Kraken Gameday Preview: Closing Out the Season Series in San Jose vs. Sharks – The Hockey Writers – Seattle Kraken

On Saturday, Dec. 20, the Seattle Kraken are preparing to take on the San Jose Sharks. Seattle began a four-game road trip ahead of the holiday break on Thursday, traveling to Canada to take on the Calgary Flames. The Kraken held a strong lead heading into the third, but the Flames came back to beat them 4-2.

Related: Blue Jackets Land Mason Marchment in Trade with Kraken

For San Jose, this game closes out a three-game homestand. Their last game was also on Thursday, where they lost 5-3 to the Dallas Stars. Both teams will be looking to break their losing streak tonight. 

The season series is currently tied. The Sharks won the first game with a 6-1 blowout victory on Nov. 5. Just 10 days later, the series continued in Seattle, where the Kraken won 4-1. Whoever wins tonight takes the whole season series. 

Kraken Storylines

Yesterday, just minutes before the trade freeze, the Kraken traded forward Mason Marchment to the Columbus Blue Jackets. In exchange, they received a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Marchment played 29 games with Seattle and recorded 13 points via four goals and nine assists. With the absence of several key forwards due to injury, Marchment was playing on the top line alongside Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle. 

With Marchment traded and several forwards still out with an injury, Eeli Tolvanen now moves to the top line alongside Beniers and Eberle. Tolvanen has since moved up to the fifth spot of the top scorers for the Kraken with 17 points. He has had decent point production, and he should be a good fit alongside these two strong forwards. 

Eeli Tolvanen, Seattle Kraken (Photo by Christopher Mast/NHLI via Getty Images)

While the Kraken are missing several forwards, there was some good news ahead of today’s game: Berkly Catton was seen at practice in a regular jersey. This is a good indicator that he could be back in the lineup soon. The young rookie last played on Dec. 6 against the Detroit Red Wings, where he sustained an upper-body injury. So far this season, Catton has played 21 games and recorded five assists. 

The player to watch in this game is Chandler Stephenson. He is currently on a seven-game point streak and has scored one goal in his last three games. He has been on a hot streak, and we’ll see if he can continue it tonight.

Team Stats

Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 12-14-6

Top Scorers:

Jordan Eberle – 10 goals (G), 10 assists (A), 20 points (P)

Chandler Stephenson – 8 G, 11 A, 19 P

Vince Dunn – 5 G, 14 A, 19 P

Matty Beniers – 4 G, 14 A, 18 P

Eeli Tolvanen – 4 G, 13 A, 17 P

Goalie Stats:

Joey Daccord – 8-9-4, 2.90 goals-against average (GAA), .897 save percentage (SV%)

Philipp Grubauer – 4-3-1, 2.78 GAA, .900 SV%

Matt Murray – 0-2-1, 2.21 GAA, .922 SV%

San Jose Sharks
Season Record: 17-15-3

Top Scorers:

Macklin Celebrini – 18 G, 35 A, 53 P

Will Smith – 12 G, 17 A, 29 P

Tyler Toffoli – 10 G, 13 A, 23 P

William Eklund – 8 G, 14 A, 22 P

Alexander Wennberg – 7 G, 15 A, 22 P

Goalie Stats:

Yaroslav Askarov – 12-8-1, 3.23 GAA, .902 SV%

Alex Nedeljkovic – 5-7-2, 3.01 GAA, .899 SV%

Projected Lineups

(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.

Seattle Kraken

Eeli Tolvanen — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Jani Nyman — Chandler Stephenson — Frederick Gaudreau
Ryan Winterton — Shane Wright — Kaapo Kakko
Tye Kartye — Ben Meyers — Jacob Melanson

Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren — Jamie Oleksiak
Ryker Evans — Josh Mahura

Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer

Scratched: Cale Fleury

Injured: Jared McCann, Berkly Catton, Jaden Schwartz, Brandon Mntour, Matt Murray, Max McCormick

San Jose Sharks

Collin Graf — Macklin Celebrini — Igor Chernyshov
William Eklund — Alex Wennberg — Tyler Toffoli
Jeff Skinner — Ty Dellandrea — Adam Gaudette
Barclay Goodrow — Zack Ostapchuk — Ryan Reaves

Dmitry Orlov — John Klingberg
Mario Ferraro — Shakir Mukhamadullin
Sam Dickinson — Vincent Iorio

Yaroslav Askarov
Alex Nedeljkovic

Scratched: Ethan Cardwell, Nick Leddy, Timothy Liljegren

Injured: Will Smith, Philipp Kurashev, Logan Couture, Vincent Desharnais, Ryan Ellis.

Next Up for the Kraken

The Kraken will continue on their road trip through California, taking on the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, Dec. 22.