The Need to Knows:
- The Time: 4:30 pm PT
- The Place: UBS Arena, Elmont, NY
- Place to Watch: ESPN+, HULU
- Place to Listen: Kraken Audio Network on KJR 93.3fm
- An Opposing Viewpoint: Belmont Skates
Know Your Enemy
Since losing to the Kraken 3-2 on Nov. 16, nine games ago, the New York Islanders have two wins, never risen above NHL .500%, and been outscored 20-24. The problem is, while they’re allowing more goals and scoring fewer than expected– perhaps a streak of bad luck– performing as expected wouldn’t put them in much better standing. New York is expected to score only 0.03 more goals this season than they allow, hardly a recipe for success. Gaining a leg up on competition through alternative means is difficult equipped with the second-worst power play and penalty kill in the league.
New York’s first and second lines, Anders Lee-Bo Horvat-Simon Holmstrom and Maxim Tsyplakov-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri, have accumulated 51 and 50 points respectively, so the Isles aren’t without firepower. Noah Dobson’s dangerous on the backend, with 11 points this season.
Seeing as Ilya Sorokin played the last two games, Semyon Varlamov (2.89 GAA, .889 SV%) is likely to start if he’s healthy– which he should be. Marcus Högberg, recalled from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate following announcement of Varlamov’s lower-body injury on Monday, has since been sent back down.
Game Preview
Playing to the skill and effort levels of opponents is a bad habit that’s stuck around long enough to become a core facet of the Kraken’s identity. The Islanders have been a ‘middle’ team since the Kraken joined the league, with a 118-93-35 (.551%) record since 2021-22. That’s why games against the Islanders always seem to take on greater weight in indicating the success of a season than those games normally would be worth in the standings. They’re a litmus test for Seattle’s ability to dominate against a fairly evenly matched opponent.
On New Year’s Day 2023, the Kraken beat the Islanders 4-1, the first of a historic eight-game win streak preceding their postseason debut. Mid-November last season, the Kraken beat the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout, a badly needed victory after dropping two horrendous games to the Oilers and one to the Avs. The second meeting that season in February was a shootout win, too, after three-straight losses to the Sharks, Flyers, and Devils.
With Seattle needing to prove the legitimacy of their recent win over the Hurricanes after dropping three of four games to San Jose and Anaheim the week prior, a game against the Islanders is well-timed. Whether André Burakovsky and Ryker Evans will return to help the Kraken prove that point is unclear– the former sat out Tuesday as a healthy scratch, the latter due to an undesignated injury.