Monday Musings is a collection of random thoughts and observations about the last week of activity from the hockey world with an emphasis on the Kraken and other happenings around the Puget Sound hockey community.
Kraken thoughts
It was another big week from the Kraken as they captured four out of four possible standings points with two overtime wins against quality opponents. On Thursday, the New York Rangers visited Seattle and tied the game with under two minutes left while the Kraken were on a penalty kill. The overtime period featured a completely different strategy to three-on-three that we have not seen before. The Kraken were very patient and did not force any shots. They had only two shots in overtime and one of them was a game winner from Justin Schultz. In overtime, it is always about the quality of the shots and not the quantity.
This was the Kraken’s first ever win against the New York Rangers and the first overtime win of the season. There have been some fun and amazing games at Climate Pledge Arena this season, but this one might have been the best to date.
The Los Angeles Kings visited Seattle on Saturday night in one of those benchmark games where you just want to see how Seattle stacks up. We have been bullish on the 2022-23 Seattle Kraken, but you still want to see how they compare against a quality division rival. It was another very tight, quality game for both teams. The third period featured a short-handed goal against the Kraken with an immediate response power-play goal for Seattle that tied it up in the third. Jordan Eberle would snipe the overtime winner two and a half minutes into overtime. Eberle’s goal was the only shot the Kraken had in overtime. Again, quality not quantity.
The Kings remain ahead in the standings, but it is only because they have played more games than the Kraken. Here is the current pace of the Pacific Division.
I believe this team is a playoff team, but I also recognize there a lot of games left in the season. The key is banking points early and often, because like all teams, the Kraken are bound to go through a rough patch at some point. Banking points now allows them to weather those rough patches down the road.
Shane Wright
Shane Wright has been sent down to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on a 14-day conditioning assignment. We talked about it on the Sound Of Hockey podcast last week, and I mentioned it in last week’s column. This is kind of a loophole in the NHL-CHL agreement where an otherwise ineligible player can be sent down to the AHL on a conditioning assignment, provided that player had been healthy scratched for five games in a row. Saturday’s game against the Kings was Wright’s fifth straight game that he had been a healthy scratch.
This is an excellent opportunity for Wright to get some quality playing time against players that are more comparable to the skill he will face in the NHL. In short, he belongs in the AHL but the NHL-CHL agreement prevents this from happening. The Firebirds schedule will have five games over the next 14 days. Here are the games Wright should play in over that stretch:
Tue, Nov 22 vs Calgary
Thu, Nov 24 vs Calgary
Sat, Nov 26 vs San Diego
Fri, Dec 2 vs Henderson
Sat, Dec 3 vs Henderson
Once Wright is done with his conditioning assignment, I would expect him to draw into a game or two. Then, assuming no substantial injuries with the Kraken, I expect the Kraken to loan him to Team Canada for the 2023 World Junior Championship that kicks off Dec. 26. Team Canada training camp starts in mid-December.
Rivalry Series
The two Kraken games were not the only hockey played at Climate Pledge Arena this week. On Sunday, CPA hosted Game 3 of the USA-Canada Rivalry series between the two women’s national teams. I have raved about this rivalry for years and to see a game in Seattle was another surreal moment on this entire journey. Not only was it incredible to just see it in Seattle, but the turnout and atmosphere were amazing. We set a record for attendance at a women’s game on US soil. I am not surprised but it is still a proud moment. Well done, Seattle!
Incredible! That’s a US record for attendance at women’s hockey game. https://t.co/fUigvFiNVt
The game on the ice was outstanding. Hilary Knight, who was presented with a golden stick before the game for being the all-time leader in points in IIHF World Championship play, potted two goals for Team USA. We were also treated to goals from Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse, both icons for Team Canada. The game featured a bit of the nastiness we expect when these teams play, with plenty of scrums and hits throughout the night. For me, USA-Canada is must watch, so if you have never seen these teams play, give it a try, as you will not be disappointed.
Here are the next two games of the Rivalry Series:
Dec. 15 in Henderson, NV (TV: NHL Network)
Dec. 19 in Los Angeles, CA (TV: NHL Network)
Other Kraken musings:
The Kraken have seven wins in their last 10 games. Despite the early season results, there is not a lot of national attention on this team, and I don’t mind. I generally like to fly under the radar, so naturally I like when the team is doing the same. As the saying goes, when you lose, say little, and when you win, say less.
Daniel Sprong’s power-play goal on Saturday night was the Kraken’s 14th power-play goal of the season. That puts the Kraken on pace for 63 PPG’s. They had 32 power-play goals all last season.
