Kraken Need to Win Tonight, Because of the Implication
Tonight the Seattle Kraken wrap up their second regular season in franchise history. The team faces the Vegas Golden Knights at home in what will be a sell out crowd. In a game that is loaded with playoff implications (for both franchises), the Kraken need to come out firing on all cylinders and get a final W.
The Western Conference playoff picture is becoming less murky, but is anything but set. The Central Division is up for grabs with Colorado and Dallas both fighting for first place, and the Pacific Division/Wild Card slots are still up for grabs. Though all eight of the Western Conference playoff teams are locked in, their final seating is up in the air.
If Vegas loses tonight and Edmonton wins, the Oilers win the Pacific.
So why is this important for us? I guess the question to ask is who do we really want to face in the first round? This truly is (as mentioned prior) a pick your poison type of situation.
Losing tonight positions us to face either Colorado or Dallas. The Avalanche who are playing their best hockey of the season, are the defending Cup champs, and are healthy now (sans their captain Landeskog) at the perfect time. Nathan MacKinnon is red hot. Not fun. The Kraken are 3-2-1 against the Avalanche, and for some reason seem to have their number. Take into consideration that the Avalanche haven’t been healthy and that the games have not truly ‘mattered’.
Well, tell that to Phillipp Grubauer.
The Dallas Stars are a deep team that looks primed to make a playoff run. The Kraken are 2-3-1 against Dallas. If we win tonight and Los Angeles somehow loses to Anaheim, we would then face either Vegas or Edmonton in the first round. The thought of facing Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sounds terrible. They can score anytime, and our goaltending is our biggest weakness.
We could take Vegas in seven games. Cross your fingers for a Vegas/Kraken matchup.
The Kraken win tonight if…
Jared McCann, Matty Beniers, and Jordan Eberle get on the score sheet. These three have been pillars of the Kraken offense and our best players. We need our best players to be the best on the ice tonight.
our goalies play like it’s playoff time. We have been much better in net the later part of the season, but tonight we have to be great. The playoffs start tonight.
Turbo has a game. He is the straw that stirs the Kraken drink. Let’s go!!
Vegas wins if…
they come out fast and get going early. We have found success playing from behind, but how long can that last?
their goalies play lights out. We can score, and score we do. If they can limit our offense to less than three goals, Vegas will win this game.
they dictate the physicality. We have tons of speed, but you can beat speed with beating a team down.
The puck drops tonight at 7:30 PT. Let’s get that W!
Fear the Deep!