Photo by Kavin Mistry/NHLI via Getty Images

Just the Facts:

The Time: 7:30pm PT

The Place: The SAP Center, San Jose, CA

Place to Watch: ROOT Northwest, BSSWX, ESPN+ and SN+

Place to Listen: KJR 93.3fm

An Opposing Perspective: Fear the Fin

Know Your Enemy:

The Sharks are shutting it down for the season, having traded off Timo Meier and are squarely in the race for the #1 overall pick for the rights to draft generational prospect Connor Bedard.

Their top defenseman, Erik Karlsson, has 85 points in just 68 games and is on pace to be the first defenseman since 1992 to score 100 points (Brian Leetch, NY Rangers).

He is the favorite to win the Norris Trophy for the league’s best defenseman. It is very realistic for the Sharks to have the Norris winner the same summer as they get the #1 overall pick. Very strange year for San Jose.

Their goal song is abysmally bad. I went into this at length the last time the Kraken played the Sharks.

Game Preview:

After consecutive games against a tough Dallas opponent, the Kraken should take care of the Sharks on Thursday. They have the extra day of rest and they’re the superior team.

That said, the Kraken had their worst performance of the season when they lost 4-0 to the Sharks in February. It was a game you just want to forget, so maybe I shouldn’t be bringing up bad memories.

This is a high-leverage game for Seattle. According to Moneypuck, this game represents a nearly 7% swing in playoff probability with a regulation win versus a regulation loss. 89% is still very likely to get in of course, but 89% is not 100%. That 11% is going to matter a lot some of the time.

Hopefully the Kraken don’t find themselves in a position for it to matter.