The Need to Knows
- The Time: 7:30 pm PT / 10:30 pm ET
- The Place: Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC
- Where to Watch: KHN, KONG, ESPN+ (other U.S. markets)
- Where to Listen: Kraken Audio Network on KJR 93.3
Know Your Enemy
Following the playoff races seems to be my preoccupation lately, but to be honest, it’s the main preoccupation of a lot of people. While there are only 4* teams so far that have the infamous E for Eliminated next to their name, there are still only 3* teams that have the X that marks them as a playoff team. There are thus 12 more teams that can join Seattle, Nashville, Chicago, and San Jose in (as the infamous hockey fandom joke goes) hitting the golf courses earlier than the rest.
*The Ducks could be eliminated and the Golden Knights could have clinched by the time you’re reading this and make my numbers wrong. I’m submitting this to the queue before both games have ended.
The Vancouver Canucks need to fight like hell to not be one of those 12 (or 11) remaining teams. Now, like every team that currently sits on the outside of the playoff bubble, part of this goal involves the teams above them making some missteps of their own. The two Wild Card teams in the west aren’t exactly making that feat easy. The St. Louis Blues just won their 10th game in a row, and the Minnesota Wild aren’t losing at a pace to be in danger of falling out of the playoff race. 7 points separate the Canucks from the Wild, and with only 8 games left for them to play, there’s little margin for error if they want to keep their hopes alive.
Game Preview
Prior to tonight’s game against the Canucks, the Kraken announced that they were recalling Ryan Winterton from Coachella Valley on an emergency basis at what was 11:00 pm for me here on the East Coast. I only have myself to blame for being up this late writing in the first place, but could the Kraken have better considered that this was still inconvenient timing to announce this news for this humble writer? Thanks. Now, with the fact that this is an emergency recall, the question becomes what the emergency is about. Who is Winterton replacing in being called up as the Firebirds continue to chase yet another season making the AHL playoffs? It doesn’t seem to be exactly clear at the moment.
Beyond this, the Kraken once again need to straddle that fine line between angling for draft position but not fully letting the roster buy in to a mindset of mediocrity being okay. Since the last time I looked at the standings, the Sabres and the Flyers both won games and put themselves further away in draft position from the Kraken. As for trying to surpass the Predators, Nashville lost two games back-to-back (one of those being against the previously mentioned Flyers…the universe gives and it takes), so they continue to hover at the same 62 points from last time.
Yet, wouldn’t there be something satisfying in playing a role in knocking a geographical and divisional rival out of the playoff chase? Motivation needs to be found through other channels, and sometimes spite can be a powerful source of it. When it comes to the Cancuks’ hopes, the Kraken have the chance to be a “big ol’ wrecking ball” (in the words of the British Columbia band Mother Mother, who I’ve also quoted a lyric of for the title). Maybe that’s enough for the Kraken to give fans something to cheer for beyond a tank, or maybe the gas has truly run out of the tank at this point of the season.