THN.com/podcast. From THN On The 'O': Shane Wright Discusses 'Crazy' Season So Far Matty Beniers and Jack Hughes [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk2ODUyNTI0NTY3NzY2NjU4/usatsi_19823163.jpg] Matty Beniers and Jack Hughes Last Saturday, the Seattle Kraken made NHL history with their 7-2 win over the Nashville Predators. With their 40th win and 88th point of the season, the Kraken recorded the largest year-over-year improvement for an expansion team in its second season. And even after dropping a 5-1 decision to the Minnesota Wild on Monday, the Kraken can still add more points. They have nine regular-season games remaining. As things stand through March 27, the Kraken are one of 10 NHL teams that surpassed last season's point total. But as impressive as that second-season surge has been, there's one team over in the Eastern Conference that has taken an even bigger step forward. Here's the current list, listed by the size of the improvement: 1. undefined 2. undefined 3. undefined 4. undefined 5. undefined 6. undefined 7. undefined 8. undefined 9. undefined 10. undefined Of those 10 teams, just one made the playoffs last year and has improved on its regular-season showing: Boston. Four others have played their way into playoff spots: New Jersey, Seattle, Vegas and the Islanders. Buffalo and Ottawa still have faint hope of reaching the dance, and Montreal, Arizona and Philadelphia remain on the outside despite each having taken a step forward this year. Here's a look at what led to the success of this year's two most improved teams. NEW JERSEY DEVILS Two big trades defined the Devils' 2022 off-season. Goaltender Vitek Vanecek came over from the Washington Capitals for what basically boiled down to a third-round draft pick, and New Jersey brought in defenseman John Marino from Pittsburgh in exchange for former top prospect Ty Smith and another third-round pick. On their own, one or two players can't change the trajectory of a team's success. But Vanecek and Marino have helped the Devils shave off nearly one goal against per game (3.68 last season vs. 2.73 this year). Up front, gritty forward Erik Haula was also acquired from Boston in exchange for Pavel Zacha, and Ondrej Palat was targeted as a UFA because of his strong two-way game. In addition, the Devils improved from within. Now at 40 goals and 86 points, Jack Hughes has realized his superstar potential at just 21 years old. Captain Nico Hischier, at 24, has hit a career high with 70 points. Dawson Mercer is up to 23 goals and 51 points, and Jesper Bratt (63 points) is seven away from matching last year's breakout numbers. The Devils have dealt with some injuries during the year, particularly to Palat and Marino. But they added skilled and rugged Timo Meier to their offense at the trade deadline, and with their playoff spot already clinched, they're reasonably healthy as they head toward their first post-season in five years — and just their second since reaching the Stanley Cup final in 2012. The franchise has three Stanley Cups to its name – 1995, 2000 and 2003 – but that's starting to become a while ago. And the Devils have just four players on their current roster who suited up for that first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018: Hischier, Bratt, Miles Wood and Damon Severson. SEATTLE KRAKEN Like New Jersey, Seattle was boosted by some early-season success. The Devils rode a 13-game winning streak to a record of 16-3-0 by Nov. 21. The Kraken were 3-4-2 through their first three weeks before putting together a 12-1-1 run that moved them within two points of the top spot in the Western Conference by Dec. 1. A year after building out their initial roster through the expansion draft, the Kraken augmented that group with summer-of-2022 free-agent signings Andre Burakovsky up front, Justin Schultz on the blueline and Martin Jones in goal. Oliver Bjorkstrand was an inexpensive trade acquisition, acquired for two mid-round draft picks, and Daniel Sprong is now flirting with 20 goals and 40 points after being picked up at the 2022 trade deadline. Like the Devils, the Kraken have also seen improvement from within. Calder Trophy front-runner Matty Beniers has made a smooth adjustment to the NHL at age 20 and is up to 50 points for the year, while defenseman Vince Dunn and forward Jared McCann have both taken massive steps forward. Dunn's plus-25 mark is second on the Kraken, behind only Adam Larsson (plus-26). His career-high 61 points also lead Seattle and rank him in the top 10 among all defensemen league-wide. McCann has also hit career highs in goals (35) and points (59). And after connecting on more than 26 percent [https://thehockeynews.com/news/goals-keep-coming-for-seattle-krakens-jared-mccann] of his shots on goal through late December, McCann's shooting percentage dipped just below 20 percent on Monday after he failed to score on three shots against the Wild. Now at 19.9 percent accuracy [https://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?reportType=season&seasonFrom=20222023&seasonTo=20222023&gameType=2&filter=goals,gte,10&sort=shootingPct&page=0&pageSize=50], McCann remains in the top 10 in the league among players with more than 10 goals. He's sharing airspace with names like Brayden Point, Leon Draisaitl and Roope Hintz. WHAT LIES AHEAD The Devils have their playoff berth locked up and look set to face the New York Rangers in Round 1 with home-ice advantage. It's a dream matchup for the ticketing and promotions department [https://thehockeynews.com/news/rangers-can-expect-a-thrilling-round-1-against-canes-or-devils] – the main issue will be trying to keep Rangers fans from being too visible at the Prudential Center. There's still an outside chance that the Devils could chase down the Carolina Hurricanes for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, but that appears unlikely. The Hurricanes are three points ahead and have two games in hand. After Monday's loss, the Kraken remain in the first wild-card spot in the West. They haven't clinched yet, but moneypuck.com [https://moneypuck.com/predictions.htm] has their current odds at greater than 99 percent. Seattle currently sits five points behind Edmonton and three up on Winnipeg. Moneypuck.com also gives them a 62.6 percent chance of maintaining that spot in the standings, but what that means is still very murky. The first wild-card team plays the second-place division winner from the West. Right now, that's the same team that beat Seattle handily on Monday, Minnesota. But with 95 points, the Wild are only one point up on Colorado and three ahead of Dallas in the Central. Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights lead the Pacific Division with 98. Los Angeles (96) and Edmonton (93) aren't far behind. Besides Dallas (5-4-1), the other five teams sitting in the divisional seeds in the west have all been red-hot — none has less than 16 of a possible 20 points in its last 10 games. That level of success can't last forever, especially because there will be some head-to-head matchups between these teams in these final two weeks. The difference between first and second in the Western Conference could come down to the two head-to-head games between the Wild and the Golden Knights — in Vegas this Saturday, then back in Minnesota on Monday, April 3.
