The Need to Knows
- The Time: 7pm PT
- The Place: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV
- Place to Watch: KING 5, KONG, KHN, SCRIPPS, TVAS, ESPN+
- Place to Listen: Kraken Audio Network via KJR 93.3-FM
Know Your Enemy
Vegas is storming their way to the playoffs for their seventh appearance in eight seasons ever. The Knights currently enjoy a six-point lead over the rest of the Pacific Division, are 7-2-1 over their last 10, and haven’t suffered a losing streak longer than four games this season. Reliable goaltending and elite offense take credit for this success, but, like their last two run-ins with Edmonton, Seattle may not have to face all their opponent has to offer.
While starter Adin Hill, eighth in the league in GAA (2.49) and 18th in SV% (.906%), could feasibly play Thursday, there’s a good chance the Kraken face the Knights’ third-string goaltender, Akira Schmid. Hill has started six of the last eight games with Ilya Samsonov’s health in question, and Seattle is 3-10-1 all-time against Vegas, who have already clinched a berth anyways– there’s little at stake for the Knights. An upper-body injury kept Jack Eichel out of the lineup at Colorado on Tuesday and could sideline the league’s sixth-most productive scorer (93 points in 76 games) once again.
Additionally, illness forced defensemen Nicolas Hague and Alex Pietrangelo out as well. Head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed post-game Tuesday that “a couple other guys were sick, but they played– almost because we had to,” adding there’s something “going through the room.”
So, now’s as good a time as ever to exploit a Vegas defense not nearly as sharp as it could be. Although the Knights allow the ninth-fewest goals (2.63) per game at five-on-five, they rank 22nd in expected total goals against (164.12), potentially indicative of trouble suppressing opposing shot quality. Indeed, Vegas has allowed the 10th-most high danger shots at five-on-five this season (177).
Game Preview
Seattle reassigned Victor Östman to Coachella Valley yesterday after his NHL debut, which likely means Philipp Grubauer is healthy enough to back up Joey Daccord after falling ill– not necessarily that he’s in shape to start. But if he is, the Kraken may consider doing so. It’s not a reach to say Daccord might need a night off after allowing seven goals on 29 shots in the second half of a back-to-back in which he started both games. Not to mention Daccord’s start Tuesday was his 10th in the last 12 games.