The Need to Knows:
- The Time: 5:30 pm PT (note the early start time!)
- The Place: Beautiful Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA
- Place to Watch: ESPN, ESPN+
- Place to Listen: Kraken Audio Network on KJR 93.3 FM
Know Your Enemy
The Avalanche have kind of been going through it recently. Colorado has had two major problems this season:
- Their goaltending has been atrocious.
- They have a million injuries.
Goaltending was an issue last year as well with Alexandar Georgiev, the likely starter tonight, had earned the derisive nickname of “Fourgiev” because of some absolutely brutal stretches. This year he’s off to an even worse start and has been, by far, the worst goalie in the league. This is what the kids would say is “not very good.”
Now it’s very early in the season and 5 games is by itself not a reason for that much concern, but In 62 starts last season, he gave up 4 goals in 25 of them.
The other issue is injuries. They’ve been without forwards Artturi Lehkonen, Jonathan Drouin, Miles Wood, and Valeri Nichushkin (well, that’s not an injury; it’s a suspension for unknown reasons — but the effect of depletion of the Avs forward corps is the same). They may also still be without Devon Toews, who is an excellent defenseman. He did make the road trip with the team.
They still have all-world players in Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar, but it drops off pretty quickly after that. As a result, they started out 0-4, then picked up a couple of wins against bad California teams.
Game Preview
Well, let’s get the bad news out of the way. Vince Dunn is out until at least November 12th. He will be replaced by Josh Mahura, which is a significant downgrade.
Last season, the Kraken struggled without Vince Dunn in the lineup. The team’s goal expectation with Vince Dunn on the ice versus not on the ice last season was over 25% less efficient. Without him in the lineup last season, the Kraken went 7-15-2. With him? 28-20-11. This injury is a big deal.
That said, and the sample size is very small here, but it is worth noting that the two games Vince Dunn didn’t play were the two lowest-scoring outputs this season by Seattle: the shutout in Dallas and the 2-1 win over Calgary.
Hopefully, however, this is less of a big deal this season because the Kraken have reinforcements. Last season the Kraken had nobody on the same planet as Brandon Montour. Ryker Evans has also leveled up in a big way and now Seattle has defensemen not named Vince Dunn who can move the puck.
Even sadder? It’s Vince Dunn bobblehead night.
And that’s where we get to the good news. There’s a lot of it to go around.
The Kraken are playing so aggressively. As soon as the puck is on a stick, they’re looking to attack attack attack and go the other way. Defense becomes offense. Offense becomes…more offense. It’s beautiful. Ryker Evans has been a big part of this offensive transition game, as has Brandon Montour. It kind of reminds me of watching last year’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. (I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.)
Seattle is playing like it’s 2022 again with contributions coming from everyone. Every skater has a point except for Josh Mahura, who has only played two games. The team is getting more comfortable with the new coach and new systems. Even Philipp Grubauer finally got goal support for once! The vibes are good, things feel fresh, and everyone is having a good time.
The Avalanche are a vulnerable, but still extremely dangerous opponent. Their top three players are capable of taking over a game by themselves. Nathan MacKinnon is the reigning MVP. All those bad games from their goaltending last year? Georgiev led the NHL in wins anyway. The Avalanche can outscore their problems if the other team gives them a little bit of space.
The Avalanche are probably not going to be this depleted later in the season. It’s important for Seattle to collect as many points as they can against teams with talent or depth problems.
This is still a little bit like the playoff series two years ago: Seattle can’t match Colorado’s top end talent. Colorado can’t match forward Seattle’s depth.
Which wins out?