There was a sequence in the Rangers game that will not stand out on the score sheet, but I wanted to call it out here. It happened around the 11:30 mark of the third period. The Rangers had the Kraken penned up in their zone with a flurry of activity. The Kraken could not get the puck out. Martin Jones would make a save and stop play. The score was 1-1, but it felt like the Rangers had the Kraken on the ropes. Hakstol would replace Oliver Bjorkstrand with Morgan Geekie for the faceoff. Geekie won the faceoff, the Kraken cleared the zone, and Geekie jumped off the ice. One minute later, Schultz scored his first of the night, and the Kraken had a 2-1 lead. Geekie’s shift was 17 seconds, but it was probably his biggest shift of the night.
I cannot believe it took me this long to mention Jones. Jones has been nothing short of outstanding for the Kraken this season. He has given the team a chance to win every night and has been one of the best goalies in the league during the month of November. He was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week for his efforts.
Speaking of goalies, Philipp Grubauer officially came back from injured reserve and served as the backup on Saturday night during the Kings game. If Jones stays hot, we expect he will remain the starter with Grubauer drawing in from time to time to give Jones a night off. The Kraken have a stretch of four games in seven nights coming up, so expect Grubi to get the start at least one of those games.
With the win on Saturday, the Kraken are now 8-1-1 when scoring first and 2-4-2 when trailing first.
Also, with the win on Saturday, the Kraken have a winning record at home of 5-4-2 for the first time this season.
Player performance /Stick taps
Martin Jones (SEA) – In November, he has five wins in seven games for the Kraken with a .943 save percentage. As much as we talk about the increased scoring and power play efficiency for the Kraken, Jones has been a big reason for the early season success.
Robert Thomas (STL) – Had six points over four games, and after a rocky start, the Blues are starting to roll with six wins in a row. The Blues are one of those teams that could be fighting for a wild card spot come March.
Hilary Knight (USA) – With two goals at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday night as part of the Rivalry Series, it is clear the GOAT still has plenty of fuel in the tank and remains a treat to watch.
San Jose Sharks – Wednesday, Nov. 23, at Climate Pledge Arena
Much like the Canucks game in October, this has all the makings of a trap game. It’s the classic scenario where you beat the teams that are good and lay a stinker of a game to a team you should beat. Seattle probably should not sleep on San Jose right now, as the Sharks have won three out of their last five games with victories against Minnesota, Vegas, and Dallas, all solid teams.
Sharks Current Record: 6-11-3
Players to watch:
James Reimer – Reimer had 43 saves in defeat against the Rangers on Saturday… after allowing six goals on sixteen shots against the Red Wings on Thursday. Which Reimer will show up on Wednesday?
Timo Meier – After a cold start, the Swiss winger led the Sharks in goals scored last season. He is fun to watch with a little bit of a snarl to his game.
Vegas Golden Knights – Friday, Nov. 25, at T-Mobile Arena
The Kraken will look to redeem themselves from their worst game of the season in the home opener when Vegas spanked Seattle 5-2 at CPA on Oct. 15. In all honesty, it was not even as close as the 5-2 score felt. At the time, we were unsure how good the Golden Knights would be this year after missing the playoffs last year. There were a lot of questions about their health, and goaltending seemed a bit uncertain. Since then, they have proven to be one of the better teams in the league and are tops in the Pacific Division. I am nervous but excited for this game. It is a benchmark game to see just how good the Kraken are.
Golden Knights Current Record: 14-4-1
Players to watch:
Jack Eichel – Have you heard about this guy? Apparently, he is good at hockey. In all seriousness, Eichel seems to be back at a 100 percent and the fully operational superstar that we expect him to be.
Shea Theodore – The former Seattle Thunderbird is logging the second most minutes on the team and leads Vegas defensemen with three goals on the season.
Anaheim Ducks– Sunday, Nov. 27, at Honda Center
Another redemption opportunity. The Kraken were the better team when they played in Anaheim to kick off the season but squandered the win away in the third, only to capture one point in the overtime loss. It stung back then, and the team will look to leave no doubt when they take the ice for the Sunday matinee.
Ducks Current Record: 5-12-1
Players to watch:
Trevor Zegras – He is one of the flashiest players in the NHL, and although I hope he does not score on Sunday, I cannot ignore how much fun he is to watch.
Austin Strand – The undrafted defenseman was part of that Seattle Thunderbird championship team in 2017. He has only played a handful of games in the NHL over the last three seasons, but a rash of injuries on the Ducks blue line has given him a handful of games so far. TBD if he will still be in the lineup next Sunday, but if he does play, it will be fun to see him square off against the Kraken.
Chart of the week
I know faceoffs do not mean what they used to, but you still want to win them more often than you lose them. Early season it seemed like the faceoff circle was a challenge, and I have seen the team actively working on faceoffs in practice so I looked at the data…..
That looks like improvement to us.
