The Seattle Kraken sit high in the standings thanks to their stingy defense, but a 1-0 shootout loss is a perfect example of how their season will go south if they can't improve up front.
The Seattle Kraken are a tale of two teams – one that can't open the floodgates and one that's keeping them shut.
Seattle sits fourth-last with 2.59 goals-for per game. They also rank second-best with 2.55 goals against per game.
The result is a decent spot in the standings, sitting second in the Pacific Division with an 11-5-6 record. Overtime loser points have them in a playoff position instead of a high draft lottery spot, but it's clear the Kraken aren't satisfied with their results.
A perfect example of their struggles on offense and success on defense came on Sunday, when the Kraken lost 1-0 to the New York Islanders in a shootout. Joey Daccord stopped all 34 shots he faced and still lost, while Seattle mustered up just 19 shots.
After the game, Seattle coach Lane Lambert did not mince words about what was ailing his team.
“We didn’t score any goals,” Lambert told reporters in his best Captain Obvious impression. “Of course, neither did they. I thought our goalie was really good. I thought their goalie made some good saves as well. But, it’s just a common theme right now, shot volume or lack thereof, and I know we passed up too many shots again, so at some point, we've got to figure this out.”
Although the Kraken have definitely exceeded expectations in the standings, there’s a legitimate question of how sustainable this brand of hockey can be for Seattle.
In this situation, it's right to be skeptical until Seattle proves it can thrive not as the hunter but the hunted at the top of its division. Regardless of whether the game ended in regulation or afterward, winning 11 games and losing 11 is not a sign of a contender. And going 6-1-6 in one-goal games shows a lack of consistency.
The Kraken will bore fans who enjoy tons of high-scoring games. They sit last in the NHL with 24.1 shots per game and sixth-last in shot attempts. They also have the fewest high-danger chances by a significant margin, sitting 20 chances behind the Montreal Canadiens, according to naturalstattrick.com. It's hard to do much of anything on offense if they can't shoot from the most dangerous areas.
They don't have stars on offense, either, with Jaden Schwartz's 15 points and Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers' 14 points each leading a team that scores by committee.
Now, their defensive acumen makes it easier to win games than it would be if they played a run-and-gun style. They also have some intriguing elements to focus on – namely, their underrated defense corps and the goaltending of starter Daccord and veterans Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray.
But they need a more holistic effort if they’re going to win at the same pace as they’ve won in the first quarter of this season.
The Kraken don’t need to remake themselves as the next version of the 1980s Edmonton Oilers to be a more balanced squad. But they can’t continue to rely solely on their back end and expect it to bail them out of games. The reality is the Kraken must produce more offense because if they fail in that regard, the Kraken will fall out of their current lofty place in their division.
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