Home is where the hockey will be for the next two weeks. The longest Kraken homestand of the season – six games – starts Friday against division rival Vegas and finishes with a Nov. 20 matchup against Nashville. The Kraken are looking to prove the homestand is where the goals and wins will follow at Climate Pledge Arena.
After the Vegas visit, the Kraken will entertain fans with the 2024 Super Skills Showcase Saturday afternoon (goalies Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord are team captains), then anticipate a pair of next-week night games against Columbus Tuesday and the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday. The Tuesday game will be Military Appreciation Night presented by Starbucks, honoring all service members in attendance. Starbucks has a season-long Military Commitment initiative with the Kraken, which includes a season-long military ticket discounts for veterans.
The Original Six Chicago squad will feature budding superstar Connor Bedard, who has three goals and nine assists for 12 points in 13 games. Just 19 in July, Bedard is coming off a first season in which he won the Calder Trophy for NHL rookie of the year.
This Kraken squad has put a premium on home-ice advantage, wanting to leverage the high-decibel intensity of Kraken faithful to rev the energy. Seattle’s current home record is 2-3-1, with wins over Philadelphia and Calgary (the latter in overtime) and impressively scoring three goals in the final nine minutes of regulation to push league-leading Winnipeg (12-1-1) to overtime. Several Kraken players, including Matty Beniers, credited the crowd with buying into a don’t-quit mode in that Jets game as the good guys in blue dinged up all-star goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
Kraken Players to Watch
Speaking of Beniers, he scored a goal and added an assist Tuesday, pulling the Kraken within a goal of another late comeback. Beniers, who has been rock-solid as a defensive forward from the season’s first shift, is clearly cranking up his offensive prowess by carrying the puck more, getting net-front from tips and screens and unleashing his formidable shot (wrist and/or one-timer). Don’t be surprised if he gets hot as a scorer this homestand and month.
Defenseman Ryker Evans has a goal and two assists in his last five game—plus a handful of pucks hitting a goal post during the just completed trip. Evans continues to earn the trust of the coaching staff; he logged more than 25 minutes of time on ice in two games on the trip while averaging 22-and-a-half minutes overall. The 2021 second-rounder is increasingly and naturally playing his game of solid defense and offensive pop.
Jared McCann clearly responds to the crowd and home environment. He notched three goals and added five assists for eight points in five games on the most recent homestand. He leads Seattle in goals (six), assists (10) and points (16) and is in the top 15 in the NHL. He has been a fixture on the power play and has recently been getting top forward-pair minutes on the penalty kill. Plus, he historically busted through the 100-goal mark for the Kraken franchise.
Goaltender Joey Daccord has prompted plenty of “Joey! Joey!” chants with his play in net, sporting a .917 save percentage at Climate Pledge Arena and being a steady force with a .915 percentage overall. He is living up to the potential Kraken GM Ron Francis showed in the 28-year-old by extending his contract for four seasons before this current campaign. Head coach Dan Bylsma has credited Daccord with making big saves at opportune times in his four wins (4-3-1) and keeping games close if the Kraken fall behind.
Charting the Second Half of the Homestand
Daccord is the likely starter against Vegas and both Seattle goaltenders will probably each get a start the weekend of Nov. 15 and 16 when the Kraken continue the homestand. First up will be the New York Islanders in a Saturday matinee with a 1 p.m. puck drop (bring the kids).
Next will be a tall order: The Original Six New York Rangers will be in town for a Sunday night matchup beginning at 6 p.m. The Rangers are 8-2-1 going into Thursday's action with a goal differential of plus-30, leading the Eastern Conference. An important homestand awaits, with Kraken players anticipating a boost from the home crowd.
