Driedger appeared in relief of Grubauer mid-second period during a 6-1 loss in Philadelphia Oct. 18. He gave up one goal in seven shots, but suffered a knee injury. He was scheduled to get his first Seattle start the next night in New Jersey in the final game of the Kraken's five-game road trip to open the season.
Driedger tested his injury early the next morning, texting the Seattle training staff that he was not good to go for the Devils contest. He was placed on injured reserve and Daccord was an emergency call-up and starter.
On the season, Driedger has appeared in five games, starting four. He last appeared in back-to-back wins, beating his former team Florida 3-1 Thanksgiving weekend and then Buffalo two nights later.
Driedger has not played since the 7-4 win Nov. 29, ending up back on injured reserve. He has been working out daily with goalie coach Andrew Allen and participated in full practice the last several days.
The Kraken have back-to-back road games this week (San Jose Tuesday and Anaheim Wednesday), plus nine games in the next 20 nights. Both Kraken GM Ron Francis and head coach Dave Hakstol have emphasized it is vital to have two goalies in the net over the course of such compact stretches during the season.
Driedger was 14-6 with a .927 save percentage and 2.07 goals-against average for the Panthers last season, helping the team reach the playoffs.
