Kraken depth at forefront during run in Stanley Cup Playoffs

SEATTLE -- The superstars are out to see the Seattle Kraken.

Patrick Monahan, the lead singer of the band Train, performed between periods of Game 3 of the Western Conference Second Round at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday. Mike McCready, the lead guitarist of the band Pearl Jam, was in the crowd waving an ice blue rally towel.

There were Seattle sports luminaries past and present. Detlef Schrempf of the Sonics held up his rally towel to display the night's slogan, "WELCOME TO THE DEEP." Sue Bird of the Storm and Megan Rapinoe of the Reign fired up the fans. Over here sat some Mariners. Over there, some Seahawks.

When the Kraken came off the ice after their 7-2 win against the Dallas Stars, they fist-bumped Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.

"It's awesome to see everybody coming out and showing their support," Kraken forward Ryan Donato said Monday. "It's hard to kind of appreciate it during the game, but afterwards, you kind of look at it like, 'Wow. All these people are here? That's really cool.'"

RELATED: [Complete Stars vs. Kraken series coverage]

It's remarkable what the Kraken have done without superstars of their own, making hockey a hot ticket in Seattle and taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series entering Game 4 here Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).

Depth is the Kraken's strength.

In the regular season, they had no one in the top 13 in goals and no one in the top 58 in points, yet they scored 3.52 goals per game, tied for fourth in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils. They had six players with at least 20 goals and 13 with at least 13.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they have no one with more than four goals and no one with more than nine points, but they're scoring 3.20 goals per game. They have 16 goal-scorers. They're the fifth team in the past 25 years to have that many through the first 10 games of a postseason, joining the 2011 Detroit Red Wings, 2019 Columbus Blue Jackets, 2020 Vegas Golden Knights and 2022 Colorado Avalanche.

That's without a goal from forward Jared McCann, who led them with 40 goals in the regular season and has been out with an undisclosed injury since Game 4 of the first round against the Colorado Avalanche, or forward Andre Burakovsky, who scored 13 goals in the regular season and has been out with a lower-body injury since Feb. 7.

"It goes to show that we have a lot of guys that can contribute up and down the lineup," Donato said. "Everybody's eager to help out in whatever way they can. I mean, obviously, we're eager for those guys to get back, but it's nice to see other guys step up in those positions for sure."

Seattle had five different goal-scorers in a 5-4 overtime win against Dallas in Game 1 and seven different goal-scorers Sunday.

"Yeah, it's definitely very interesting," Donato said. "I haven't been on a team like it before, but it's definitely a lot of fun."

The Kraken play to their strength. Rolling four forward lines and three defense pairs, they come in waves and are aggressive on the forecheck. At their best, they play with speed and energy, and they win lots of battles.

"All four lines can do whatever job you need," Donato said. "They can score. Guys can slide up and down the lineup. You have guys that can play whatever position you need. You can have guys on the first line grind if they need to, and you have guys on the fourth line that can score goals. It just all depends on what the need is. It's definitely advantageous for our team to have that the way our lineup's set."

The Kraken built the foundation of their roster in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, in which the rest of the NHL's teams -- except the Golden Knights, who joined the League in 2017 and were exempt -- essentially could protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie.

The comparisons to Vegas' inaugural season once were unfavorable. The Golden Knights won the Pacific Division and made the Stanley Cup Final in 2017-18. The Kraken finished 30th in the NHL in 2021-22.

But there were many reasons for the Kraken's struggles last season -- from injuries to goaltending to COVID-19 -- and they have improved their roster along the way. Now this Seattle team reminds you at least a little of that Vegas team.

"Yeah, it does," said Stars coach Peter DeBoer, who lost to the Golden Knights in six games in the second round with the San Jose Sharks in 2018. "It really does. And you know what? I think that's the benefit of being an expansion team, right? You get four lines of second- and third-line players, and six second and third and fourth defensemen. That's kind of the pool you're picking from. You maybe don't have that elite superstar, but your strength is in your depth."

There are plenty of superstars in the stands at least, and if they keep this up, the Kraken will keep fist-bumping Pete Carroll.