The Need to Knows
- Time: 7:00 pm PT / 10:00 pm ET
- Place: Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA
- Where to Watch: KHN, KING 5, ESPN+ (other U.S. markets)
- Where to Listen: Kraken Audio Network on 93.3 KJR
Know Your Enemy
Even though it’s almost the halfway point of the regular season, tonight marks the first time that the Seattle Kraken find themselves facing off against the Edmonton Oilers. Why this is the case, I couldn’t tell you. Coming up with the NHL’s schedule is a job I do not envy. It just means that the Kraken find themselves with a particularly unique challenge going into the back half of the year: finding a way to subdue last season’s Stanley Cup runner up.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl enter tonight in the top 5 in the NHL in points. In fact, if the season were to end right now, Draisaitl would take home the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals scored. While the term Two-Headed Monster has more historically applied to the one-two punch that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have provided at center for the Penguins, that moniker certainly is befitting the Oilers’ own one-two punch with McDavid and Draisaitl.
The Oilers find themselves entering The Deep on the second half of a back-to-back, complete with travel from Edmonton into Seattle. While the Ducks aren’t exactly the most formidable of opponents to wear the Oilers down, McDavid and company still don’t have the same luxury of rest that the Kraken do going into tonight. As Stuart Skinner was in net for the Oilers last night, expect it to be Cal Pickard facing the Kraken tonight.
Also, the Oilers’ typically formidable power play (which is so formidable in many ways because of the aforementioned superstar duo) has hit a bit of a bump in the road. It sits relatively middle of the road at 13th in the league with a 22.9% rate. (Note: these were the stats pulled from the NHL site prior to the conclusion of the game against the Ducks.) It’s still not recommended to be taking penalties, but the Kraken might be able to better survive a few trips to the sin bin compared to previous seasons where the Oilers’ power play has ranked as one of the best.
Game Preview
Coming into this game, there are a couple of players who have been stringing together strong performances for the Kraken. It shouldn’t be too shocking for me to call out the offensive effort from Vince Dunn. After all, it hasn’t been just his 2 goals, including the game winner, during the Kraken’s historic comeback against the Canucks in Vancouver or his goal on Thursday night against those same Canucks to send the game into overtime that’s been impressive. When he hasn’t been injured, Dunn has made a case for himself to be the team’s MVP this season. He’s been providing the big moments that fuel some of the team’s most impressive efforts.
What might seem shocking, especially if you haven’t been fully caught up lately, is that Matty Beniers seems to have rediscovered his scoring touch. After a 19-game scoreless drought, Beniers has strung together goals in the past three games. It’s no guarantee that he’ll score again tonight, but he’s worth keeping an eye on. This is especially the case after seeing some post-game quotes from Coach Dan Bylsma about the way that scoreless drought had weighed on Beniers, saying it “wears on him.” Additionally, Bylsma seemed hesitant to specifically to use the word “burden” in describing how Beniers feels about not scoring, but there was probably a reason the word came to mind. There’s an often used metaphor when players come out of scoring droughts of having the monkey taken off one’s back. I don’t know about you, but that feels like a “burden” to me. Plus, said slump is coming from a second-overall pick. The pressure to perform is much higher. This is why I think it’s worth paying attention to what comes next from him. The kind of player Beniers becomes is forged in moments like these, in seeing how adversity shapes him.
Now, it’s not just going to be the play of Dunn and Beniers that will determine whether the Kraken will get the win, but they’re worth shouting out right now because they’ve been doing well. Sometimes success comes down to riding the hot hand as far as it will take you. The Kraken could certainly use some more hot streaks this season, as they sit with a considerable enough points gap between themselves (37) and the second Wild Card spot (the Canucks with 44) — and with three other teams between them in that Wild Card chase. It’s still too early to write off this season as another failed chance to make the playoffs, but the Kraken only have so much margin for error at this point. It will not be the last time that oil and water meet this season (though unlike the lyrics of the Incubus song I’m trying to shoehorn a reference to, tonight will be the first time), but every game counts for more at this time of the season. Stealing some points against a Pacific Division foe will be crucial.