As always, please feel free to share any feedback. I have received a lot of positive feedback on this Monday column but continue to strive to make it better.
We bring you another round of Monday Musings, where we share a random collection of thoughts and observations about the last week from the hockey world with an emphasis on the Kraken and other Puget Sound teams. Enjoy.
Kraken thoughts
What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. At least let’s hope that is the case as the Kraken have lost the last two games at home in contests they easily could have won. I am not even close to hitting the panic button, but the last two losses sting. On Friday night the Kraken could not sneak one past Marc-Andre Fleury and lost 1-0 to the Minnesota Wild. Then Sunday night, Seattle let victory slip away with 4 seconds left when Blake Wheeler popped in an easy rebound on a Jets power play. Ugh… so close to snatching two points and a regulation win against a team the Kraken might find themselves competing with for a wild card spot come April.
The Kraken are still on pace for 97 points but have yet to establish a home-ice advantage. They are 3-4-2 at Climate Pledge Arena but 5-1-1 on the road. They are 1-1-1 on this homestand with another three games before hitting the road again. My hope is the Kraken can get four out of a possible six points in the remaining home games against the Rangers, Kings, and Sharks.
I am really looking forward to seeing how the Kraken fair against the Kings. As you might recall, Seattle handled the Kings 4-1 in LA in the second game of the season. The Kings are currently ahead of the Kraken in the standings, and as of Monday morning, have won four games in a row. The end of the Kraken-Kings game in LA featured a “spirited” ending, and I wonder how much of this will spill over on Saturday night.
The Kraken have only won one and lost eight overtime games in their history. Last year, it felt they did not have the high-end skill that favors teams in this area. They have the skill this season but have lost all three overtime games they have played.
The penalty kill allowed two power-play goals against on Sunday, but there was a season high of seven penalty kills in the game. Prior to Sunday, the Kraken killed off 16 PK’s in a row.
The seven penalty kills in the Winnipeg Jets game was a Seattle Kraken record of the most times shorthanded in a game. Hopefully that record sticks for a long time.
I said it a few weeks ago and will say it again; the Kraken are a playoff team.
On Sunday, Gustav Olofsson became the first Coachella Valley Firebird skater to get called up and play for the Kraken. His game against the Jets would mark his 60th NHL game and the first since 2019-20. He played well in the few games I saw him play with the Firebirds but what stuck out was his fun interactions with the young fans during warmups. I love that and will be rooting for him to score his first NHL goal soon.
Matty Beniers has not registered a point since his point streak was broken in the game against the Wild in Minnesota. That is his longest point drought of his career. There is obviously no room for concern there, but I would love to see him get it going again.
Matty also has just two power-play points on the season, which is a little surprising considering he is second on the team in power-play time on ice.
If you predict something long enough, eventually it will be true. Oliver Bjorkstrand is bound to get hot. He has just one goal, and his shooting percentage is a brutally low 2 percent. Over the last four seasons, his shooting percentage was 13 percent.
Will Borgen is getting more likeable every game. He plays a very physical style and never hesitates to get in the mix when there is any kind of dustup. Last season he played just 16 of the Kraken’s first 61 games, and it was not until after the trade deadline when the Kraken traded Jeremy Lauzon and Mark Giordano that Borgen would find himself as a regular in the Kraken lineup. He has really impressed me this season, and by the looks of it so far, has a future with the Kraken.
The Los Angeles Kings assigned 19-year-old Brandt Clarke to the AHL for a “conditioning assignment” this week. Per the transfer agreement with the CHL, Clarke is not eligible to play in the AHL this season apart from this “conditioning assignment” clause. The clause states that under 20 years old, a player can be assigned to the AHL on a conditioning assignment for no more than 14 days, provided that the player was scratched for five games in a row. The Kraken can do the same with Shane Wright this season and Sunday marked his third scratch in a row.
On Thursday last week, the Kraken claimed Magnus Hellberg on waivers and sent Joey Daccord down to Coachella. This was a strategic defensive move. Daccord had been called up from the Firebirds since Philipp Grubauer’s injury on Oct. 21. Because Daccord cleared waivers earlier this year, he does not require waivers again unless he is on the NHL roster more than 30 days. He was coming up on that milestone, so strategically, the Kraken sent Daccord down and will use Hellberg as the backup to Jones until Grubauer returns.
Speaking of Grubauer, the Kraken also added him to the long-term injured reserve list retroactive to Oct. 22. This is another strategic move to bank some salary cap space. I will not get into it here, but this gives the Kraken some flexibility down the road to spend above the cap number should they need it later this season. Grubauer has been on the ice and appears to be nearing a return.
