On Tuesday, Oct. 28, the Seattle Kraken will host the Montreal Canadiens. Exactly two weeks prior, on Oct. 14, the Canadiens hosted the Kraken for their home opener at the Bell Centre. The game went into overtime, but Montreal pulled out the win, 6-5.
The Kraken just returned from their six-game road trip and had their first home game since Saturday, Oct. 25, where they beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2. Seattle is now on a two-game winning streak, and they will look to continue that as they try to even the season series against Montreal.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Kraken’s 3-2 Victory Over the Oilers
As for Montreal, this game in Seattle marks the final one of their four-game road trip. After defeating the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, they aim to maintain their winning streak against Seattle. Certainly, they will try to win the season series.
Kraken Storylines
During practice on Monday, Oct. 27, Kraken radio host Mike Benton reported Kaapo Kakko was a participant in a regular jersey. While he’s not slotting into the lineup, Kakko is on the road to recovery from his broken hand. It’s looking more like we will see him return closer to the four-week mark than the six-week mark.
While Kakko is progressing well, there is still a lack of information regarding Jared McCann. After practice, Lane Lambert spoke to the media, saying, “Right now he’s in a little bit of a holding pattern, so we’ll see where we go with him. We should know more here day-to-day as we go forward.” He last played in Toronto on Oct. 18 and has since been placed on injured reserve. Hopefully, there is an update to his return timeline soon.
It will be interesting to see which goalie the Kraken decide to start in this game. Joey Daccord started in the first game against Montreal but recorded his first overtime loss. There is no denying he has been Seattle’s strongest goaltender to start the season. He will need a break at some point, but Daccord is likely the Kraken’s best chance at a win here.
Jani Nyman, Seattle Kraken (Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images)
The player to watch in this game is Jani Nyman. He scored his first goal of the season against Montreal and has since recorded two more goals. He has been on a three-game point drought, but he has been playing well despite this. It feels like this game against the Canadiens is the best time to break it.
Team Stats
Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 5-2-2
Top Scorers:
Jordan Eberle – 4 goals (G), 4 assists (A), 8 points (P)
Jaden Schwartz – 4 G, 4 A, 8 P
Matty Beniers – 1 G, 5 A, 6 P
Chandler Stephenson – 2 G, 3 A, 5 P
Vince Dunn – 2 G, 3 A, 5 P
Goalie Stats:
Joey Daccord – 5-1-1, 2.48 goals-against average (GAA), .915 save percentage (SV%)
Philipp Grubauer – 0-0-1, 2.12 GAA, .897 SV%
Matt Murray – 0-1-0, 3.13 GAA, .909 SV%
Montreal Canadiens
Season Record:
Top Scorers: 7-3-0
Nick Suzuki – 2 G, 11 A, 13 P
Cole Caufield – 7 G, 3 A, 10 P
Ivan Demidov – 2 G, 7 A, 9 P
Lane Hutson – 1 G, 8 A, 9 P
Oliver Kapanen – 4 G, 3 A, 7 P
Goalie Stats:
Jakub Dobes – 5-0-0, 1.77 GAA, .940 AV%
Sam Montembeault – 2-3-0, 3.82 GAA, .842 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
Seattle Kraken
Berkly Catton — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Mason Marchment — Chandler Stephenson — Eeli Tolvanen
Jaden Schwartz — Shane Wright — Jani Nyman
Tye Kartye — Ben Meyers — Ryan Winterton
Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren — Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura — Jamie Oleksiak
Joey Daccord
Matt Murray
Scratched: John Hayden, Cale Fleury, Philipp Grubauer
Injured: Jared McCann, Frederick Gaudreau, Kaapo Kakko, Ryker Evans, Max McCormick, Lleyton Roed
Montreal Canadiens
Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Salfkovsky
Alex Newhook — Oliver Kapanen — Ivan Demidov
Josh Anderson — Jake Evans — Brendan Gallagher
Joseph Veleno — Kirby Dach — Zack Bolduc
Mike Matheson — Noah Dobson
Jayden Struble — Lane Hutson
Arber Xhekaj — Alexandre Carrier
Jakub Dobes
Sam Montembeault
Scratched: Joshua Roy, Marc Del Gaizo, William Trudeau, Gannon Laroque
Injured: Patrik Laine, Kaiden Guhle, David Reinbacher
Next Up for Seattle
After this game, the Kraken don’t play again until Saturday, Nov. 1, when they host the New York Rangers. The reprieve will be nice, especially since they are not traveling and will be remaining in Seattle. This will give the team plenty of time to rest and practice to ensure a win.
