Oilers (2-9-1) at Kraken (5-6-3) | 7 p.m.

Time: 7:00 p.m. PT | Watch: ROOT Sports | Listen: 93.3 FM

One: Kraken Scoring Leaders Happily Competing

The Kraken’s depth scoring was a foundational pillar of last season’s success and playoff run into the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Fourteen games is too early to reliably project how many Seattle forwards and defensemen reach double-digits in goals. But there is one trend early that is encouraging for Kraken fans and the coaching staff alike. The squad’s leading scorer, Jaden Schwartz, has seven goals in 14 games, which projects to 41 goals on the season. The runners-up in the SEA scoring race, Jared McCann and Oliver Bjorkstrand, with six goals apiece, are on track for 35-goal seasons.

Those are mathematical propositions. What’s promising about the three leading scorers is they are currently on three different lines, which suggests breadth scoring, making it difficult for opponents to game-plan for one or even two lines. Each current leading scorer has a linemate (or two) who could jump into not only double-digit goals but bypassing the 20-goal mark.

Examples: Eeli Tolvanen has scored three goals in the last six games after no goals in the first eight games (but plenty of scoring chances and a clanged goal post or three). Matty Beniers, of course, scored his first goal of the year in Thursday’s thriller win in Denver. He’s notched four points in the last four games and he’s another player who has hit goalposts and crossbars in the early season. His percentage is four percent, far below his 16.2 percent success rate during his 2022-23 NHL rookie-of-the-year season and 14.6 percent overall in the 104 games he has now played. The hockey math strongly suggests Beniers is trending up himself.

Two: The Kids are More than All Right

The aforementioned Schwartz is on an eight-game point streak, his longest in a decade. He scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season late first period Thursday to stake the Kraken to a 1-0 lead for the 10^th time in 14 games. Rookie Tye Kartye pulled off an eye-popping drop pass to Schwartz to earn the primary assist. But, as purported by Kraken and ROOT SPORTS analyst Eddie Olczyk (and agreed here), Thursday’s fourth line of first-NHL gamer Ryan Winterton, center Shane Wright, and veteran Devin Shore deserve a primary call-out for the just-previous shift that featured prolonged offensive zone time and puck control forcing Colorado to make a shift change while Kartye, Schwartz and Vince Dunn took advantage of the open time and space.

By all accounts (including several teammates interviewed Thursday and no doubt more on game days ahead), Winterton and Wright served the cause admirably with the poise we have all observed in Beniers and Kartye before them. All exciting stuff for Kraken fans to see the prospects contributing and just as positive for the likes of GM Ron Francis and coach Dave Hakstol. Winterton showed off defensive skills as adroitly as his playmaking skills (and taking the Kraken’s first shot of the night). Wright’s skill set is established. What teammates and coaches are noticing and amplifying is Wright’s level of confidence. Should be fun to see what happens with the “kids” from here.

Post-game Thursday, Hakstol credited Winterton and Wright with “rock-solid games. They both contributed to the win. They looked like they were comfortable to me,” said Hakstol. “The moment was definitely not too big. They contributed to the ability of the line to not just play consistently but generate scoring chances. They generated the line change that led to the first goal of the game. They [Wright] drew a penalty. They did a ton of things that are hidden within the score sheet.”

Three: Know the Foe: Edmonton Reeling

Coming off of a loss at San Jose Thursday night, the Oilers arrived in Seattle tied for last in the league for standings points with the conquering Sharks (both have five points, though SJS has played two more games). But this is still the squad featuring all-world scorers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. It’s also a group that outshot San Jose 41-18 Thursday, though giving up three goals on 18 shots on goal is indicative of the Oilers’ goaltending woes (Jack Campbell was waived last week and is now playing for Bakersfield in the AHL with an intent to regain his mojo in the crease). One more proviso: Calgary came to town last Saturday with a 2-7-1 record and left Climate Pledge Arena with two standings points.