Not Kraken related, but don’t forget about the USA-Canada Rivalry Series game coming up this Sunday at CPA. That game will be intense, and I am hearing that it might set a US record for the highest attendance for a female hockey game. I would love to see Seattle own that record.
Coachella notes
Since flying south from their Seattle residency, the Firebirds are 2-0-0, winning both games in a two-game set against the Tucson Roadrunners. The Firebirds are now 7-3-0 and have the highest point percentage in the AHL’s Pacific Division.
The points leader for Coachella is Andrew Poturalski. He has 18 points in 10 games so far this season. The 28-year-old center is in his eighth year of pro hockey. He has four NHL games in his career.
I don’t know if there are any of you that might head to Palm Springs for the holidays, but the Firebirds home opener is set for Dec. 18 against the Tucson Roadrunners at the brand new Acrisure Arena.
Top player performances
Jordan Eberle – After a slightly cold start, Eberle is starting to heat up. He has three goals in the last three games.
Martin Jones – His record might be 1-1-1 over the last three games, but he is giving the Kraken every opportunity to win games with a save percentage of .934 over that span.
Jack Eichel – Four goals over his last three games, including a hat trick against his former team, the Buffalo Sabres, in Buffalo.
New York Rangers – Thursday, Nov. 17, at Climate Pledge Arena
Another great test for the Kraken and a benchmark for how they stack up. The Kraken have only played four games against the Eastern Conference and have a 3-1-0 record. The Rangers are proving last season was not a fluke and will be a challenging opponent. The Kraken have never beaten the Rangers.
Rangers Current Record: 8-6-3
Players to watch:
Adam Fox – Fox is the new breed of defensemen making an impact on the league. He has eight points in his last four games. He had the game winner against the Kraken last season when the Rangers visited CPA.
Mika Zibanejad – Let us hope we don’t see much from Mika on Thursday night, but he can put up some monster games and is generally a pretty fun player to watch.
Los Angeles Kings – Saturday, Nov. 19, at Climate Pledge Arena
Going into the season, I figured the Kings were set to regress this season, and if there is a 2021-22 playoff team from the Pacific that would not make the playoffs this season, I thought the Kings would be that team. The Kings have won four in a row and have points in eight of their last 10 games. They are currently ahead of the Kraken in the standings so a win would be very encouraging on the playoff prospects for the Kraken.
Kings Current Record: 10-6-1
Players to watch:
Brendan Lemieux – Not the most skilled player, but he and Yanni Gourde got into it all night last time they played in October. Expect more of the same on Saturday night.
Gabriel Vilardi – After splitting the season with the Kings AHL affiliate last season, he is a prime reason for why the Kings are on the upswing. He has 10 goals in 17 games which is a bit crazy considering he is known for his passing ability.
We bring you another round of Monday Musings, where we share a random collection of thoughts and observations about the last week from the hockey world with an emphasis on the Kraken and other Puget Sound teams. Enjoy.
Kraken thoughts
What a week for the Kraken?!?! Three regulation road game victories against some quality opponents. Each victory seemed to build on the previous one, and suddenly, the Kraken see themselves in second place in the Pacific Division and riding a franchise record four-game win streak. The Kraken now have 16 points in the standings over 13 games. Last season, they did not capture their 16th point until their 21st game of the season.
The boys will now play a six-game homestand that will take us right through Thanksgiving. They are currently 2-3-1 at Climate Pledge Arena versus 5-1-1 on the road. Let us hope they can get some CPA mojo and turn that home record around.
I’ve said this many times before, but this team is very different than last year’s team. The ability for this group to bounce back after something goes wrong has been remarkable. In Tuesday’s game against Calgary, the Kraken rallied from two goals down in the third after giving up two quick ones to the Flames. In the game against Pittsburgh on Saturday, Jake Guentzel scored an equalizer for the Penguins, but the Kraken bounced back with a Tanev goal with roughly three and a half minutes left. Those kinds of responses were few and far between last season.
One thing that has helped with the resilience is this team is scoring at a much higher rate than last year. The Kraken are averaging 3.46 goals per game compared to 2.63 last year. Goal scoring in the NHL is challenging, but last year it seemed as if the team would need to work so hard for every goal. Right now, it just seems like anyone out there can score. 19 of the 20 skaters that have drawn into the lineup have scored a goal.
The Shane Wright situation
The only skater to not score a goal is Shane Wright. Wright has the fewest minutes played among the 20 players with just under 57 minutes over his seven games. The challenge with getting Wright more minutes is the players that are drawing into the lineup are better NHL players than he is right now, being that he’s still just 18 years old. Morgan Geekie, Ryan Donato, and Daniel Sprong give the Kraken a better chance to win hockey games.
