For the Seattle Kraken it’s been expect the unexpected. Big picture, we’d be talking about nine wins in 18 games played. Plus of course, those five post-regulation-time “loser points”, the key to parity in the NHL.
Whether it’s been timely scoring or outstanding goaltending — see Philipp Grubauer in relief of Matt Murray on Saturday night — the Kraken have found a way thus far. That, despite being 28th out of 32 teams in the NHL in goals-for-per-game at 2.72.
Head coach Lane Lambert’s structure has paid off. He appears to have buy-in from the group, which is 80% of the battle. He came in known as a “defensive minded” coach, and thus far that’s what his team has been. It doesn’t mean sitting back, it means pressuring pucks in all three zones and attempting to capitalize on the counter-attack.
Goals-against-per-game, the Kraken are 6th best in the league at 2.67.
Simple math: their goals against average is lower than their goals for; that’s a solid starting point. One might think those low scores mean boring hockey, but that hasn’t been the case. Through 18 games the pace has been pretty exciting. More often than not it’s been the opponent taking a period or two off.
With the condensed schedule due to the Winter Olympic break in February, everyone in the NHL is tired. And they’ll become more so as the season moves along.
So maybe simple and tight, is right.
A key area of perceived weakness for Seattle, the center position, especially as it relates to a lack of high-end talent, hasn’t bit them in the butt yet, even with intermittent injuries in the forward group.
It’s depth by committee. Face-off and shoot-out guru Freddie Gaudreau, a bottom-six specialist, for lack of a better description, just returned from injury and played in just his fifth game of the season. The club has been without perennial leading scorer Jared McCann, almost exclusively a winger these days, for all but five games.
Will the trolley come off the tracks? Through a quarter of the NHL season, so far so good.
The Kraken, who have earned at least one point in six of their eight games this month, start a four-game road trip against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.
Earlier Kraken:
— Kraken’s Catton Staying In NHL Raises More Questions
Of interest from the Canucks:
— Canucks Desperation; History Repeats Itself