The Seattle Kraken will receive reinforcements with the return of Brandon Montour as they look to bounce back against the Ottawa Senators.
The Seattle Kraken will receive reinforcements with the return of Brandon Montour as they look to bounce back against the Ottawa Senators.
Last time out, the Kraken were on the losing end of a 4-1 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Without Montour, the Kraken struggled to maintain zone time and had difficulties dealing with the Maple Leafs' forecheck. With Montour's return, the Kraken should be able to deal with the Senators forwards better than they did against the Maple Leafs.
The Senators have been one of the best offensive teams to start the season, scoring 3.9 goals per game (4th best) and their power play is clicking at 36.4% (second best). The Kraken haven't been as potent in both offensive categories as the Senators but have still been better than league average.
Where the Kraken do have the advantage is defensively. The Kraken are giving up just 3.09 goals per game and have a penalty kill percentage of 81.2. Compared to the Senators' 3.3 goals allowed per game and 74.1% penalty kill, the matchup between the two teams is very even and has the recipe for a tight back-and-forth game.
Philipp Grubauer is the expected starter for the Kraken and he hasn't played in four games since he was in between the pipes in a loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Grubauer's struggles have been well documented during his tenure with the Kraken and as Daccord continues to prove he can be a No.1 goaltender, Grubauer is seeing less of the crease.
Anton Forsberg is the Senators' expected starter after Linus Ullmark played against the New York Rangers the night before.
Kraken's projected lineup:
McCann-Beniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Stephenson-Burakovsky
Tolvanen-Wright-Bjorkstrand
Kartye-Gourde-Tanev
Evans-Larsson
Oleksiak-Montour
Mahura-Borgen
Grubauer
Daccord
Senators projected lineup:
Tkachuk-Stutzle-Greig
Giroux-Norris-Batherson
Gregor-Ostapchuk-Amadio
Cousins-Gaudette-MacEwen
Sanderson-Hamonic
Chabot-Jensen
Kleven-Bernard-Docker
Forsberg
Ullmark
Puck drop is at 4:00 P.M. PST at the Canadian Tire Centre.
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