The other “problem” that is preventing Wright from drawing in more consistently is that the Kraken have been relatively healthy. Seattle has not had to dip into the Coachella Valley Firebirds for any skaters to date. Last year’s team had several injuries and COVID absences in the first part of the season. Colin Blackwell, Yanni Gourde, Calle Jarnkrok, and Jared McCann all missed several games in the first part of last season.
McCann being sidelined on Thursday and Saturday gave Wright the opportunity to not just play but play on the third line with Gourde and Tanev.
I have mentioned this several times on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, but assuming no injuries between now and early December, I imagine the Kraken will loan Wright to Team Canada for the World Junior Championship. This will give him the opportunity to play a couple weeks of logging high minutes of elite-level hockey. At the end of the tournament, he can then return to Seattle for rest of the season.
Other Kraken musings:
The Kraken’s depth is their strength. The Kraken lead the league in unique goal scorers with 19 players scoring at least one goal, but they are also tied for the league lead for unique players with at least two goals. There are 12 players with at least two goals, tied with the Kings and the Bruins.
One of the players with two goals or more is Morgan Geekie. After a challenging start to the season, Geekie finds himself firmly grasping the fourth-line center position, and he will head into Tuesday’s game on a four-game point streak, a career high.
The Kraken will still have a roster decision to make once Joonas Donskoi comes back from injured reserve. From what I have heard, he is not expected back any time soon.
I was asked several times this week “Who has been the best player on the team this season?” I don’t think there is a best player on the team. I feel McCann, Jaden Schwartz, and Matty Beniers could all have a case at one time this season, but people are contributing all over the place and that’s been the key to the success this year.
Andre Burakovsky is tied with Schwartz for the team lead in points, but despite the points, he has another level that we will see soon enough. He is an elite goal scorer, and his current shooting percentage is only 8.3 percent, which is a career low.
After no points in his first six games, Gourde has seven points in his last six games including factoring in all three goals Saturday night against the Penguins.
Coachella notes
The Coachella Valley Firebirds residency in Seattle is officially over, as they fly south to establish their presence in the Valley. It was fun to see them around KCI, and that should create a consistent culture between the two teams. The games I have seen live or on AHL.tv were all entertaining, and I will be looking forward to making a trip down to see them in their barn.
The Firebirds capped off their residency with a split of two games against the Abbotsford Canucks over the weekend. Saturday night’s Firebirds win featured a hat trick by former Kelowna Rocket, Kole Lind. Lind now leads the team with six goals in eight games.
Second in goal scoring for the Firebirds is Jesper Froden. Froden was named the AHL Player of the Month in October.
Yanni Gourde – Yanni had five points over the last three games and was a huge reason the Kraken went 3-0 over the last week. One of the most critical points was his short-handed goal that tied the game up against the Flames on Tuesday night.
Erik Karlsson – He had eight points over the Sharks’ last three games including his first career hat trick on Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
Martin Jones – He had two of the three Kraken wins over this past week including his first shutout with Seattle against the Minnesota Wild. Jones has a .967 save percentage in his last three games and has given Kraken fans a sense of optimism for the goaltending this season.
On the docket
Nashville Predators – Tuesday, Nov. 8, at Climate Pledge Arena
Heading into the season, I thought the Predators were one of the teams the Kraken would need to challenge for a playoff spot. This team is tough to figure out; they are rolling into Seattle with a bit of a hot streak, having beaten the Flames and Canucks, but prior to those games they lost two lopsided contests to the Oilers and Capitals.
Predators current record: 5-6-1
Players to watch:
Tanner Jeannot – hits everything in site and can put the puck in the net. He is the type of player you hate if he is playing against you but love if he is on your team. Regardless, he is entertaining.
Filip Forsberg – easily the best chimney sweeper in the league with an outstanding shot. His snipe last year at CPA is etched into my memory.
Minnesota Wild – Friday, Nov. 11, at Climate Pledge Arena
After an embarrassing 4-0 loss at home to the Kraken last Thursday, the Wild will be looking to return the favor at CPA. It is hard to get a read on how good the Wild are this year, as they have been rather inconsistent through their first 11 games. Most of the media had them pegged as a playoff team, but with the emergence of Winnipeg, there could be some doubt.
Wild current record: 5-5-1
Players to watch:
Matt Boldy – I mentioned him last week, but I am going to double down and mention him again. The 21-year-old winger was kept off the score sheet against the Kraken but still created some chances and clearly has a bright future in the NHL.
Connor Dewar – he played four years with the Everett Silvertips and is now in his first full season with the Wild after splitting last season between the NHL and AHL. He is relegated to the fourth line, but it is always fun seeing former local WHLers playing in the NHL.
