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Kraken (8-4-1) at Flames (5-7-0) | 5:00 p.m.
One: Keep spreading the love – A hallmark of the Kraken thus far has been the diversity of their offensive production. When centerman Chandler Stephenson scored against Toronto, he became the team’s 14thplayer with multiple goals this season. That’s tops in the entire league.
The Kraken also got goals from Ryker Evans and Brandon Montour against the Maple Leafs, giving them the most players with three or more tallies, tied with Vancouver at 10 apiece.
John Mahura became the 17th individual Kraken player to score a goal when he netted only his third in nearly four years – all against the Leafs. The Utah Mammoth as of Thursday led the NHL with 19 players having scored while the Kraken were one of five teams tied after that with their 17.
So, when the Kraken say they have no “top” lines and are rolling out trios virtually identical to one another, it’s probably best to take their word on it for now.
The whole thing began opening night against the Flames in Calgary when six different Kraken players all scored in a 6-1 victory. Turns out, that wasn’t an aberration.
What makes this interesting is the Kraken are not just some middling offensive team spreading out the goals because they lack high-end scorers. As of Thursday, they had the sixth best offense in the league at 3.69 goals per game.
They also have six games of at least five goals in their first 13 contests. Last season, they didn’t get a five-goal game until Nov. 13 in their 17th contest. They needed until Feb. 28 to get their fifth such game in their 59th matchup.
Not surprisingly, they are 6-0-0 in such games this season.
They’ve also had seven games of four goals or more in their first 13 contests. Last season, they didn’t reach that many games of four or more goals until Dec. 20 in their 33rd matchup.
They are 7-0-0 in those games.
Two: Keep the puck out – Given the type of offense the Kraken have generated, it isn’t surprising that limiting their goals against to a certain threshold can reap big dividends.
For instance, they are 7-1-0 when allowing three goals or fewer, the lone exception being a 3-1 loss in Edmonton the second game of the season.
Philipp Grubauer has allowed three goals or fewer in five of his seven starts. He is 5-0-1 in his last six outings, managing to go 1-0-1 over that span even when allowing four goals in a game.
Where the Kraken need to be careful against the Flames is on the penalty kill. The Flames have the league’s fifth best power play percentage at 29% while the Kraken have struggled at fending off opponents while a man short.
Three: Know your foe – These aren’t the same Flames as a month ago. Back when the Kraken were beating them twice within four days, by a 6-1 count each time, the Flames were on their way to losing their first five games and six of their initial seven.
They later rode backup goalie Devin Cooley to four consecutive wins in which he allowed two goals or fewer each time. That got the Flames back within a game of .500 until they lost 4-0 to the Oilers on Wednesday, with Cooley suffering a lower body injury on a net front collision.
Cooley is expected to miss at least the next couple of games, meaning the Kraken will again face Dustin Wolf for the third time this season already.
Worth noting is that the Flames have actually started scoring some goals as well as preventing them. They had two or fewer in four of their first five games – and just one goal in each of their first three contests – but had since scored three or more in four of the next six. As mentioned, their power play has been great with nine of the team’s 28 overall goals coming with the man advantage.
Joel Farabee leads the team with 11 points, while Matt Coronato is second with 10. Five Kraken players have reached or surpassed 10 points with Chandler Stephenson leading the team at 11.
Matvei Gridin leads the Flames with four goals, something four Kraken players have achieved – with Freddy Gaudreau leading the squad with six.
Incidentally, this will be the final time the Kraken ever play at the Scotiabank Saddledome, with the Flames moving across the street to a new venue next season. The Flames are 4-2-0 at home, just 1-4-0 on the road.
Projected lines (not official):
McMann - Beniers - Eberle
Nyman - Stephenson - Samoskevich
Kakko - Catton - Wright
Meyers - Gaudreau - Winterton
Dunn - Larsson
Evans - Montour
Mahura - Fleury
Daccord
