Kraken Game Facts
This Afternoon: Seattle Kraken at Columbus Blue Jackets
Where: Nationwide Arena
When: 4 pm pacific
TV/Radio: ROOT Sports / FM 93.3
Key Factors:
Starting goalies: Joey Daccord vs. Daniil Tarasov
Daccord has personally won seven straight starts and is now fifth in NHL goals against average (2.23) 4th in save percentage (.925), and tied for third in shut-outs (2) for the season.
The Kraken presently own an eight game win streak while going unbeaten in regulation in twelve straight matches. Their last regulation loss was 3-0 at home to the Minnesota Wild on December 10th. Nine straight wins would set a new franchise record.
Jaden Schwartz has recorded three points over the two games he has played since returning to the lineup from injury and he enters action on Saturday with 12 points in his last 12 road games. The only missing Seattle forward at the moment is 4th line center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, out with a lower body injury for the last eight games.
“Banged up” doesn’t begin to describe the Columbus roster. The Blue Jackets injured reserve line-up could be their all-star team: Winger Patrik Laine, defenseman Zach Werenski, captain Boone Jenner, and forward Sean Kuraly.
The Kraken will try to take advantage of a club that has missed the playoffs the last three years and has only been to the postseason six times since entering the NHL in 2000.
Who’s Hot? And Not …
Kraken leading scorer Vince Dunn didn’t pick up a point in the win over the Capitals, but finished a plus-2 and has nine points over his last seven games.
Finnish winger Eeli Tolvanen (pictured) has six points over his last four games, including a four-game point streak.
NHL All-Star Oliver Bjorkstrand had an assist in Washington and now has ten points over his last eleven games.
Center Matty Beniers continues to seek some offensive consistency this season. He has one point over his last six games and 19 total on the season.
This sums things up rather nicely for the Blue Jackets: Two players are tied for the the team lead in points with 25. One is Johnny Gaudreau, who hasn’t had a point in five games. The other is defenseman Werenski, who hasn’t played since December 27th.
Center Cole Sillinger (pictured) had a hat trick two games ago against the Minnesota Wild, a 4-3 overtime loss.
Special Teams
It was a quiet night in Washington on Thursday in terms of infractions. Both the Kraken and the Capitals went 0-for-1 on the power play.
For the season the Seattle PP is at 20.7% and the PK at 80.9%, both solid numbers.
The Blue Jackets went 0-for-3 on the power play on Tuesday against the Jets and gave up one goal on three Winnipeg chances. Columbus is 25th in the NHL with the man advantage at an abysmal 14.5%. Their PK is a somewhat respectable 79.8%.
Coming In:
Kraken: 18-14-and-9 following their 4-1 win at the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. With their 45 points, Seattle sits tied for 4th place, 14 points behind the 1st place Vancouver Canucks in the Pacific Division.
Blue Jackets: 13-20-and-9 after Tuesday’s 5-0 road loss to the Winnipeg Jets. They have the fifth fewest points (35) in the NHL.
Recent Kraken:
— Kraken’s Gourde Sees Patience Rewarded, Symbolic Of Team Streak
— Simmer’s Sunday 9: Kraken, Canucks, and The New Podcast
