Seattle looks to end skid against division-leading Las Vegas: previewing the Kraken at the Golden Knights, December 21st, 2024
By Silvia Leija-Rosas and Charles Hamaker
Las Vegas, NV - Our Seattle Kraken are hoping to snap a three-game losing streak as they head to T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night to face the Vegas Golden Knights. Seattle has struggled recently, dropping four of their last five games while being outscored 14-8 in that span after a strong start to the month of December. The Kraken will need to regroup quickly against a Vegas team that’s firing on all cylinders, giving Seattle a tough game to attempt to bounce back with their work fully cut out for them. Here’s what to know for both teams, who to watch, and what to look for in this Pacific Division battle in Las Vegas.
Looking at the Kraken: in need of a turnaround
After starting December with a promising 4-1-1 record, the Kraken have hit a rough patch, heading into this weekend currently at a record of 4-4-1 this month. On Thursday, the Kraken fell to the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center in what could only be described as a humiliating 3-1 loss. This is the first time in nearly two years Chicago has won three games in a row and the Kraken let them completely dominate the game, with Seattle’s only goal in this one coming in the dying moments. In the first period alone Chicago owned 61.11 percent of the shot attempts, 66.67 percent of the shots on goal, and 81.83 percent of the expected goals. While the Kraken began to show signs of life into the third period with a Ryker Evans goal, it was too little too late. It’s once again an issue of inconsistency and lack of desperation. The biggest issue for Seattle has been their lack of offensive production, and with a continued lack of that they put themselves in a tough position defensively to try to ward off pucks in their own defensive zone far too often. It isn’t fair for their goaltender tandem or defensemen to continuously deal with tons and tons of pressure, yet that’s where we are and the team is suffering on the scoreboard and in the standings because of it.
Yanni Gourde said it best himself during the first period intermission interview with Piper Shaw, “Unacceptable.”
“Unacceptable, awful. We need better, too many turnovers, we’re lacking reload... They’re getting too many opportunities, we have to find a better way.”
Golden Knights Riding Momentum
The Golden Knights enter Saturday’s game as the top team in the Pacific Division with a 21-8-3 record and a league-leading .703 winning percentage. They’ve won six of their last seven games, outscoring opponents by a margin of 2.9 to 2.0 on average during that stretch. Las Vegas has been fueled by star center Jack Eichel (nine goals, 33 assists) and defenseman Shea Theodore (three goals, six assists in the last seven games). Additionally, forward Ivan Barbashev has found his scoring touch, leading the team with 15 goals this season, putting him on pace to shatter his career-high of 28 goals. The Golden Knights are also solid defensively, boasting a +18 goal differential on the season and a dominant 12-3-0 record at home.
Lineup/morning skate notes
Unlike last game out in Chicago, our Seattle Kraken did have some notes from today’s morning skate and those notes come in the form of some reshuffled forward lines and a starting goaltender. We’ll talk about the starting goaltender matchup in the next section of this preview, but here are the notes on those forward lines: Chandler Stephenson will be centering a line with Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen. Shane Wright will play alongside wingers Jaden Schwartz and Andre Burakovsky, likely leaving the line of Jared McCann + Matty Beniers + Kaapo Kakko. That fourth line likely leaves Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev to play alongside Daniel Sprong or Tye Kartye, as Sprong was in the lineup alongside those two last game but didn’t do much so we could see Karts back in this game.
Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer throughout the 2024-25 season to this point, as captured by photographer Reid Alexander.
Starting goaltender matchup
First off the ice for the Kraken was goaltender Philipp Grubauer, getting his first start since the Seattle loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last Saturday in a game that was tight for the most part until the Lightning were able to pull away with their offensive attack that sits near the top of the NHL, statistically. Grubauer holds a head-to-head record of 7-9-2 with a 2.41 goals-against average and .918 save percentage in 19 career appearances against the Golden Knights, looking to add to some winning numbers in tonight’s game if he can get some actual run support. Philipp’s road numbers against Las Vegas could use some winning boosts as well, as he holds a 4-5-0 record in nine games with a goals against average of 2.02 and a save percentage of .934 versus the Golden Knights on the road in his career. Considering that Seattle has gotten strong performances from Grubauer in recent games, and for the sake of trying to make sure that the team doesn’t burn out Joey Daccord, it’ll be nice to get Philipp on the ice in this game.
The first goaltender off the ice for the Vegas Golden Knights was Ilya Samsonov, as he’ll play against the Kraken for the third time in his career. Samsonov has seen success in his limited sample size against Seattle, holding a 2-0-0 head-to-head record in two games with a goals against average of 1.00 and a save percentage of .955 against the Kraken during his time in the NHL. On the season so far, Ilya holds a record of 7-3-1 with a goals against average of 3.06 and a save percentage of .897 with no shutouts so far, but that very well could change against a Seattle team that is struggling heavily to show anything on a consistent basis and seems allergic to driving towards the net. Samsonov’s past four games are a mixed bag to an extent, as in back-to-back games against the Flyers and Utah Hockey Club he struggled, but has played well in his last two contests against the Ducks and Wild.
