When the sun rose yesterday morning, the Seattle Kraken had four teams between them and a playoff spot. By last night’s final bellow of that Washington State Ferries foghorn at Climate Pledge Arena – announcing the Kraken’s 4-1 victory over Nashville – Seattle had bounded over all four teams into the second wild card position.
After Seattle plays the Canucks tonight in Vancouver – who knows? It’s enough to make a day trader’s head spin. The Kraken could spend the next 3+ months competing in Western Conference Wild Card Survivor.
With the Pacific Division’s three guaranteed playoff spots probably out of reach, Seattle will be vying with up to nine other teams for the two available wild card slots. Starting today, we’ll periodically show snapshots of who’s in, who’s close, who’s fading, and where the Kraken stand in relation to their competition.
Western Conference Wild Card Standings As Of Jan. 2
The standings distance between the penthouses and the tenements has never been closer, or more crowded. Those 10 Western Conference teams vying for wild card position are separated by a measly nine points. In auto racing, that’s known as the “accordion effect.” Except that in a hockey playoff race, you can’t draft off of the team in front of you.
This is why games against Eastern Conference opponents, and high-profile Western foes like Colorado, Edmonton and Vegas, aren’t the most crucial to win. The critical contests will be against seemingly less-sexy opponents like Utah and Nashville and Calgary and Vancouver.
The latter grouping is what’s popularly known as “four-point games.” Maybe a better descriptor is to call them “Schadenfreude games.” (That’s a German word for deriving pleasure from another’s misfortune.) Pocketing standings points by winning, preferably in regulation, is only half the prize against direct competitors. By doing so, you simultaneously deprive opponents from grabbing those points.
Kraken Playoff Odds
We’ll also share data crunched from various online sites, calculating Seattle’s probability of making the postseason.
Here’s the widely varying predictions as of Jan. 2.
“Outwit” will be the job of the front office and coaching staff, by judicious use of AHL callups, creating line combinations that click, game-planning, whether to be trade buyers or sellers, etc.
“Outplay” will fall to Kraken on ice, using defense to stay in games, continuing strong goaltending, pitching in just enough scoring, and benefiting from improving special teams.
“Outlast” might not be known until April 16, the last day of the NHL regular season. Of course, poor play could remove the Kraken from Western Conference Wild Card Island well before that. Or, Seattle could force other contenders to the sidelines. Should the Kraken remain competitive into spring, this is the drama that will keep all of us tuned in.