The Kraken hit Boston later today (Sunday), coming off a 3-0 loss in Ottawa on Saturday evening. Puck drop is expected a few minutes after 2 pm Pacific.
Simmer’s Kraken Sunday 9
1) Seattle will go with their present number-one goalie Joey Daccord on Sunday, playing against his hometown Bruins while looking to even up the club’s record on this road trip. They are 1-and-2 thus far. Daccord is from North Andover, on what’s called the ‘North Shore’ of Boston.
2) I’ve crossed paths with this “kid” on a few occasions … sort of. He recalled watching me doing Bruins games on NESN between 2005 and 2008, and in late 2018 I served as color analyst on a couple of his Arizona State games on the Pac-12 Network. The hockey community is a small one, the coincidences frequent, and sometimes they’re just odd and/or fun.
3) One should never underestimate the importance of confidence generated by a goaltender’s presence. It’s real, a factor in hockey forever. A team will play with more confidence, focus and energy if they’re comfortable with the man in the crease behind them. Simple fact: Players don’t want to have to think about whether or not their goalie is going to make saves.
Right now it’s Daccord that brings that to the table for the Kraken.
4) Seattle has been remarkably strong in Boston against the Bruins. In fact, two seasons ago, they snapped the Bruins home undefeated streak in January of 2023. My story here at the time said this:
On Thursday night Seattle played a complete hockey game, received sound goaltending whenever they needed it, and handed the Boston Bruins their first regulation home loss of the season, 3-0. Boston came in with a record of 19-0-and-3 at TD Garden.
The Kraken won again in Boston this past February 4-1. Daccord was in net. (Martin Jones won the year before)
5) That “slippery slope” headline reference: The Kraken are 11th in the Western Conference, with as many games played as anyone, and a loss Sunday would drop them two games below .500.
Next up; at the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
6) The Kraken power play is middle-of-the-pack in the NHL and not very good at 18%. It doesn’t help that injured D-man Vince Dunn is out of the line-up, on long term injured reserve, and not expected back until at least the middle of this month. The penalty kill is strong at 82.9%.
7) Seattle center Shane Wright has just one goal and one assist in 12 games played this season, yet he’s tied for the best plus/minus on the team at plus-4. It’s an archaic stat, but one that combined with the others indicates he’s been getting some tough match-ups.
8) Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma on the two-game losing streak and bouncing back in Boston (from postgame Saturday night) …
9) You can follow Simmer on twitter/X @simmerpuck, and you can watch and subscribe to videos like the one below at our youtube page; also simmerpuck. There’s also a Seattle Hockey Insider facebook page where all of these stories are loaded in. Thank you for your support.
This is Hockey Hall of Fame honored broadcaster Nick Nickson talking about his omnipresent LA Kings, now 6-3-and-3 on the season. How do they do it?!
Coming this week, guests from the Anaheim Ducks, Vegas Golden Knights, the red hot Winnipeg Jets, and the Kraken.
