The Need to Knows
- The Time: 4:30pm PT
- The Place: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
- Place to Watch: ROOT Northwest, ESPN+/SportsNet+
- Place to Listen: KJR 93.3 FM
- An Opposing Viewpoint: Eyes on the Prize
It’s only natural the Seattle Kraken find themselves at the precipice of their season in the birthplace of hockey itself, searching for faith in a chapel of ice and steel. Tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens could spell salvation for the Kraken– so long as they devote themselves to winning, and winning the right way.
To lose in Bell Centre would, grimly, be the first time in franchise history, and simultaneously make Seattle’s current losing streak the longest since skidding through seven games in February of the inaugural season. With the first playoff mile marker come and gone and the Kraken already slipping back under .500, December needs to be a productive month if playoff aspirations are to materialize.
And so, another game becomes a must-win. Under these dramatic circumstances, what does Seattle need to do to succeed tonight? Here’s three things to watch for when puck drops between the Canadiens and the Kraken.
Setting Offense Up For Success
Stingy is not a word used to describe the Ottawa Senators’ defense. On the season they’ve allowed 2.91 goals against per sixty (25th) and over their last four games, they’ve allowed 14 goals against– shockingly, Saturday night, the Kraken did not add to that total.
Rather, Seattle was shut out in a game functioning as a litmus test for their ability to penetrate the inside of the zone, aka, a litmus test for their raw offensive skill.
Against Anton Forsberg, who touted only a .850 SV% entering the game, and a defensive structure that collapsed at the slightest application of pressure, Seattle controlled only 48.22% of the total shot quality. Breaking out of the perimeter of the offensive zone was virtually impossible and even worse, a self-inflicted limitation imposed by an attacking group lacking the hunger to truly challenge the Senators’ defense.
Safe to say Seattle failed that offensive test.
Offensive regression is hitting the Kraken hard, it’s true. Misfortune has jammed up the attack both on the road and at home, and in every game situation except the power play. Injury woes, the latest of which sidelining Jaden Schwartz, don’t help.
That said, Seattle’s not setting themselves up for success offensively, adding to stacked offensive odds already out of their control. Firing off shots from the perimeter and points won’t get Seattle anywhere now without luck, yet that’s largely the kind of offense they’ve held themselves to. Unlearning these bad offensive zone habits encouraged by last season’s inflated, unrealistic shooting percentage is clearly proving difficult.
Sure, it’s been said a thousand times this season, but they don’t call them ‘high danger areas’ for no reason– teams that can get to them and spur chances have a higher likelihood of scoring than teams who don’t. It’s that simple! If the Kraken want to score and stay competitive in games, it’s adamant they generate a healthy volume of scoring opportunities from net-front and the slot. If they can’t do that consistently, this season’s in danger.
Attention to Defensive Detail
Cutting corners on defense is the last thing Seattle needs to be doing in the middle of a losing streak. Nevertheless, Ottawa punished them twice Saturday for exactly that.
Mathieu Joseph was able to break the ice late in the first period, jumping on an accidental turnover by Matty Beniers, who’d blown a tire attempting to transition out of the zone with possession right in front of an unguarded Joey Daccord.
While Beniers’ mistake is the beginning and end of this play, Joseph’s goal exposes defensive lapses that had flown under the radar so far in the game. Both Justin Schultz and Vince Dunn were bunched in the corner seconds before Joseph assumed possession, leaving Daccord without a man in front, something Seattle prefers in their defensive systems for cases just like this.
Ottawa’s second goal was scored off a similar defensive issue. Daccord strayed out of his crease to play a puck behind the net late in the second period but left the puck and retreated upon pressure from Vladimir Tarasenko on the forecheck. Tarasenko quickly moved the puck up ice to Tim Stützle, waiting in the faceoff circle, who passed cross-slot to Drake Batherson lying in wait at the paint. With Will Borgen and Alex Wennberg both distracted by Tarasenko and ignoring the entire left half of the ice, Batherson delivered on a backdoor chance.
Similar defensive sins– poor defensive positioning, puck watching, stagnancy and bunching– were committed against the Chicago Blackhawks. There’s no way to guarantee that Joseph and Batherson wouldn’t have scored had Seattle been better prepared defensively, but it’s worthwhile to ask whether the Kraken were putting themselves in the best position to prevent little mistakes from turning disastrous. The answer is no.
Finding Momentum
Wins have been hard to come by at Climate Pledge Arena. Finding momentum on the road ahead of the Kraken’s looming six-game home stand, and salvaging what remains of this road trip, will be crucial for the month ahead. Granted, wins have been hard to come by all around, but Seattle’s luck on the road (98.3 PDO) is slightly better than in their own stomping grounds (97.0 PDO), even if both are bad.
The Kraken have their work cut out for them tonight. Resorting to their characteristic, normally stingy defense, and sticking to tried-and-true methods of generating offense can help them regain control in a quickly spiraling season.