The Kraken finished off their season with a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul, taking advantage of two shorthanded goals by Yanni Gourde and two point nights from Brandon Tanev and Oliver Bjorkstrand.
The Kraken finish the season 34-35-and-13 for 81 points and 6th place in the Pacific Division, with the Calgary Flames sliding ahead of them in the standings following a convincing win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
It appears Seattle will have the 8th-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft based on the fact the New Jersey Devils also finished with 81 points, but with more regulation victories. The Flames finished ahead of the Kraken based on that same tiebreaker.
Kraken Reset
It’s been a tumultuous three years for Seattle in the standings. After an abysmal inaugural season that saw them finish with the third fewest points (60) in the NHL in 2021-’22, the Kraken bounced back in a big way with 100 points in the standings and a wild card playoff spot last season.
They rode the momentum and the excitement all the way to Game-7 of the 2nd round against the Dallas Stars.
Much of that success stemmed from coinciding “career years” for a number of Seattle players, and the highest even strength shooting percentage in the league. The Kraken scored the most goals in the NHL at 5-on-5 last season.
Obviously those were two large factors, and with somewhat dramatic roster changes up front in particular, the concept of a repeat performance this time around became impossible.
Seattle also had the rookie-of-the-year (Calder Trophy) winner in center Matty Beniers in 2023. His game cooled off this ‘sophomore’ season.
The last NHL game of the 2023-’24 regular season featured the Chicago Blackhawks visiting the Los Angeles Kings.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Saturday. The Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights will all be participants from the Pacific Division.
