On Thursday, Dec. 18, the Seattle Kraken are preparing to take on the Calgary Flames. Seattle just closed out their homestand with another hard loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, falling 5-3. The Kraken have now lost nine of their last 10 games. This game in Calgary is the Kraken’s first of a four-game road trip, where they will try to right the ship once more.Â
Related: MacKinnon Scores Twice as Avalanche Top Kraken 5-3
This game is the first of a two-game homestand for the Flames. Their last game on the road was a 6-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks. In December, the Flames have played seven games, four of which were at home; three of those resulted in a victory. The Kraken will have to be on their A-game as they try to break the losing cycle they are in.Â
Kraken Storylines
In the Kraken’s latest game against the Avalanche, Brandon Montour was injured late in the third and did not return to the ice. According to PuckPedia, he is listed as a scratch for this game. There is still no update on the status of his injury. If the Kraken lose Montour, that would be a hard blow, as the blueliner has 16 points in 27 games this season. He is a strong two-way defenseman, picking up points and blocking shots. Considering their already-hurting team, the Kraken cannot afford to lose anyone else.Â
Brandon Montour, Seattle Kraken (Photo by Christopher Mast/NHLI via Getty Images)
The player to watch in this game is Jordan Eberle. The captain has had to deal with several line changes throughout the season and is currently playing center with Mason Marchment and Matty Beniers on the top line. In Seattle’s last game, he scored his first goal in four games, and in the game prior, he recorded an assist. Can he extend his point streak to three games tonight?
Team Stats
Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 12-13-6
Top Scorers:
Jordan Eberle – 10 goals (G), 10 assists (A), 20 points (P)
Vince Dunn – 5 G, 14 A, 19 P
Chandler Stephenson – 7 G, 11 A, 18 P
Matty Beniers – 4 G, 14 A, 18 P
Brandon Montour – 6 G, 10 A, 16 P
Goalie Stats:
Joey Daccord – 8-8-4, 2.89 goals-against average (GAA), .893 save percentage (SV%)
Philipp Grubauer – 4-3-1, 2.78 GAA, .900 SV%
Matt Murray – 0-2-1, 2.21 GAA, .922 SV%
Calgary Flames
Season Record: 13-17-4
Top Scorers:
Nazem Kadri – 7 G, 22 A, 29 P
Rasmus Andersson – 7 G, 15 A, 22 P
Matt Coronato – 10 G, 9 A, 19 P
Morgan Frost – 8 G, 10 A, 18 P
Jonathan Huberdeau – 6 G, 11 A, 17 P
Goalie Stats:
Dustin Wolf – 10-13-2, 2.96 GAA, .896 SV%
Devin Cooley – 3-4-2, 2.35 GAA, .914 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
Seattle Kraken
Mason Marchment — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen — Chandler Stephenson — Frederick Gaudreau
Jani Nyman — Shane Wright — Kaapo Kakko
Ryan Winterton — Ben Meyers — Jacob Melanson
Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren — Jamie Oleksiak
Ryker Evans — Cale Fleury
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: Tye Kartye, Josh Mahura, Brandon Montour
Injured: Jared McCann, Berkly Catton, Jaden Schwartz, Matt Murray, Max McCormick
Calgary Flames
Jonathan Huberdeau — Morgan Frost — Matt Coronato
Yegor Sharangovich — Nazem Kadri — Joel Farabee
Connor Zary — Mikael Backlund — Blake Coleman
Ryan Lomberg — John Beecher — Adam Klapka
Kevin Bahl — Rasmus Andersson
Yan Kuznetsov — MacKenzie Weegar
Joel Hanley — Hunter Brzustewicz
Dustin Wolf
Devin Cooley
Scratched: Dryden Hunt, Brayden Pachal
Injured: Martin Pospisil, Samuel Honzek, Jake Bean
Next Up for the Kraken
The Kraken will travel down to California, where they will take on the Sharks on Saturday, Dec. 20.
The season series between the Kraken and Flames will continue in Calgary on Jan. 5.
