The Need to Knows
- The Time: 7pm PST
- The Place: Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington
- Place to Watch: KONG, KHN Networks, Amazon Prime, FanDuel Sports Network North, FanDuel SportsNet Wisconsin
- Place to Listen: KJR 93.3-FM
- An Opposing Viewpoint: Hockey Wilderness
Game Preview
The Kraken are in the midst of a 8-1-1 run with the Pacific Division lead…somehow, in their grasp.
I hope you know I do mean it when I say “I’m as surprised as you are”.
But, the doubters will point to their competition and say “Ah, but they were not GOOD teams the Kraken beat!” and you know what? While I do think it’s harsh, especially in 2025-26 where as far as we know, only the Colorado Avalanche are actually good at anything, but it is understandable. Maybe beating all of the California teams when two of the three begin freefalling, Calgary, Vancouver, Philly, Boston and the Preds maybe isnt the most impressive resume with the Pacific Division in such flux. It is both easy to see how they beat them and easy to see how that could accumulate into a massive rise. Still eight NHL teams beaten in a row, but I’ll be fair and say “Fine.”
So here. Let’s see how they stack up against the Minnesota Wild for the second time this season.
And they? Are basically 5-5 through their last 10. Whoops.
In fairness, the Wild are genuinely really good. Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy are once again the wunderkinds in Green and Cream; leading the team in points, goals, and possession in most nights. The Wild’s offense is a genuinely difficult thing to face; with plenty of players more than willing to tickle twine and that mentality of scoring going deep into their lineup.
HOWEVER…The Wild’s backcheck? Not nearly as great.
The Wild are an active nightmare in their own zone most of the time; surrendering some of the most horrendous chances possible. Their goaltending does largely mitigate a lot of that, but it is still a very, very porous team that is allowing the work of Jesper Wallstedt and Filip Gustavsson to shine while slightly ignoring that the Wild’s blueline, even with the addition of Quinn Hughes, is not nearly as formidable in their own end as their name brands suggest.
It will still be very painful to give up the puck in their end as it’s headed into the neutral zone and transition chances…but they can be beaten, and it’s happened not too recently to teams the Wild maybe should’ve beaten; The Preds have wins on them, LA has two wins on them, they’ve struggled to beat the Jets…they’re not nearly as impregnable has you’d expect. You just have to beat their goalies.
The Kraken in the meantime must use what they did against the Bruins as a learning experience; stretch out their defense with speed, and force the goalie into 1-on-1 scenarios. Let’s see these Wild really sweat it out.
LET’S GO KRAKEN, LET’S GO SQUIDS