday. “And that was a tough experience the other night. It was disappointing for all of us, but it gives you the opportunity also to learn something about yourselves and to be able to grow together.”
Tuesday, the Kraken look to right the ship against a banged up Vegas team.
Out goes Donato, in comes Johansson
Adding injury to insult on Saturday, Ryan Donato went head-first into the endboards on a very awkward play in the first period. He was slow to get up, but did eventually rise and looked ok in the immediate aftermath. He soon went down the tunnel, though, and did not return. Donato did not practice on Monday, but was back wearing a red non-contact jersey at morning skate on Tuesday.
Hakstol confirmed in his press availability after morning skate that Marcus Johansson will return against Vegas, so he will slot into Donato’s spot. Though the Kraken kept saying Johansson was still day to day, it’s not a huge surprise that he’s ready to go. He had been practicing in full, and nobody had been recalled from the AHL to replace Donato in the lineup.
Ironically, Johansson’s only game came at T-Mobile Arena on opening night, after which he somewhat mysteriously popped up on injured reserve and hasn’t played since. He had a big role in preseason and registered 16:13 of ice time with one shot on goal in that first game.
Chris Driedger starting Tuesday
On the previously discussed topic of our Twitter mentions, we hear your goaltending concerns loud and clear. You’re right that Philipp Grubauer has not been at his best so far and statistically has fallen toward the bottom of the league, but there is always context to consider with goalies.
First, Grubauer has been getting very heavily used. Some of that is the decision of the coach—after all, he did give the first five starts of the season to Grubauer—but some of that is simply terrible timing for Driedger to get injured. We all expected more of a 1A/1B platoon scenario, but that just hasn’t worked out. That can still come to fruition, though, and Driedger can start commanding more time with a quality start in Vegas.
Second, goaltending is a mentally taxing position that ebbs and flows during the course of an 82-game season, so give Grubauer time. He will get hot at some point, and you’ll go back to worshipping him as quickly as you might have stopped.
All that said, those that are clamoring for a Driedger start get their wish on Tuesday, as Hakstol confirmed he will go against Vegas. We did not anticipate that it would take until the twelfth game of the season before seeing him officially get the nod from the beginning of a game, but it’s better late than never.
Last season in Florida, Driedger was 14-6-3 with a 2.07 goals against average and .927 save percentage.
Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas currently has the following players listed on injured reserve: Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Nolan Patrick, Zach Whitecloud, and… Jack Eichel. William Karlsson is also out with a broken foot, though he for some reason is not officially listed on IR, and Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs were traded in the Eichel deal.
That’s a lot of quality, regular players missing for the Golden Knights, who have been dressing guys like Michael Amadio and Jonas Rondbjerg to fill in. Paul Cotter is also expected to make his NHL debut Tuesday.
The Golden Knights beat Seattle on opening night, then lost four straight before rebounding—despite the injuries stacking up—for five wins in their last seven games. They did lose 5-2 in Detroit on Sunday, but have climbed back to .500 after a horrible start.
It’s an opportunistic team that showed how quickly it can strike the last time these teams played each other. That night, Seattle was playing an aggressive style that left things pretty wide open through the neutral zone. But the Kraken have adjusted their approach dramatically since then, so perhaps the goals won’t come quite as easily for the Golden Knights this time around.
Oh, and speaking of Eichel, holy cats, the Golden Knights traded for Eichel!
The disc replacement surgery that caused his rift with Buffalo has been scheduled for Nov. 12, then if all goes according to plan, the recovery should be about three months. So we won’t actually see him until at least February. When the superstar center does return, the Golden Knights are going to have to make some very tough calls to get themselves under the salary cap… but then they’ll have Eichel.