Winnipeg Jets – Sunday, Nov. 13, at Climate Pledge Arena
The Jets have gotten off to a sneaky good start to the season and will find themselves in a playoff spot if they can keep this up. If they cool off a bit, the Jets and Kraken could be fighting for a Wild Card position in March.
Jets current record: 7-3-1
Players to watch:
Connor Hellebuyck – despite being one of the best US goalies in the NHL right now, Hellebuyck still flies under the radar. He already has two shutouts and has a save percentage of .936. The Jets will be playing the night before, so it is possible we see David Rittich between the pipes on Sunday.
Cole Perfetti – This 21-year-old first-round draft pick from 2020 is entering his first full season in the NHL. He is currently centering the second line with Pierre-Luc Dobois and Blake Wheeler and has seven points over 11 games.
We bring you another round of Monday Morning Musings, where we share a random collection of thoughts and observations about the last week from the hockey world with an emphasis on the Kraken and other Puget Sound teams. Enjoy.
Kraken thoughts
At the beginning of the season, if you would have told me the Kraken would have six points in their first seven games, I would have been ok with it; not happy, just ok. Before the season started, the schedule over the first two weeks looked like a murderer’s row of opponents, so salvaging six points would have been fine.
Fast forward to today, and now I am just perplexed. I cannot figure this team out. They were the better team in Anaheim and looked great in LA the next night, only to lay consecutive eggs at home against the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes.
They rebounded by earning a point against a very good St. Louis Blues team and then looked looked great against the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. Things were looking up until an ugly loss Sunday. At times the Kraken dominated the gameplay, but mistake after mistake kept the Blackhawks around until they managed to score two goals within 13 seconds to take the lead in the third period. As one great podcast said, there are just a lot of weird vibes around the team right now.
No one is really talking about it, but I am starting to worry about the Kraken penalty kill. The team has allowed nine power-play goals against and has a 64 percent penalty-kill percentage. That is third worst in the league.
After the Kraken scored the first goal of the game Sunday, I was excited to talk about the value of scoring first. Last season the Kraken were plagued by allowing the first goal and were constantly playing from behind. During the 2021-22 season, the Kraken scored first in 31 of the 82 games and had a .484 win percentage when doing so versus a .235 win percentage when allowing the first goal against. Sunday’s game was just the third time the Kraken have scored first this season, and they won the prior two times. That is something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
Scoring is up! The Kraken are averaging 3.0 goals per game compared to last year’s first seven games where they averaged 2.571 goals. It is still early, but that is encouraging.
Jordan Eberle has yet to score a goal this season, but it is not for a lack of trying. He has had some golden opportunities, so it should just be a matter of time. Expect him to get of the schneid this week.
Luckily for the Kraken, a lot of the teams in the Pacific Division have some bad vibes going on right now. Vancouver, Anaheim, and San Jose are a collective 3-14-3, and the Kings are 3-4-0. All three are below the Kraken right now in the standings. Hopefully that helps you sleep at night.
It will be interesting to see if goaltender Joey Daccord draws into a game this week for the Kraken. For those that might have missed it, Daccord was called up from the Coachella Valley Firebirds after Philipp Grubauer appeared to tweak something in the Friday game against Colorado. We are all big fans of Daccord, and after a stellar year in the AHL last season, we are eager to see him take that next step as an NHL goalie, even if it is in a temporary basis while we wait for Grubauer to return.
Firebirds thoughts
Speaking of Coachella Valley, I was lucky enough to attend their two ‘home’ games over the weekend. The first game was Friday at Kraken Community Iceplex, and the second one was at Climate Pledge Arena. Both games were entertaining and were not lacking in goal scoring or drama with several lead changes in each game. A total of 18 goals were scored in those two contests.
In Sunday’s game, Tye Kartye and Ryker Evans scored their first professional goals. Kartye was an undrafted free agent signing, and Evans was the second-round draft pick of the Kraken from the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
Sunday’s game also featured this amazing goal by Jesper Froden.
The Firebirds have one more game in the area that is available to the public. It is coming up this Friday in Everett. If you have been considering checking it out, I highly recommend trying to attend.
Around the NHL
The ageless wonder Joe Pavelski is at it again. The 38-year-old former seventh-round draft pick posted a career year last year with 81 points and has kept it rolling this season. He has seven points in five games for the Dallas Stars including a hat trick against Montreal on Saturday Night.
Colorado’s Valeri Nichushkin has registered a point in each of the six games he has played this season with six goals and five assists. ‘Big Val’ signed a new contract with Colorado this offseason for $49 million over eight years.
Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin has scored a goal in each of the Sabres’ first five games this season, setting the record for longest goal streak to start the season by a defenseman. I really hope the Kraken are not playing the Sabres anytime soon… Oh, oops.
