Let’s get quackin’: Kraken vs Ducks preview

The Need to Knows

The Time: 7:00 pm PT / 10:00 pm ET

The Place: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA

Where to Watch: ROOT Northwest, ESPN+

Place to Listen: KJR 93.3fm

Know Your Enemy

The last time the Kraken faced off against the Anaheim Ducks was November 27, and if you had any expectation that the Ducks would become a more formidable opponent since then, you’d be hopelessly wrong. The Ducks are one of those teams where, for all their up-and-coming young players, there is just not nearly enough to keep this roster above water.

At the trade deadline, the team mostly sold, sending out players like John Klingberg (who seems to almost always get linked to the Kraken as a defenseman they could be interested in for reasons I’m not entirely sure of) to Minnesota. They also sent Dmitry Kulikov to Pittsburgh while getting Brock McGinn in return from the Penguins. However, those were the only two major players that got shipped out, and while they did get some prospects in return, none of the draft picks they received were for 2023 — which this upcoming draft is predicted to be one of the deepest in years. (Then again, that could be exactly why GMs might hesitate to give up any picks for this year. Even a late first-rounder has more potential to become a star player than in other years.)

When it comes to which players still remain with Anaheim, Trevor Zegras is almost unsurprisingly the team’s leader in all major scoring categories. He has 53 points on the season — 20 are goals and 33 are assists. That’s a talent level almost on par with the Kraken, whose point leader in Jordan Eberle has 50 points, but he’s not the better goal scorer. Who has 30 goals for the Kraken again? Hi, Jared McCann!

Troy Terry, the Ducks’ All-Star Game representative this year, hasn’t been having a shabby season himself either, and Cam Fowler has been setting up a lot of his teammates for goals as of late. Look for them to also be active against the Kraken.

Also, in their past five games, they’ve won four of those contests. It’s not going to be enough to save their season by any means, as they still sit down in 29th place in the league, but going on a miniature hot streak could give them the confidence to try to play spoiler for their Pacific Division rivals.

Game Preview

The Kraken have returned to their road warrior ways after completing a four-game sweep of St. Louis, Detroit, Columbus, and Colorado. The Kraken are looking to extend their win streak to five games as they return home for the first time since February 26. Now, the last time the Kraken swept a road trip, they lost their first game back home, but that was a seven-game stretch against a more formidable opponent in Tampa Bay. Going up against the Ducks should prove to be a much easier homecoming. Emphasis on should.

The season series with the Ducks is split 1-0-1, with the Kraken falling in overtime 5-4 in their first matchup, then the Kraken winning 5-4 in regulation in their next. If this next game also has a 5-4 score (or even just a combination of nine goals scored in total), I’m going to begin to wonder if there’s a glitch in the simulation.

This game is also one of the Kraken’s Hockey is For Everyone Nights. The team is celebrating Women in Hockey Night and will be wearing warm-up jerseys designed by local artist Erin Wallace. Her goal in this design was to choose traditional icons of femininity that also contain a hidden darker side. The jerseys will be auctioned off in partnership with the One Roof Foundation. Also, I’d like to think coming up with one of my best pun titles of the season is a tribute to one of the best women in the business, someone the Kraken is very lucky to have aboard: Alison Lukan.

As for other activities for Women in Hockey Night, keep an eye out on the Kraken’s social media throughout the day for any updates.