As Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel slid the puck past Seattle Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer in overtime on Tuesday, March 12, the Kraken faithful knew things looked bleak. The hosts had a 4-2 lead in the third period and needed to win the match to keep their playoff aspirations on life support. Worse, they are trailing Vegas in the standings. With little hope left, how can the Kraken put a positive spin on the final month of the regular season?
To be clear, Seattle isn’t mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. They trail the Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings by nine points and have 18 contests to play. Anything can happen. Is it likely? Not really, and certainly not with Seattle’s inconsistencies all season – and that the defending champs are the ones they have to leap-frog over. The Kings are no pushover either – they have made the playoffs a few seasons in a row.
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There are still a few important aspects the squad can work on to head into the offseason with some pep. The underlying argument is, naturally, “keep on fighting!” but we’ll focus on five things that can be improved on, even if Seattle gets mathematically eliminated soon. An Andrew Forbes team obituary feels inevitable.
1. Kraken Need to Handle Overtime Better
Among the more flustering statistics concerning head coach Dave Hakstol’s ensemble, Seattle has fallen 12 times this year in overtime or a shootout – seven in the extra five-minute session and five via the shootout. Knowing that the Kraken trail their closest rivals by nine points, there is a lot of “what if?” at play. Only two teams have suffered more losses after regulation: the Boston Bruins (15) and New York Islanders (14).
The modern game is so competitive that every team plays several overtime games in the regular season. Even the best teams like the Edmonton Oilers can’t win them all – they’ve fallen three times in OT. But had Seattle won four or five more, then the points discrepancy between them and the teams holding onto the first and second wild-card spots would be manageable.
2. Seattle Can Improve the Goal Differential
Here is a statistic that often gets lost when we talk about performance: goal differential.
Wins and losses are obvious. Points leaders, power play efficiency, goals-against averages, etc. Those are all important, but goal differential says a lot. At the time of writing, the Kraken have a minus-6. Yes, the Philadelphia Flyers are a minus-1 and in a playoff spot, but that’s an outlier. Making the playoffs is very difficult for a team that coughs up more goals than they score, even if the difference is minimal. It happens sometimes, like the 2021-22 Dallas Stars, who made it in with a minus-8 – but I wouldn’t bet on those odds.
A lot of that has to do with the Kraken’s lack of consistent offense from players like Matty Beniers, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Jared McCann, to name a few. It’s been a tough year in that respect. Grubauer and Joey Daccord have a lot of heavy lifting to do and have performed admirably, but they aren’t Dominik Hasek.
3. Make Climate Pledge Arena a Fortress
Granted, the sample size is relatively small. The Kraken haven’t completed their third year of operations yet. Even so, how they’ve fared playing in front of their supporters hints at a fixable problem.
The franchise has played 112 matches at Climate Pledge Arena with a 50-51-13 record. The issue should be obvious. Visiting clubs have no reason to fear playing the Kraken in Seattle. Not to beat a dead horse, but let’s bring up OT and shootout losses one more time. That they represent a unique statistical column is understandable. Losing still awards a team one point.
But it’s still a loss. In truth, the Kraken are 50-64 at home all-time. This season’s home record is 14-12-6. It almost looks good until you realize that, in terms of wins and losses, they’re 14-18. Despite making the postseason in 2022-23, the Kraken were no better than 20-17-4 at Climate Pledge, so really 20-21. The great teams defend home ice, court, grass, or turf. That’s not the case with the Kraken. It’s a nice arena, but it shouldn’t be a pleasant visit for opponents.
4. Make Life Miserable for the Kings, Jets, Knights
Seattle probably won’t make the playoffs. The Kings and Golden Knights have played better. Even the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues, although not yet seeded, have earned more points.
This is the time of year when we look at moral victories, however anathema that sounds to the die-hard enthusiasts. There is a term in professional sports that gets bandied about: “Playing spoiler.” Go and make life miserable for the Wild and Blues during the last week of the season when they might still have a chance. Heck, annoy the Golden Knights on March 21 and the Kings on April 3. Do the Winnipeg Jets think they can capture the Central Division? Tell them, “Think again!” on April 16. If a team isn’t going to win much in a given season, the least it can do is annoy its rivals.
5. Finish in the Top Half of Power Play and Penalty Kill Rankings
We know Seattle struggles to light the lamp. Despite what ails them offensively, they’ve been relatively efficient on the power play this season. The Kraken rank 18th with the man advantage, producing goals on 20.8 percent of their opportunities. Considering that overall the club is 28th in scoring per match, 18th suddenly doesn’t look too shabby.
Similarly, Seattle has done a capable job of killing penalties this season. They survive 79.1 percent of their penalty kills, good for 17th. Climb up those ranks and sneak into the top half of the NHL. Power play efficiency and penalty killing are often make-or-break stats in the league. Every club has to learn how to take advantage when an opposing player is sent to the sin bin and how to get by when one of theirs serves punishment. Seattle won’t climb from 18th and 17th to first in either category. Even the top 10 is asking for a lot. But cracking the top half would be a nice feather in their cap.
If the Kraken can accomplish these five objectives, then the franchise can enter the summer knowing it not only put in a good effort but has foundations to build upon for next season. They aren’t far from being relevant. Decent teams can miss the playoffs. That’s a reality. As the old saying goes, the devil is in the details.