On the docket
Buffalo Sabres – Tuesday, Oct. 25, at Climate Pledge Arena
The Sabres are off to a hot start this season with four wins in their first five games. They swept through western Canada with wins against Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. This should be a great benchmark game for the Kraken.
Sabres current record: 3-1-0
Players to watch:
Alex Tuch – Tuch is a native of upstate New York and was part of the Jack Eichel trade to Vegas last year. He has six goals in five games. Tuch has a nose for the net with a little bit of a pest attitude, and I tend to hate him because he often scores goals against my teams.
JJ Peterka – Peterka, from Germany, was drafted just outside the first round in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and was part of the draft class with fellow countrymen, Tim Stützle and Lukas Reichel. Peterka is projected to be an offensive juggernaut in the NHL and is already showcasing it this season. He has two goals and two assists in the first five games.
Vancouver Canucks – Thursday, Oct. 27, at Climate Pledge Arena
I am already nervous for this game. Nobody wants to be the team that gives the Canucks their first win of the season, especially the Kraken. In four head-to-head games last season, the Kraken never beat the Canucks. If the Kraken are going to sneak into the playoffs this season, they will need to do it at the expense of the Canucks and other struggling Pacific teams. One game in October is not going to instantly propel this team into a playoff spot, but you must bank points when you can get them, and creating more distance with division rivals is highly encouraged.
Canucks current record: 0-4-2
Players to watch:
Bo Horvat – There are some flashier players to watch on the Canucks, but I love Horvat’s compete level. He plays hard on both ends of the ice, and it is the little things like causing turnovers or digging out pucks that I appreciate.
Andrei Kuzmenko – Kuzmenko was a big KHL free-agent signing in the offseason with a lot of hype. Things looked promising early when he registered a goal in his first game of the season against Edmonton, but he has cooled off since, registering no points in his last three games. Kuzmenko was second in points in the KHL last season so there is potential there, but sometimes that KHL skill does not transfer to the NHL.
Pittsburgh Penguins – Saturday, Oct. 29, at Climate Pledge Arena
The only home game I missed attending last season was against the Pittsburgh Penguins… and boy was I glad I missed that one. It was one of the few ugly losses the Kraken had at home in 2021-22. Pittsburgh is still stacked with future hall of famers, and those players continue to play at an elite level. Sidney Crosby has 10 points in five games and Evgeni Malkin is averaging a point per game. The Penguins have three games between now and Saturday, but they have yet to lose in regulation. One potential benefit to the schedule is that the Penguins will be playing Friday night in Vancouver. I will not be missing this game, so hopefully that will be the difference this season.
Penguins current record: 4-0-1
Players to watch:
Kasperi Kapanen – Obviously not one of the elite players on the team, but I still enjoy watching him fly all over the ice. He is your typical third liner that can put the puck in the net from time to time. He is averaging a point per game this season.
Ryan Poehling – Another sleeper pick from an otherwise star-studded lineup in Pittsburgh. The 2017 first-round draft pick has yet to have a breakout season in the NHL but is still a solid overall player. Because of the depth of the Penguins roster, he is pretty much relegated to a fourth-line role.
We made it through the long and dull summer in Seattle, a period otherwise known as the NHL offseason. The kick-off of rookie camp is a special time for us hockey sickos, and we are here for it. On Sunday, the Seattle Kraken announced their training camp rosters with Monday and Tuesday dedicated to the rookies on the squad and the main camp starting Thursday. We are seven days away from the first preseason game against Edmonton at Climate Pledge Arena, so we thought now would be a good time to look at some storylines to monitor for Training Camp. Here’s what to keep an eye on in week one.
Centers
With the selection of centerman Shane Wright in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, the Kraken have a positional challenge to consider. Add Wright to the quiver of Matty Beniers, Alex Wennberg, Yanni Gourde, and Morgan Geekie, and now the club has five centers for only four spots. One of them will center the fourth line and another will need to move to wing. Lines can and will change a lot during the season, but it will be interesting to see who is getting the reps at center in the first few days of camp.
Who advances from rookie camp?
It is safe to say that Matty Beniers and Shane Wright are locks to move on from rookie camp to the main camp, but the bigger question is who else will stick around for a bit longer? Safe money is on Ryker Evans, the Kraken’s second-round pick from the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, who had an excellent season with Regina in the WHL. After Evans, it is a bit of a toss-up. Undrafted forward Ty Kartye signed an entry-level deal with the Kraken in March and could be one of the players to move on to the big camp at the end of the week. Another candidate could be 2021 fifth-round draft pick Jacob Melanson. He tends to fly under radar but put up 35 goals in 54 games in the QMJHL last season. Advancing from rookie camp to the main training camp does not mean the player is destined for the big club any time soon, but it might signal the potential these prospects have for reaching the NHL.
