In an 84-game (or 82-game, prior to this year) schedule, there is no shortage of “prove it” stretches in a team’s schedule. Despite just a two game slate for the week, the Seattle Kraken find themselves at a “prove it” point in their schedule.
It’s a short stretch in the schedule – but a “prove it” opportunity nonetheless.
With their successful start to the season, it might be easy to dismiss the concept that this week is a “prove it” week for the Kraken, but a deeper look might tell otherwise.
Here is a “3 on 3” look at the Kraken’s opportunity to “prove it” this week.
“3 on 3” Prove it #1: Expected Heavy Hitters
Overall, the Kraken had a successful five game Eastern road trip. Of note, the Kraken struggled just a bit as the difficulty of that Eastern swing picked up. Which, of course, is to be expected. After regulation victories over the Red Wings, Capitals and Flyers, Seattle dropped a game in overtime to the Lightning and then suffered a lopsided loss to the Florida Panthers.
The loss to the Florida Panthers saw the Kraken give up eight goals. This included double hat tricks from the Panthers, with Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett each achieving the feat. Goalie Joey Daccord struggled, blocking 29 of the 37 save attempts on the night, for a .785 save percentage.
There were a number of contributing factors to the loss. First, it was the final game of a long road trip. Second, simply put, the Florida Panthers are a team capable of scoring goals with the best of them. Third, every goalie is going to have an off night that calls for extra emphasis from his defensive counterparts.
Still, the most telling story is the one told on the ice – higher level of difficulty, bigger challenge and that was the case in Florida.
Then the Mammoth happened.
The Utah Mammoth currently sit at 8-4, good for second place in the central division. In an impressive performance, the Kraken were able to answer the call – beating the Mammoth by a final of 5-3. It was a nice example of the Kraken stepping up their effort against a western conference heavy hitter.
Philip Grubauer was in net that night and stopped 33 of the 36 shots sent his way for a .917 save percentage.
“3 on 3” Prove It #2 – Unexpected Heavy Hitter
This week, the Kraken have an opportunity to “prove it” against two more heavy hitters.
Only this time, unexpected heavy hitters.
In a way.
Seattle’s first game of the week comes on Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs currently find themselves at 7-4-2 and third in the Atlantic Division. After an interesting start to the year, which saw the team bench Gavin McKenna in a loss to the Sabres, calling the Leafs a heavy hitter might have seemed a misnomer at best.
Then the last four games happened.
The last four games have seen the Maple Leafs defeat the San Jose Sharks, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers. It’s been an impressive stretch of hockey for Toronto, and is the reason they’re an unexpected heavy hitter heading into their game against the Kraken this week.
This stretch of hockey has seen the Leafs offer an impressive offensive output. They scored six goals against the Blue Jackets, five against the Rangers and tallied seven goals against the Oilers in a particularly impressive performance.
As impressive as a 7-2 victory over a team as good as the Oilers is, it is even more impressive when you consider the torrid start to the season that Connor McDavid has had. In just thirteen games played, McDavid has nineteen points in the form of nine goals and ten assists. It’s a historic start to the year for a player who has never been shy about offering historic performances.
While McDavid did have two assists in the contest, the Kraken managed to hold him without any goals – a minor feat on its own the way McDavid has been playing.
So while calling the Maple Leafs a heavy hitter at the start of the year might have seemed odd, the Kraken will have a chance to “prove it” against a Toronto team on a hot streak when they come to Seattle on Wednesday.
“3 on 3” Prove It #3 – A Most Unexpected Kraken Heavy Hitter
After the Kraken tangle with the Maple Leafs on Wednesday, they’ll host the Calgary Flames on Friday.
Surely this is where the discussion of heavy hitters ends.
As the great Lee Corso might say, not so fast.
The Flames had a terrible start to the season. It took them six games to score their first victory and their first four games saw scores of 6-1, 4-1, 6-1 and 7-3. Of note, both of those 6-1 losses came against the Kraken.
Since their difficult start to the season, the Flames have been playing much better hockey. In their last three games, the Flames have been on the winning end of contests against the Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild and Detroit Red Wings. They held their opponents to two, one and one goal respectively in those games.
The Seattle Kraken will have a chance to “prove it” against a team with increasingly solid defensive performances. This is especially the case because the Kraken have used an impressive offensive output to propel their strong start to the season.
The NHL season is a long one. When looking ahead at a stretch, it’s not enough to consider what a team did weeks ago. Maybe calling the Flames a heavy hitter is too much at this point, but the fact is, right now the Flames are a bit of a different team than the Kraken saw earlier in the year.
This means the Kraken have a chance to “prove it” against a team playing their best hockey of the season.
More importantly, in a week of only two games, the Kraken have the opportunity to prove anyone suggesting their strong start to the season wasn’t indicative of the team’s season-long capabilities wrong.
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