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Kraken Thoughts + Game Day vs Flyers

October 18, 2021, 12:36 PM ET [4 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Seattle Kraken Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Seattle is just over halfway done their lengthy road trip to start the season and find themselves 1-1-1 with three points in their first three games. All in all not a bad start for the 32nd team in the NHL. Here are some notable numbers in their first three games:

Seattle has scored a total of 8 goals in their first 3 games, averaging over 2.6 goals per game. Offense was a question mark prior to the start of the season but so far we are seeing Seattle hanging around with their opponents. Every game, win or lose so far has been decided by just a single goal.

Brandon Tanev leads the way for Seattle with 3 goals, despite averaging the 7th most minutes among forwards. Tanev has 2 goals at even strength and a single powerplay goal. The only other powerplay goal for Seattle has been scored by Jared McCann who is tied for first on the Kraken with 3 points (2G 1A) alongside Tanev (3G 0A).

Tanev, Geekie, Donato, and Giordano lead the way for Seattle in shots with 7 apiece. More surprising than the shot leaders are the guys near the bottom. Jaden Schwartz only has 2 shots, and Jordan Eberle and Alex Wennberg only have 3 shots each. Schwartz and Eberle in particular were supposed to be the offensive leaders for this team; they need to be averaging more than one shot a game.

It's early but so far Seattle is looking okay on their special teams. The Kraken have scored on two of their six powerplay opportunities this season while only allowing one powerplay goal on five penalty kills. Once again, for the powerplay guys like Eberle and Schwartz need to get more chances off.

Faceoffs look like a bit of a concern for Seattle right now. Wennberg has been good winning 27 out of 51 chances for 52.9% but as to be expected the younger guys have struggled. Jared McCann has won 18 of 43 for 41.9% and Morgan Geekie has won 15 of 32 for 42.9%. The team will be grateful to have Yanni Gourde back in the lineup who is around a 50% faceoff guy.

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Tonight Seattle will be facing off against a Flyers team that has only played one game and is still looking for their first win. Here are 5 things to watch for:

1) Hartly Enough: After an abysmal year last season, where Flyers goalie Carter Hart posted a 0.897SV% all eyes were on him in Philly's first game to see how he faired. He ended the game with a 0.897SV%, allowing 4 goals on 13 shots in the second period. This is exactly the kind of game where Seattle should focus on just firing shots on net in volume.

2) Shot Suppression: Again, it's early but Seattle has only managed to outshoot their opponent in one of their first three games. Outshooting an opponent of course involves your players getting pucks on net but it also involves having your defense prevent shots from getting through in the first place. Take the last game against Columbus when Lauzon coughed up the puck resulting in the tying goal for the Blue Jackets. There needs to be a greater commitment to the defensive game for Seattle.

3) Who Starts?: After a shakier start to the season, Grubauer looked in regular form against the Blue Jackets, posting a 0.920SV%. Seattle plays the Flyers tonight before making the trip to play the Devils on Tuesday. Does Hakstol start Grubauer tonight or does he go the Driedger? Which of the two games is tougher?

4) Now He Dunn It: The two biggest concerns about Dunn prior to this season were his inconsistencies in his own end and his injury history. We have seen both already as the younger defender missed the game on Saturday with an undisclosed injury. We have no time tables yet but it means the team will need to lean heavier on Giordano to move the puck.

5) Third Period Struggles: The Kraken have struggled to close out games in this early stage of the season. They tied up the game in the third in Vegas before getting scored on just a minute later, they almost blew a two goal lead near the end of the game in Nashville and then allowed the tying goal in the third frame in Columbus. If Seattle has a lead heading into the third tonight the team as a whole needs to buy into shutting their opponent down and maintaining that lead.
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