Yet Seattle's 2-3-2 record is not where the players and coaches want to be, with six standings points in seven games. Lapses Sunday afternoon in Chicago and back on opening night Oct. 12 in Anaheim stand out as two wins and four standings points netted out to a single point.
Jared McCann faced the media after Sunday's regulation loss. As per usual, he was straightforward about what happened twice: two Chicago goals scored a bit more than two minutes apart late first period and then two more goals in 13 seconds during the final period: "We got comfortable," said McCann, "and kind of got complacent. We can't do that. We have to figure out."
Philipp Grubauer appears to be still in "day-to-day" status with a lower-body injury. Kraken fans shouldn't anticipate him dressing or playing Tuesday. That leaves Dave Hakstol and the coaching staff deciding on Martin Jones or AHL call-up Joey Daccord to man the net. Check back on the Kraken app, website, and social channels after Tuesday's morning skate for who starts.
One fun note: Former NCAA Michigan teammates, Matty Beniers (No. 2 overall in 2021 NHL Draft) and Sabres defenseman Owen Power (No. 1 overall in 2021), will face each other as opponents for the first time as professionals.
When sizing up this upcoming homestand, consider that Tuesday's opponent, Buffalo, is 4-1-0 in its first five games, getting superior goaltending and riding a record goal streak by defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who was just named NHL First Star of the Week. He is the first defenseman in history to score a goal in each of his first five games of a season. Vancouver, Thursday's foe, is scuffling at 0-5-2 but will no doubt be hungry to get a win and do it against a division rival. The homestand finishes with Pittsburgh, 4-1-1 to date and in first place in the Metropolitan division. Buffalo is third in the league with a +11 goal differential; Pittsburgh is first with +12.
