Into the deep end: previewing the Kraken at the Sharks, April 5th, 2025
By Charles Hamaker
San Jose, CA - To continue their final road trip of their fourth season in NHL existence, our Seattle Kraken battle another Pacific division foe as they tangle with the San Jose Sharks tonight, April 5th at the SAP Center with a puck drop time of 7PM PDT. Neither team has anything left to play for in their disappointing 2024-25 campaigns but pride, but tonight the Sharks will be celebrating “Fan Appreciation” night as those in attendance will be taking home a S.J. Sharkie Stand giveaway. Throughout their history, despite Seattle’s second year prominence and ability to take down some of the best teams in the NHL, the Kraken have always struggled with the Sharks as San Jose has hung around the bottom of the Pacific division in recent memory. Seattle will look to keep their momentum from a satisfying victory against the Canucks on Wednesday and can bump their record in San Jose to .500 if they’re able to get a victory tonight. Here’s what to know about Seattle, San Jose, and the matchup tonight.
Seattle looking to finish out year with strong play
Our Seattle Kraken have only officially been eliminated from playoff contention for a few weeks, but considering their poor stretch around the American Thanksgiving holiday that featured a poor result at the hands of tonight’s opponent, the official announcement has only felt like a formality for months. With all that negativity and hard truth being said, Seattle has played some solid hockey since the 4 Nations Face-Off break back in February and fans have been frustrated at this because they wonder what this season could have looked like if the effort and execution displayed by the Kraken was commonplace throughout the course of the entire year, or at least earlier in the season given Seattle’s struggles in the first few months. Since that 4 Nations break, Seattle has wins over Florida, Vancouver (Twice), Montreal, and Edmonton, while playing close games with Washington and Winnipeg amongst others. Those are all good to great teams that the Kraken could’ve looked poor against but didn’t and instead hung around for a good fight, which is encouraging to see. That fight and effort doesn’t reverse any of the decisions that must be made by general manager Ron Francis and the front office come the summer time, but it is encouraging to see given you will need to retain a good chunk of your core.
San Jose building for their future
The current overview of the Sharks is somewhat simple: they’re bad and young currently, with lots of good vibes surrounding them because of the duo that is Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, with others like veteran Tyler Toffoli chipping in to the shenanigans that this team gets into. General manager Mike Grier has his work cut out for him to bring San Jose back to the level of success that they had from 2015-16 to 2018-19 as well as the stretch from 2003-04 to 2013-14, but there are some strong pieces in place with guys like William Eklund, Celebrini, Smith, and the gaggle of prospects they have that have seen some time at the NHL level this year. They do have some solid veterans on the roster that could be helping them move the needle a bit more in guys like Toffoli, Alex Wennberg, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic amongst other, but perhaps their best perhaps right now is to help guide and nurture the young talent that will serve as the future of the Sharks organization. In sports, when you’re rebuilding or it’s known that you won’t be playing for the postseason, it’s said that the hope is you can lose but play fun, and San Jose certainly is doing that part. The ultimate question is that will all of this struggling and stockpiling of young talent result in anything meaningful, or will those players named previously help other franchises around the NHL lift the Stanley Cup rather the team with a Shark on the front of it’s jersey.
The head-to-head matchup history
These two Pacific division opponents, both named after creatures that call the water home, have faced off against each other 14 times in total, with Seattle holding the winning edge by two games. The Kraken are 8-6-0 all-time versus the Sharks, including a 3-4-0 mark on the road. Highlighting that road record for a bit here, Seattle has been outscored by San Jose 15-21 when the games are played at the SAP Center, including perhaps one of the worst losses in Kraken history when they fell by a final score of 8-5 earlier this season. During Seattle’s existence as an NHL franchise, there is just one playoff appearance between these two, and it’ll be fascinating to see which of the creatures of the sea returns to the postseason first given where they both are in their current states of being.
Morning skate/lineup notes
This morning skate was an optional one for Seattle, and it’s always interesting to see who shows up for those with the Kraken, especially given the fact that they have nothing left to really play for. Joey Daccord was the first player we saw on the ice today, getting early work in with goaltender coach Steve Briere, and we’ll talk about that below in our starting goaltender notes. The two players to show up after that were Jaden Schwartz and Eeli Tolvanen, two skaters that missed the game in Vancouver with undisclosed injuries. It was nice to see them getting work in, although Schwartz was only doing skills work with skills consultant Matt Larke, so he seems unlikely to return in this game. It’s unclear whether Tolvanen will return, and so we’ll have to wait for line rushes in warm ups to determine that sort of thing, but Bylsma did say during the teams most recent Kraken Community Iceplex practice that one of the two injured forwards was further along than the other, and Eeli skated with his teammates at that Friday practice so we imagine he returns to the lineup tonight. Otherwise, the only players that we didn’t see hit the ice for the optional at the SAP Center this morning were Matty Beniers, Jared McCann, and Jordan Eberle. Both Beniers and McCann were accounted for because we saw them in the tunnel (having spoken to Matty for media availability), and it’s tough to take too much stock into their availability because it’s an optional. When optional skates happen, media speaks to Dan Bylsma right at when they are scheduled to start, so Eberle could’ve been out there and it’s possible we missed it or he just took it off given that he has the option to do so. Otherwise it was a normal morning, including the usual Brandon Montour shenanigans as he ripped his stick tape off and presented it to me as if it was a gift.
Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord during the teams January 30th, 2025 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Nate Koppelman for Circling Seattle Sports)
Starting goaltender matchup
For our Kraken, Joey Daccord was the first player and netminder on the ice for today’s optional morning skate and I’d heavily expect him to be the one that gets the start tonight given him hitting the ice first with goalie coach Steve Briere and leaving the ice first between the two goaltenders. While those things aren’t the most iron clad, for sure things to determine Daccord being the starter tonight, it’s what worked in the past and what we’re used to, so I’m going with that. Joey Daccord has a record of 2-3-0 with a 2.26 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in five career appearances against the Sharks, so just as Seattle will be looking to improve their record in San Jose to .500, so will he in terms of his overall record against the team that calls “Teal Town” home.
For San Jose, Sharks reporter Sheng Peng tweeted that Alexandar Georgiev will be getting the net for the home side tonight. Georgiev makes his first start for San Jose since their tough shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks on April 1st, when he stopped 37 shots for a .919SV% with 2.04 goals saved above expected per Moneypuck.com. Alexandar will be looking to string together some positive games in net for the Sharks considering the turbulent years he’s had, from the rough beginning of the season in Colorado with the Avalanche to being traded to San Jose and attempting to find his footing here. In terms of how he’s fared against the Kraken in his career, Georgiev has a record of 2-0-1 in four games with a goals against average of 1.95 and a save percentage of .939 versus Seattle in his career.
Key players to watch
The Kraken have seen their originals step out and perform in recent games, so we’re looking to Jared McCann and Adam Larsson for their impact in this game while adding first year Seattle player Brandon Montour as well to the list. “Canner” had a three-point (all assists) night in his last game on April 2nd against the Canucks, his 14th multipoint game of the season. McCann leads all Kraken skaters in points (55), is tied for first in assists (37), and tied for third in goals (18). He has 10 points (Three goals and seven assists) in 23 career games against the Sharks, and we’re looking for his impact tonight against San Jose. It’s always fun to highlight the “Big Cat,” and after last games empty netter, Adam Larsson is one goal shy of matching his career high of eight, which he's met on two other occasions (both with Seattle). Lastly with Brandon Montour, “Monty” enters tonight’s contest one goal shy of setting a new regular-season career high (17). Two Kraken originals and one of their more dynamic/impactful free agent signings of their young existence are who we will have our eye on in this game.
San Jose Sharks rookie forward Macklin Celebrini during his teams November 30th, 2024 win over the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo for Circling Seattle Sports)
For the Sharks, Mario Ferraro, Macklin Celebrini, and William Eklund. Ferraro, the 26-year-old defenseman out of Toronto, Canada is currently riding a three-game point streak, recording four points (all assists) in that span. Ferraro has the second most penalty minutes (53) on the Sharks roster, so goading him into some penalties to get the Kraken power play going could very well be a possibility tonight. In his 12 career games against the Kraken, Ferraro has only recorded one goal, but considering his recent play and the scrappy nature of San Jose, he’s not to be underestimated. Celebrini is one of the most exciting young players in this game, and it’s been remarkable to see him handle the NHL speed at just 18-years old. Celebrini has all the skill in the world and has totalled 21 goals, 33 assists for 54 points in 63 games, and he’s seemingly always going to be a player to watch on the ice for San Jose as long as he puts on a Sharks uniform and especially on the man advantage as he leads his team in power play goals (7) and power play assists. One of the other young Sharks forwards that brings excitement early into his career although he’s now somewhat of a veteran at the age of 22-years old, William Eklund is the Sharks' leading scorer with 17 goals, 38 assists, 55 points in 70 games. Essentially, the top two lines for San Jose are largely where they can do their damage, with Celebrini and Eklund leading the way for their respective lines.
Key storylines
Will Seattle’s emphatic start to the road trip carry over?
The Kraken began this road trip with a big time victory over the Vancouver Canucks, a victory that essentially buried the already slim postseason aspirations of their neighbors to the North. After struggling heavily against them early on in their existence in the NHL, Seattle has dominated the head-to-head battles with the Canucks and this game put another stamp on a year that’s only proven that more and more. With all that being said, and considering how the Kraken have looked in terms of their play since the 4 Nations Face-Off break, can we expect this inconsistent Seattle team to actually show the same level of play we saw them put together on Tuesday in tonight’s game? I’m not so sure about that, only because of how inconsistent the Kraken have been throughout the course of this season. I’m okay either way with Seattle finishing out the year well or not, considering a winning rest of the way avoids the frustrations of bad hockey while bad hockey means a better lottery pick, but for matchups sake you may want to perform better tonight in San Jose considering how bad you’ve looked against the Sharks this year.
Will Shane Wright make some Kraken history?
