The Seattle Kraken are about to embark on an important five-game road trip, which will see them take on four Atlantic Division teams.
The Seattle Kraken are about to embark on an important five-game road trip, which will see them take on four Atlantic Division teams.
The Seattle Kraken are about to embark on an important five-game road trip, which will see them take on four Atlantic Division teams.
The Kraken begin their road trip at the Bell Centre, where they will take on the Montreal Canadiens. Despite their current rebuild, the Kraken haven't had much success against the Canadiens. The Kraken are 2-3-1 against the Canadiens, losing both matchups during the 2023-24 campaign.
They'll then take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team they have beaten just once in six matchups. The Maple Leafs are coming off a big win snapping the Winnipeg Jets' eight-game win streak. The final two Atlantic Division road games are a back-to-back against the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins. The Bruins and Senators are off to a similar start as the Kraken. Both teams will be thinking they can take advantage of each other's up-and-down start but the Kraken will need to be the better team to come out on top.
The final game of the road trip is against a familiar foe, the Colorado Avalanche. They too have had an inconsistent start to the season and are dealing with a plethora of injuries.
Regardless of the shaky starts by all of the Kraken's next opponents, no game will be easy and the Kraken will have to work for the results they desire. If the Kraken can follow these three keys, they could find themselves on the winning end of multiple road games.
1. Depth Scoring
Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle have carried the offence at times to start the season. Andre Burakovsky has provided some playmaking magic but the overall consistency from the four forward lines hasn't been present. Matty Beniers has picked up four points in his last two games and he'll need to carry that momentum on the road trip. Depth scoring will be a massive factor against the high-scoring teams they are set to face.
2. Goaltending
Philipp Grubauer has struggled early on, posting an .881 SV% and a 3.10 GAA in four games while Joey Daccord has steadily improved in his first five starts recording a .910 SV% and a 2.95 GAA. If the two netminders can find consistency they can keep the Kraken in some games when the opponents put pressure on the Kraken's blue line.
3. Special Teams
Currently, the Kraken's power play ranks 24th in the NHL, clicking at just 15.4% and their penalty kill ranks 18th, killing just 76.9%. For the Kraken to beat teams that ice Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon and David Pastrnak, they'll need to stay disciplined and out of the box, but also capitalize on their man advantage opportunities.
This upcoming road trip could make or break the season. It's still early but losing three or more games on the road could put them in a spot where recovering becomes incredibly difficult. If they find their stride and win four or five games, they could separate themselves from some of the other playoff hopefuls in the Western Conference.
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