The Seattle Kraken will be taking on a different Detroit Red Wings club on Thursday night compared to the one they beat 4-2 at Climate Pledge Arena back on February 18th.
After battling their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Red Wings took a nosedive this past week with back-to-back losses to the Ottawa Senators 6-2 and 6-1 on Monday and Tuesday night. Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman must have seen enough to flip the switch to the “seller” position with the NHL Trade Deadline fast approaching on Friday.
Yzerman announced the trade of top defenseman Filip Hronek to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, followed by moving forward and last season’s 30-goal man Tyler Bertuzzi to the Boston Bruins on Thursday. Both moves added to Detroit’s stockpile of upcoming NHL Draft picks. They have two 1st-rounders this year and next and three 2nd-rounders this coming summer.
It doesn’t mean the Seattle Kraken should take the Red Wings for granted, they’ll still be a determined bunch, led by workhorse captain Dylan Larkin who just signed an eight-year contract extension to the tune of $69.6-million.
The Red Wings have lost three in a row and slipped five points back of the 2nd wild card position with 22 games to play.
Speaking of Standings – Seattle Kraken
The Western Conference is much tighter than the east and the standings seem to bounce around on a daily basis.
After hopping into 3rd place in the Pacific Division with their 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night, the Seattle Kraken slipped back into a wild card position with the Edmonton Oilers beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Wednesday. With the Vegas Golden Knights edging the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Wednesday, Seattle now sits six points out of first place with a game in hand.
Pasta Man!
That’s a lot of dough! The Boston Bruins announced on Thursday the contract extension for hard working, high scoring winger David Pastrnak, amounting to $11.25-million per season for the next eight years.
The 26-year-old Czech right winger is 2nd in the NHL with 42 goals and tied for 4th in scoring with 80 points.
— The Seattle Kraken vs. Detroit Red Wings puck drop should happen a little after 4 pm pacific.
Enjoy the Hockey Action !!
