Seattle Kraken, Anaheim Ducks

Seattle Kraken’s Difficult Week Looms

The good news for the Seattle Kraken; they finally got two consecutive days off for the first time all season. Since a back-to-back to start the season on October 12th and 13th, the club has played a game every other night through this past Saturday.

The team will now turn its attention to what could be a difficult week, although the road thus far has been a mostly happy place for the Kraken, with a record of 2-1-and-1.

Some thoughts from Seattle’s first ten-game segment:

Some Blown Chances

The Kraken could definitely look at a few missed opportunities and a few unlucky bounces that have led to their point total of ten in the standings, as opposed to potentially thirteen or fourteen. Then again, a lot of teams could probably make this argument as hindsight is 20-20. The idea is to learn and grow.

In a well played road game, Seattle blew a 4-2, mid-3rd-period lead against the Anaheim Ducks on opening night, eventually losing 5-4 in overtime on a Troy Terry winner.

On October 23rd in Chicago, coming off a victory against the Stanley Cup champions in Denver two nights earlier, the Kraken frittered away a third period lead in the matter of :13-seconds to lose to an outplayed Blackhawks club 5-4.

And arguably bounces went the other way at a couple of key moments in the game this past Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks in a 5-4 loss. Credit the Canucks for taking advantage at key moments and for their power play going two for two.

Special Teams

A perfect transition to the other topic already discussed within these pages. While the Kraken power play has excellent numbers around 27% and in the NHL’s top ten, the penalty kill has been a disappointment. Maybe they turned the corner a bit, going two-for-two on the kill Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Obviously a 66.7% penalty kill needs to improve and if it doesn’t, personnel experiments will need to commence.

Crowds

It hasn’t mattered that we’re in the middle of football season, the Kraken home crowds at Climate Pledge Arena have been electric, so much so that the Saturday night audience against the Penguins seemed to help carry the team. It was party time in general with the spectators highly energized and attuned.

There seems to be a more knowledgable presence than one might expect in season two and a strong grasp of some of the subtleties on ice.

The club finally repaid some that love with a win Saturday after starting the season 1-3-and-1 at the CPA.

Big Roadie

Well, it’s not that big, but it is the longest of the season thus far and it presents some mighty challenges. The Pacific Division favorite Calgary Flames await Tuesday at the Saddledome, the inconsistent Minnesota Wild should be desperate at home on Thursday, and the Penguins will seek revenge next Saturday night.

Thus far the Seattle Kraken have been road warriors of sorts with a record of 2-1-and-1, numbers that, as mentioned above, could very easily be 4-and-0. The club has been composed and in every game and has notched a couple of impressive victories.

Notes

– Goaltender Philipp Grubauer has been day to day with a lower body injury. It’ll be nice to have that option and competition back with Martin Jones who has held up well since a rough outing back on October 15th at home against the Vegas Golden Knights.

– Balanced scoring has been key and another competition, the battle for ice-time on the fourth line, has produced positive results.

Rob Simpson

Rob Simpson has covered the NHL in five different decades. He’s authored 4 books on hockey and is a veteran TV and radio play-by-play man and reporter.