Seattle rookie forward Shane Wright has been a key contributor for the Kraken all season long, especially so since a healthy scratch to help him “reset” early into the year. With that success and stat contribution throughout the year, Wright is nearing a milestone. If he were to score tonight, he’d become the second youngest player to score 20 goals in a season for Seattle. The only player to do so at a younger age is Matty Beniers (20 years, 140 days on March 25, 2023), and given Matty’s funny comments about how they play Clash of Clans together (When asked about Shane and what it’s been like to have the younger centerman around him full time this year), that accomplishment could be a fun trash talking point for the two if they chose to do so.
Can the Kraken power play finish out the year on a high note?
It’s no secret that Seattle’s power play has been the source of frustration all season for the Kraken, and really for their entire existence. Assistant coach Jessica Campbell has been looked to as someone that could help give it some spark when she was hired to join Dan Bylsma’s staff, and while her work with special teams units has helped Seattle get key goals in critical situations, I think the biggest problem with the Kraken’s man advantage play is the players that they have running the respective units and their failure to execute. Seattle has largely had the same guys on their power play units for all four years, and when someone comes in for their first year at the NHL level trying to help improve upon it, you blame her when it continues to fail? I don’t think so. Besides my general frustrations with the Kraken power play, it’s been generally league average or just below it all season, but as of late it’s gotten very bad. Dating back to March 27th, the day Seattle beat the brakes off Edmonton by a score of 6-1, the Kraken power play ranks 30th in the league at a miserable 7.7%. Seattle is looking to get themselves rolling on the man advantage, and playing against the leagues 27th ranked penalty kill tonight should help them do so.
Kraken ties to the Sharks
Andre Burakovsky was teammates with San Jose forward Klim Kostin on the Colorado Avalanche during the 2021-22 season.
Adam Larsson (2019-21) played in Edmonton under Sharks Assistant Coach Brian Wiseman while he was an assistant coach with the Oilers.
Kraken Assistant General Manager Jason Botterill played with Sharks General Manager Mike Grier in Buffalo in 2003-04
How to watch tonight’s game
For the large number of us who want to tune in but won’t be joining us at the SAP Center, this game is viewable on the Kraken Hockey Network and KONG in the local market and ESPN+ for those who aren’t in the local market. For those in the state of the Washington, here’s the list of Seattle Kraken audio network affiliates: Seattle KJR 93.3 FM (Flagship station), Spokane KIX 99.3 FM, Tri-Cities KJOX 1340 AM, Mount Vernon KAPS 660 AM and 102.1 FM, Port Angeles KONP 1450 AM and 101.7 FM, Forks KBDB 96.7 FM, Olympia KAYO 96.9 FM/KGY 95.3 FM, Bellingham KPUG 1170AM or KGMI 790 AM, Yakima KBBO 1390 AM, Shelton KMAS 1030 AM/103.3 FM, Colfax KRAO 102.5 FM, Ellensburg KXLE 95.3 FM, and Aberdeen KSWW 102.1 FM. For those in the state of Oregon: Portland KPOJ 620 AM, Astoria KCRX 102.3 FM, Hood River/The Dalles KIHR 1340 AM and 98.3 FM, Corvallis KEJO 1240 AM. For those in Alaska: Anchorage KTZN 550 AM, Juneau KTKU 105.1 FM, Ketchikan KTKN 930 AM and 95.7 FM, Kenai KSRM 920 AM, Sitka KIFW 1230 AM, Kodiak Is. KVOK 560 AM/98.7 FM, and Fairbanks KKED 104.7 FM. For those in Idaho, you can find it on St Maries KOFE 1240 AM and those in Montana can find it on Missoula KKVU 102.9 FM. If you want to watch the game alongside other Kraken fans or just be out of the house, you can click here for a list of Anchor Alliance bars including the home of Circling Seattle Sports, Rough & Tumble Pub!
What’s next for the Kraken after this game
This contest against the Sharks represents the second stop of a five-game road trip, the final trek on the road for our Seattle Kraken during their 2024-25 season. After this game in San Jose, Seattle will have a team day off in California before the third contest of this road set when they begin a back-to-back by taking on the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, April 5th with a puck drop time of 7:30PM PDT. That’s the second to last 7:30PM PDT puck drop time that the Kraken will have for the rest of their season, with both of those games coming against the Kings for some reason, and this contest in Los Angeles on Monday represents the first leg of Seattle’s final back-to-back of the 2024-25 campaign. Considering that the Kraken haven’t won the second leg of a back-to-back all season, it’s going to be interesting to see how they handle the game the day after Monday’s Kings contest, when they make their first ever trip to the Delta Center for their Tuesday, April 8th contest against the Utah Hockey Club. The fifth and final stop of Seattle’s last road trip of this season is on Thursday, April 10th against the Las Vegas Golden Knights with a puck drop time of 7PM PDT at T-Mobile Arena. Even if the Kraken had played well enough to occupy or be fighting for a playoff spot at this point in the season, this final road trip would’ve been a challenge for them just as it does now with nothing left to play for.
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