Eyes on Wright
Seattle’s coveted first-round pick from the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Shane Wright will undoubtedly get a lot of attention. We think he will be given every opportunity to make this team, but it is far from guaranteed. Wright will need to prove he belongs in order to stay with the team all season. The coaching staff expects all the players to buy into their two-way game, and there is no doubt that Wright plays that style. But can he play that style in the NHL at 18 years old? Interesting to note, Cole Sillinger of Columbus was the only player taken in the 2021 draft to play the full 2021-22 season in the NHL.
The Killer B’s
If you are lucky enough to attend training camp in person, you will get to see reps and reps of the same drill. This enables you to focus in on individual players and compare them to each other doing the same drill. Keying in on Beniers for individual drills will be something special to watch, as his creativity and skill should be on full display. This will also be the first time we get to see offseason acquisitions Oliver Bjorkstrand and Andre Burakovsky up close and personal in Kraken jerseys. Bjorkstrand and Burakovsky have amazing shooting capabilities, and seeing them fire pucks in volume at practice should be a treat. A Bjorkstrand, Burakovsky, and Beniers line does sound cool, but it is premature to think it will happen or stick for the long term.
Tanev and Schwartz
Brandon Tanev and Jaden Schwartz were having productive seasons in 2021-22 before being sidelined by injuries. In Tanev’s case, he had season-ending knee surgery after a freak play against the Edmonton Oilers in mid-December. Schwartz’s diagnosis was never disclosed, but he was in and out of the lineup throughout the second half of the season. In both cases, the fanbase should be hopeful they return to pre-injury form. Both have been skating at Kraken Community Iceplex, and early reports are that they look good. Training camp should be a little more telling of where both those players stand in the recovery process.
Those are just a few of the storylines to watch throughout training camp this week. Keep any eye on SoundOfHockey.com and our twitter account all week for various reports from training camp as we ramp up to the start of the season.
A few weeks ago, I spent some time digging into NHL playoff projections based on an adjusted goal differential. I forecasted a rough estimate of where the Seattle Kraken could land, based on that metric, in the 2022-23 season with their off-season moves. In this post, I am going to look at team points to determine how much the Kraken will need to improve to make it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023 and how often a team can rebound after a season like the Kraken had in 2021-22 to qualify for the playoffs.
What does it take to qualify for the playoffs?
The Kraken had just 60 points last year, while the last team into the playoffs, the Nashville Predators, had 97 points. When looking over the last 11 seasons, excluding the 2019-20 season that had a unique play-in format, the average minimum point total of the bottom playoff team was 92.4 points on the season.
If we assume the 92.4-point average to be the target to make the playoffs, Seattle will need to improve by 32.4 points next season. How common is it for a team to improve by 32+ points from one season to the next? Let’s look at the data.
Uh oh. That does not look good. Only two percent of NHL teams since 2010 have seen an increase of 32 points or more from one season to the next. However, that is not a fair comparison to expect all teams to possibly increase their point total by 30+ points. A team with 120 points in the previous season does not have the same likelihood to increase their point total by 30 points as compared to a team with 70 points in the previous year. To illustrate the point, here is a look at all the teams since the 2011-12 season by their previous year’s point total (x axis) and their change in points the following season (y axis).
As the slope of the average line indicates, the better you did in a given year, the less likely you will improve in the following year. Therefore, the previous statement about two percent of the time a team improves 32+ points is not a fair comparable.
Let’s isolate all the teams with 70 or fewer points in the previous season to see how frequently they improve by 32 points.
It is not a perfect calculation but a 15 percent chance of a 32-point improvement and theoretically qualifying for the playoffs is a believable number.
Here is the same scatter plot from above, filtering all the teams with 70-point seasons.
Climbing the standings
Another area I wanted to investigate was the frequency with which teams climb the standings to qualify for the playoffs. Last season the Seattle Kraken finished 30th in the league-wide standings. It seems a bit delusional to think a team that was that low in the standings one year could turn around to qualify for the playoffs the next year. To test our sanity, let us look at how other teams have done the following year after being one of the worst in the league. I have isolated all the teams that placed 28th in the league or below since the 2000-01 season and then looked at how often those teams qualified for the playoffs the following year.
A team that placed where the Kraken finished last season qualified for the playoffs the following year 17 percent of the time. Personally, that’s better than I expected and feel that is enough to say it is a possibility.
What are the chances?
This was a simple approach to evaluating the likelihood the Kraken improved enough to be a playoff team next season. Both the standings approach and points approach indicate that teams coming off a season like the Kraken have about a 15 percent chance to make the playoffs the following year. That seems believable, reasonable, and the right odds to have some hope going into the season.
Do you think they qualify for the playoffs next season? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
