The Need to Knows
- Time: 5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET
- Place: Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota
- Where to Watch: KHN, KONG, Bally Sports North (MN market), ESPN+ (all other U.S. markets)
- Where to Listen: Kraken Audio Network on KJR 93.3 FM
Know Your Enemy
The Kraken’s opponent tonight, the Minnesota Wild, finished last season with a 39-34-9 record and found themselves sitting at sixth place in the Central Division. According to The Athletic’s projections model (paywalled article), the team’s 2024-2025 outlook isn’t faring much better with predictions to finish 18th in the league with a 47% chance of making the playoffs. Wild fans certainly have reason to hope that their team can become relevant in the playoff hunt with a star winger in Kirill Kaprizov and a rising talent in Matt Boldy (who posted 3 points in the Wild’s season debut). Yet, the perennial issue with the Wild is that the team continues to need more out of its lineup. The Wild could always find a way to take a large step together, but there’s a good chance that once more, the Twin Cities’ successful sports stories will continue to remain in the hands of their women’s teams: the Minnesota Frost (the inaugural winners of the PHWL’s Walter Cup) and the Minnesota Lynx (currently competing in the WNBA Finals against the New York Liberty).
The main storyline around the Wild that I’m focused on is the Marc-André Fleury Farewell Tour. I’m glad that a modern legend of the game is going to be able to retire on his own terms. For too many players, retirement is almost forced upon them. For some, they’re unable to find another team to sign them on as they get older, and their careers whimper off in a hush. For others, injuries pile up until they realize they’re never going to be able to return to proper playing form and have to bow out for no other reason than their bodies physically cannot handle another game. For those players, the game is yanked out from under them. They play their last game without realizing it was their last. Fleury at least gets to know that this season is the end for him. Each game can be savored properly knowing that he is choosing to put this chapter of his life behind him. In Seattle, this treatment was recently rolled out for Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe, and so I’m sure many of you can relate to what this means to send off a player who has massively impacted their league. With Fleury, the hockey world is sending off a three-time Stanley Cup Champion, a goaltender who has the second most wins in NHL history with 561 (a number that still has room to grow), and the sport’s most renowned prankster—so renowned that Dan Bylsma was “walking in today on eggshells” at practice on Friday looking for any signs that Fleury had tampered with their locker room.
Now, this isn’t the last time that the Kraken will play Fleury’s Minnesota Wild. There are two more games to be had on March 4 and 19. Something to note, though, is that the Wild approach their goaltending situation as a true tandem. Last season, Fleury had 36 starts in net while Filip Gustavsson had 43. Not only that, but the Wild have also just recalled Jasper Wallstedt, with the idea that they could be pushing a three-goalie rotation routinely. It might be what I’ve dubbed the farewell tour, but there will only be so many more times to catch Fleury in net. According to Wild beat reporter Michael Russo, tonight should be one of those times.
Game Preview
Tonight is the start of three road games all against Central Division opponents. The Kraken had already arrived in Minnesota in the days prior (and may or may not have been trying to distract the Wild with sewer ball during their practice session on Friday) so they’ve already had a chance to adjust to the new time zone.
Now, there’s still little to truly discuss in terms of Kraken team performance to evaluate going into tonight. Dan Bylsma is still molding the Kraken to his systems and style of play, and not only is there only a singular game to look at right now, that game’s outcome was a bit of an outlier. Surely the Kraken aren’t going to give up three goals against in a minute and 55 seconds every game! However, blowing a 2-0 lead was a familiar refrain from last season, and it’s one the Kraken certainly don’t want to carry back into this season as a habit. As another outlier, the Kraken just don’t do well in matinée games. Including Tuesday afternoon, the Kraken are now 4-13-1 in matinée starts. Tonight’s game might once more be an earlier start time for Seattle viewing, but it’ll be 7:00 pm in St. Paul, Minnesota. This isn’t to say that there wasn’t more the Kraken could have done to prevent that loss, but I feel optimistic that it can be quickly forgotten in the grand scheme of the season. The main thing to look for going into tonight is to see the Kraken put that start behind them and continue to check and evolve. If the Kraken can string together a successful road trip, it’ll be a good sign for the season to come.