Kraken Game Facts
Today: Seattle Kraken at Edmonton Oilers
Where: Rogers Place
When: 6 pm pacific
TV/Radio: ROOT Sports / FM 93.3
Key Factors:
Expected starting goalies: Joey Daccord vs. Stuart Skinner
The Kraken have dropped two straight games following their franchise record nine-game winning streak. The line-up is dinged up and/or ill. The club will hope to get top defenseman Vince Dunn back into the mix after he missed the last two contests. Rookie Ryker Evans played the last two games on the left side.
The Kraken had their 13-game regulation unbeaten streak snapped on Monday afternoon in Pittsburgh. Goalie Tristan Jarry pitched the 3-0 shut-out for the Penguins. Seattle then lost 5-2 to the New York Rangers the next night.
After leaving Saturday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, center Matty Beniers has since been placed on injured reserve. Andre Burakovsky left earlier in the game, hasn’t played since, but remains on the active roster. “Burkie” is a game time decision.
John Hayden was called up from Coachella Valley and played in New York with Beniers on the IR.
The Oilers are simply the hottest team in the NHL. They’ve won 11 straight, including a 4-2 victory at home over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night that involved a 3rd period comeback.
Edmonton has jumped up to 4th place in the Pacific Division with 49 points and have a whopping four games in-hand on most of their adversaries.
Who’s Hot? And Not …
“Hot” hasn’t really described things over the last two games for Seattle, although the Kraken did fire a lot of pucks at Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin.
Jordan Eberle (pictured) and Jared McCann both had a power play goal and an assist at Madison Square Garden. Eberle is averaging a point-a-game over the last three while McCann has rang up six over his last four.
NHL All-Star Oliver Bjorkstrand picked up an assist at MSG and is averaging a point-a-game over his last 14.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid (pictured) has not gone without a point in a game since December 19th. He has 17 points over that eleven game run, which coincides with the team’s win streak. He’s tied for 6th in league scoring with 58 points.
Right shot defenseman Evan Bouchard tallied a goal and an assist against the Leafs, has six points over his last five games and 10 over his last nine.
The much heralded reunion of McDavid with his junior teammate Connor Brown hasn’t really led to much this season. The 30-year-old winger has just three points in 33 games, pretty much as a 4th-liner.
Special Teams
The Kraken went 2-for-2 on the power play on Tuesday in New York and improved to 22.1% on the season. They gave up one PP goal to the Blueshirts and have an 80.3% PK on the season.
The Oilers and Maple Leafs both went 0-for-1 on Tuesday. Although not as gaudy as their 32+% power play from last year, Edmonton is still a very strong 25% on the man advantage. Their penalty kill ranks 11th in the NHL at a decent 81.2%.
Coming In:
Kraken: 19-16-and-9 following their 5-2 loss at the hands of the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. The Kraken are in 6th place in the Pacific Division with 47 points.
Oilers: 24-15-and-1 after beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Tuesday.
Recent Kraken:
— The Anchor That Is The Kraken’s Philipp Grubauer Deal
— Shorthanded Kraken Lose 5-2 To Rangers; Middle Of Skid?
