Predators & Kings Currently Hold Western Conf. Wild Cards
If "Ifs and Buts" were candy and nuts, oh what a party we'd have.
If the Seattle Kraken had played with the intensity they showed on their just-completed homestand, they'd be headed back to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Kraken went toe-to-toe Saturday with the surging Edmonton Oilers, quieting their offense in a 2-1 loss. That followed impressive wins over Vancouver, Boston, and Pittsburgh.
"We played a pretty good hockey game," said Kraken coach Dave Hakstol, while acknowledging the painful inability to secure a victory. "A couple of bounces offensively didn't come to us."
Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz added, "For as high-powered as (the Oilers) are, I thought we limited quite a bit of their offense." Edmonton, which averages 3.5 goals per game, had only 24 shots against Seattle.
That's playoff-quality defense. In total, the six games at Climate Pledge Arena yielded seven points. Extended over a full season, that equates to 97 points.
The problem is, the Kraken waited too long to find that next gear. There's not enough runway left in the season to build on we-deserved-better losses.
The Kraken begin a two-game Canadian road trip Monday in Calgary. Other Western Conference games with wild card implications:
- New Jersey @ Los Angeles, Sunday, 1230 pm PT
- San Jose @ Minnesota, Sunday, 4 pm PT
- St. Louis @ Philadelphia, Monday, 4 pm PT
For a deeper dive into these charts, see our earlier Playoff Tracker.