In the Pacific Division, along with five games in hand on leader Vegas, the third-place Kraken have six games in hand to close a six-point gap with second-place Los Angeles and four games in hand each compared to closest pursuers, Edmonton and Calgary, the next two teams due at Climate Pledge Arena. Vancouver, sixth in the division with 35 and on a three-game winning streak since beating the Kraken in a shootout last Thursday, has two more games than Seattle.
The Kraken's upcoming schedule includes three home games in the next five days, a seven-game road trip from Jan. 2 through Jan. 14, two pairs of back-to-back games, and no two consecutive days off for nearly a month. Head coach Dave Hakstol calls it "part of the puzzle" of staying in contention for a first-ever playoff spot.
"We've got a pretty good blueprint for our team in those situations," said Hakstol. "But this stretch will be a little bit different because of the amount of time on the road."
Those extra travel days make it difficult to balance needed practice days with extra days of rest. Hakstol said his view of the upcoming hockey calendar bears "two or three days" that look like practice to address "one or two items," say, a sputtering power play or possible new line combinations. Hakstol said the coaching staff might need to make some adjustments via video work.
After posting only three standings points (one overtime loss, two shootout losses) during a five-game losing streak in mid-December, the Flames nabbed seven of a possible eight points on a pre-holiday road trip. It puts them in the second wild-card spot for now.
"Honestly, if we're in a playoff spot with the way that the past few months have gone, it's really a fortunate thing because we have a lot better to offer," Flames forward Blake Coleman told the Calgary Sun this week.
Calgary hosted Edmonton for the latest "Battle of Alberta" game between the two province rivals. The Flames fell to the Oilers by a score of 2-1. Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom, who earned the three wins on the recent road trip, started against the Oilers, meaning the Kraken will likely face Dan Vladar, who was in net Nov. 1 when Seattle beat the Flames in a thrilling 5-4 comeback win. On offense, center Elias Lindholm leads the team in points (11 G, 21 A) in 35 games, and linemate Tyler Toffoli is tops in goals with 14. Free-agent center Nazam Kadri notched two goals and two assists on the recent trip with Flames fans hoping he's poised for a hot streak.
