Eberle, Kraken embracing 'playoff mentality' on start of critical stretch

EDMONTON -- Jordan Eberle and the Seattle Kraken believe they're up for the challenge of trying to drag a relatively young team into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

The Seattle captain and his experienced colleagues have been in this situation before, where every game down the stretch carries so much weight. They visit the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; Prime, KONG, KHN/Prime) trailing the Nashville Predators by six points for the second wild card in the Western Conference. 

Nashville is tied in points with the Los Angeles Kings but owns the tiebreaker in regulation wins (26-19).

"You get to this time of year, and it becomes playoff mentality," Eberle said before the Kraken lost 3-0 to the Edmonton Oilers on March 31. "We've had some guys step up in some key situations, but these games are enjoyable. There's a lot on the line and I think when you get to this part of the season, you have earned the right to try and get to that spot, and you have to try and relish it and take advantage of it." 

Seattle (32-32-11) is 4-10-2 since March 2, when it was third in the Pacific Division, and has lost four in a row (0-3-1). Winnipeg (33-31-12) is three points back with six games to play. The Kraken have seven left and also hold one game in hand on the Predators and Kings.

"Yeah, the importance of these games is exponential," Eberle said. "I think as cliche as it is, you can't try and look too far ahead and you can't try and make up numbers. You just have to do it one game at a time."

The onus of getting Seattle into the playoffs falls on veterans like Eberle who have been there before. The 35-year-old was an original member of the Kraken, chosen in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft from the New York Islanders, and named the second captain in franchise history in place of Mark Giordano on Oct. 8, 2024.

Eberle helped Seattle qualify in its second season (2022-23). It upset the Colorado Avalanche, the defending Stanley Cup champions, in seven games of the Western Conference First Round and pushed the Dallas Stars to the limit in the second round before losing in seven. The Kraken have since endured significant personnel changes with a younger, less experienced core. 

"The games have tightened up, and you get to this time of year, these games are massively important, details matter, and time and space and those things limit, so you have to learn to play in these situations," Eberle said. "A lot of times early in your career, I remember for myself, it's not easy, you're not used to it. It's about every little moment in the game, being in the right areas, trying to win a battle, those moments matter. 

"I think you just try to lead by example as an older guy because you've been through it, but I think they learn pretty quickly."

Eberle leads Seattle with 52 points (24 goals, 28 assists) in 73 games. They lost 4-2 at home to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, which set it back in its playoff quest, but there is little time to lament the loss. 

The Kraken are leaning on their veterans to get them back on track. 

"We have to," coach Lane Lambert said. "We have some youth on our team and it's a bit of uncharted territory for some of them. It's not different than any other team. You have to lean on your veteran guys and if you look around the League and you're seeing teams that are in the same boat as us and we're in competition with (the Predators), the (Filip) Forsberg's are stepping up, the (Ryan) O'Reilly's are stepping up and we need our guys to step up the same way and lately they have been." 

Seattle acquired forward Bobby McMann from the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 6 for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a conditional second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft just prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. The 29-year-old has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 11 games. 

"I knew when there was an opportunity to get Bobby, that was a guy that we really wanted to get and we targeted him," Lambert said. "His speed adds an element to our hockey team and certainly coaching him (as an assistant) last year in Toronto I know exactly what he's about. 

"He's a power forward and his goals are scored driving the net, he's got some speed there, so it doesn't surprise me that he's having success and he's really helping our hockey team."

McMann is thriving under the pressure of a playoff push. He too understands the responsibility of the veterans to set the example for the younger players in the dressing room. 

"It's big," he said, "especially at this point of the season because if you haven't gone through it, you really feel the intensity and the emotions, and everything ramp up for the end of the season. Teams are trying to get into the playoffs and teams that know they're going to be in the playoffs, they know they have to get their game to a certain spot. 

"So, it's continuing to try and bring guys along, it's not just going out there and trying to play your best, it's bringing guys with you and trying to help them and give them as much guidance as you can verbally, but also working on things continually to get better, because everybody else is doing it."