Along with first-game nerves, there are plenty of fun facts to start the year. With appreciative stick tap to Kraken communications manager Lindsey Brown and the crack NHL PR crew, here's a look at some of those entertaining numbers:
- Tonight's game marks the first professional hockey game featuring a team from Seattle since the Seattle Totems, then a member of the Central Hockey League, played their final game in 1975.
- Two Kraken skaters dressed for Tuesday's opener scored in their team's season opener last season: Defenseman Adam Larsson (Edmonton) and Brandon Tanev (Pittsburgh).
- Kraken opening-night starting goalie Philipp Grubauer owns a 6-4-1 career record against Vegas. His six wins against the Golden Knights are tied with Minnesota's Cam Talbot for the most since Vegas entered the NHL in the 2017-18 season.
- Grubauer posted a 4-2-1 record against Vegas in 2020-21 with a 1.86 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage. His wins, goals-against average and save percentage against Vegas were the best among goaltenders in 2020-21 who played Vegas more than twice.
- Jaden Schwartz has totaled nine points (three goals, six assists) in nine career road games against Vegas. His nine points against Vegas in road games are tied with LA center Anze Kopitar for the second most in the NHL since the start of the 2017-18 season (St. Louis' Ryan O'Reilly, 11, is first). His 11 career points (four goals, seven assists) against Vegas are the most of any skater on Seattle's roster.
- 721 players were on the official season-opening rosters submitted to NHL offices, including 310 from Canada. That calculates to 43 percent. USA is next with 26.4 percent. Twenty-two different birth nations are represented.
- Fun fact for Seattle's Game 3 of the five-game opening road trip. Saturday's opponent, Columbus, has players from 10 different countries: USA, 6; Canada, 4; Sweden, 3; Switzerland, 2; Finland, 2; Russia, 2, Czech Republic, 2; Denmark, 1; France, 1 and Latvia, 1.
- Twenty-two percent of the NHL's players are 23 or under, while 12.6 percent went undrafted. Kraken captain Mark Giordano is Exhibit "U" as the league's undrafted player with the most assists and overall points.
