The Need to Knows
- The Time: 7pm PT
- The Place: Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
- Place to Watch: KHN, KING-5, KONG, Amazon Prime
- Place to Listen: Kraken Audio Network via KJR 93.3-FM
Know Your Enemy
- The Flames are 26-21-7, which is good for 59 points and are 3 points out of a playoff spot. That record is good for 5th in the Pacific Division.
- Jonathan Huberdeau appears to have remembered that he’s actually really, really good; leading the team in points with 40, and goals with 21, all in 54 games.
- Calgary has a fairly middle of the road power play, but their penalty kill is a real pain point for them; they’re 28th in the league and have a 72.0% success rate.
- It’s still Dustin Wolf’s world in Red and Yellow, but the Flames will likely deploy their secret weapon against Seattle; Dan Vladar. Vladar is 6-1-1 in all of his confrontations against Kraken, and has a .905 SV% in those games.
Game Preview
Last time these two teams met, the game hammered a couple of “What If?” scenarios down in the form of two separate Goaltender interference calls that went against Seattle, which put the Kraken down significantly to end the first 20 minutes of play and forced them to try and battle back. To their credit, they made a good show of it, but it wasn’t enough to get the victory.
Now, after both sides have gone and had their momentum blasted out the back of their skulls, we return together to meet the Flames for the 3rd time this season. Much of what was true about them on Sunday night is still true on Saturday; they are a very talented team that is good at getting shots off, but sometimes struggles with bizarre cedings of ice to their opponent, and they’re not exactly one of the better generators of quality shots in the league. What’s buoyed them is some exemplary goaltending and some high-octane goalscoring coming at the right time. If you can crack their defense, you just have to crack their goaltending.
Unfortunately, solving the goalie will almost certainly be the biggest concern.
Dustin Wolf and the Flames haven’t exactly had great games lately, what with getting hammered by Toronto and Colorado in short order, which leads most signs to the idea that Calgary will once again call upon Dan Vladar to be the man between the pipes. Vladar seems to be the Kraken’s kryptonite, and solving him will go a long way towards potentially winning this hockey game. One area of his game that has always been a work in progress is puck-tracking; it was an issue for him in Boston, and it’s still a bit of an issue in Calgary. If the Kraken can do that and create a strong cycle, then they might be able to beat him more consistently. The alternative is another frustrating game of almosts… and personally, I would prefer a definitive and positive result for Seattle.
LET’S GO KRAKEN, LET’S GO SQUIDS