Maybe one day the Kraken will figure out how to play on the road. Thankfully they won't need to for another couple of weeks. While Seattle has a winning record at home (3-2-0) they have been abysmal on the road (1-6-1) which includes a 6-5 loss the the Arizona Coyotes of all teams. The Kraken have great fans and there are things to really like about the pieces on this team but this does not look like a team capable of competing for the playoffs this season.
I'm not saying stick a fork in them and call them done because there is still nearly three-quarters of the season remaining. That being said we are not seeing the resilience and scrappiness and ability to fight to the end that a team like this should have.
Here are five things to think about before tonight's home game against the Ducks. 1) Start and Finish on Time: Seattle is in the middle of the pack for goals against in the second period of hockey games but they have allowed the third most goals in the first period with 15 and they are tied for allowing the third most goals in the third period with 17. Right now I am putting the most blame on the coach for failing to have his teams prepared to begin the game and making the proper adjustments as the game continues.
2) The Goals Are There: Goal scoring was the biggest concern as we all know going in for Seattle but did you know that Seattle is 8th in the NHL for first period goals and 13th in second period goals? They are 24th in third period goals which relates back to the first point but this team does have goal scoring talent which has only improved with players like Jordan Eberle going red hot.
3) Playing The Hot Hand: Right now the Anaheim Ducks are absolutely rolling with a 5 game winning streak, the second longest outside of another division rival in the LA Kings. This is going to be a really tough matchup for the Kraken to overcome but they need to start winning some games against their own division. They are 0-4 in Pacific Division games. 4) McCann He Do It?: Jared McCann started the season as the top line pivot and was able to produce some points from that but once Gourde returned he quickly found himself shuffled down the lineup and then out due to COVID. Tonight McCann will play his first game since October 28th. Regardless of where he plays, McCann should be able to provide more offense for his line.
5) Eberle Keeps Rolling: With a goal in the loss a couple nights ago in Vegas, Jordan Eberle now has 7 goals in his last 7 games. The sniper is red hot right now but what is most important to me is that he is continuously shooting on net. Early in the year, Eberle was only registering one shot on net for two or three games in a row. Now he is putting up four or five shots a game. Eventually his goal totals will go down but as long as he is keeping his shot totals up, a 25-30 goal season still will be likely for Ebs.