SEATTLE -- The Winter Classic is coming.
You could feel it as the Seattle Kraken practiced at Kraken Community Iceplex on Wednesday. New Winter Classic merchandise was on sale. Philipp Grubauer was breaking in throwback Winter Classic goalie pads. A TV crew was filming for “Road to the NHL Winter Classic presented by Enterprise.”
The first of four episodes will air on TNT at 6:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 13, building the drama before the Kraken host the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park on Jan. 1 (3 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, SN, TVAS).
And there is drama already.
“We’ve got to start winning games,” defenseman Vince Dunn said.
After finishing 30th in the NHL in 2021-22, their first season as an expansion team, the Kraken earned the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference last season. They upset the defending champion Colorado Avalanche in seven games in the first round and took the Dallas Stars to seven in the second.
But now, less than a month before playing the defending champion Golden Knights before the biggest crowd in their young history and a national TV audience, they have lost five straight (0-4-1) and six of their past seven (1-4-2). They’re 8-12-6, fifth in the Pacific Division, entering their game against the New Jersey Devils at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN).
“I think right now it’s, ‘Focus on tomorrow’s game and try to turn this thing around,’” Dunn said. “It’s a really tight league, and we’re fortunate that we’re not really out of it yet. We can’t really look too far ahead, whether that’s playoffs, whether that’s the outdoor game, whether that’s three games from now. It’s all about the next day ahead and staying in the moment.”
The biggest issue is offense. The Kraken led the NHL in 5-on-5 goals (209) and tied with the Devils for fourth in goals per game (3.52) last season; they are 24th in 5-on-5 goals (45) and 29th in goals per game (2.65) this season. Several players have had a drop in production.
There isn’t one reason. There are many reasons, and they are interconnected.
Seattle lost forwards Ryan Donato, Morgan Geekie and Daniel Sprong in free agency in the offseason.
The Kraken led the NHL at 5-on-5 shooting percentage last season (10.3). They’re 28th this season (7.3).
“I don’t want to call it a luck factor, but I like to think that things tend to even out over time,” forward Jordan Eberle said. “I’m not going to say that we’re going to be where we were last year, but a middle ground is probably sustainable.”
Maybe the Kraken aren’t taking enough shots from the right spots, though.
“I think that the chances that we’re getting aren’t Grade A [chances], and I think the shot quality isn’t probably quite there,” Dunn said. “I think the quantity is sometimes there. I just think we’re a little bit on the outside in the offensive zone. I think last year the goals that we got maybe weren’t so pretty. They were guys getting in front of the goalie or getting second chances. That’s something that we haven’t done a good enough job with this year.”
How do the Kraken get back to that?
“If you start looking at some of those shots from the Grade A opportunities, a lot of those come from and come off of your forecheck,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “That’s an area that we had been really efficient in a year ago. We’re not getting it done right now, so we’ve got to find a few more of those.”
The Kraken must find a new way to do it. It isn’t just that other teams are taking Seattle more seriously now. It’s Xs and Os.
“They take away the rims around the boards,” forward Jared McCann said. “We used to love doing that, but we don’t do it as much anymore just because teams are reading it now. I feel like we need to come up with something a little bit different. Sometimes when you’re not scoring 5-on-5, you need to just keep things simple.”
Forward Jaden Schwartz has missed the past three games and is out six weeks with an injury. But there is hope: Hakstol said forward Andre Burakovsky is close to returning after missing the past 20 games. Burakovsky was Seattle’s leading scorer with 39 points (13 goals, 26 points) in 49 games before he was injured last season, and his game was starting to click when he was injured again this season.
“He's one of the guys on our roster than helps generate offense, and he can generate it on his own, so the pace that he brings and some of his creativity offensively will be a nice addition to our lineup,” Hakstol said.
Seattle also has called up defenseman Ryker Evans, a second-round pick (No. 35) in the 2021 NHL Draft. Evans, who turns 22 on Dec. 13, had 44 points (six goals, 38 assists) in 71 games for Coachella Valley of the American Hockey League last season.
“He’s come here for a reason,” Hakstol said.
Stay tuned.
“I’ve talked a lot about finding that swagger offensively,” Hakstol said. “We have to find that collectively through our competitiveness, through our intelligence and have those things infused into our game on a little more regular basis.”