The Match Up
This game marks the second meeting between these division rivals this season, with Seattle claiming the first game by a score of 4-3 in overtime at Climate Pledge Arena as Brandon Tanev scored twice to dig the Kraken out of an early hole and Jared McCann’s winner got Seattle the two points on the night. The Kraken hold a 3-9-1 all-time record in head to head play against Las Vegas, including an abysmal 1-5-0 mark on the road. Seattle will face a tough test against a Vegas squad that’s been dominant on home ice and boasts one of the league’s deepest rosters. For the Kraken to secure a much-needed victory, they’ll need to tighten up defensively, capitalize on special teams and stay awake the full 60 minutes.
Players to Watch
The conversion about Brandon Tanev’s alleged impending trade aside, Turbo is the guy tonight. His ability to force turnovers and create chaos around the boards will be important against this tough Golden Knights team. He’s going into this game with seven goals and seven assists this season, has had success against Vegas in the past, including a two-goal performance in their last meeting—a 4-3 overtime win for Seattle. Other players to watch for the Kraken include forwards Chandler Stephenson and newly acquired Kaapo Kakko. For “Stevie,” he’ll be playing against his former team for the second time this year and the first time in Las Vegas, while being just one assist away from the 200 NHL assists mark. With an offense that has the tools to produce but has failed to do so, Stephenson is a key component to the equation considering his playmaking ability with the puck. Kakko enters this game after being traded to Seattle from the Rangers on December 18th and appearing in his first game as a Kraken the following day in Chicago. In 30 games played with New York this season he recorded 14 points (Four goals/10 assists). Overall he's amassed 131 points (61g/70a) in 330 career regular-season games. Kakko has four points (2g/2a) in eight career games against Vegas, and is looking for his first point as a member of the Kraken.
The last time these two teams met, Jack Eichel recorded three assists. With 42 points on nine goals and 33 assists this season, he’s the no brainer player to watch. Eichel has seen success in his career against the Kraken, coming into this game with five goals, eight assists and a plus-minus of +10 in ten games versus the Kraken in his career including an overtime winner in Seattle on March 12th, 2024. Another key player to keep an eye on is defenseman Shea Theodore. The former Seattle Thunderbird enters this game with points in consecutive games and nine points (Three goals/Six assists) in his last six games after adding an assist on Vegas' game-winning goal on Thursday. His 27 points (Four goals/23 assists) in 31 games this season rank third, while his 23 assists are the second most among all Golden Knights. Theodore has ten points (Three goals/Seven assists) in 11 career games against Seattle.
Key storylines to watch tonight
Will we see a Kraken reach 200 career NHL assists tonight?
Coming into tonight’s game, Seattle has four players on it’s roster that are within an assist of the 200 career NHL assist mark. Yanni Gourde, Chandler Stephenson, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Brandon Montour, enter this game one assist away from that mark, and if the Kraken offense gets going in any way, shape, or form it will likely come by way of depth scoring. That would allow the opportunity for potentially all of those players to hit that mark tonight, or at least a few. Looking for a few Seattle skaters to hit this milestone in tonight’s game!
Can Seattle take another step towards overcoming “little brother syndrome” against the Golden Knights?
As they’ve largely struggled during their now four years of NHL existence, the Seattle Kraken have poor head-to-head records against teams in the Pacific Division that aren’t the San Jose Sharks or Anaheim Ducks. That includes the Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion side that came into the league just a few years prior to the Kraken rising from the depths and that close proximity in time for existence means that fans and media alike love to compare and contrast the two franchises. In the last year or so that has somewhat started to change, whether it was the big victory in the Winter Classic or that overtime win at Climate Pledge Arena last month. One way for the Kraken to keep moving forward in getting past this sort of “little brother syndrome” is winning key games like this, where Seattle needs to get going and Vegas seems primed to remain atop the division once again.
How will special teams affect this game?
Special teams have been a frustrating area of the Kraken’s performance throughout their existence, and that continues into this season as the penalty kill has largely been mediocre and the Seattle power play has been poor outside of a stretch during the beginning of the month of December. Coming into this game, Las Vegas holds the fourth best power play in the league and could play a major role in this game if the Kraken aren’t able to stay out of the penalty box.
Will Philipp Grubauer get any run support?
In recent games, or at least since that horrendous contest on the road against the San Jose Sharks, goaltender Philipp Grubauer has been relatively strong for the Kraken and in one of the games he played, got actual goal support (The 5-1 win over the Boston Bruins at home) during that stretch which is a rarity. With “The German Gentleman” starting tonight’s game against the Golden Knights, will Grubauer get any actual run support? Philipp has hardly ever gotten that during his Seattle tenure, regardless of his play in the crease, and with how poor the Kraken offensive attack has been lately the trends don’t seem to favor this storyline.
How to watch tonight’s game
For the large number of us who want to tune in but won’t be at T-Mobile Arena, 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 after this game?
Following tonight’s road contest against the Vegas Golden Knights, our Seattle Kraken will fly out of Nevada in order to get to Colorado for tomorrow’s game against the Avalanche in the second game of a back-to-back. It’s a tough game already to have to deal with the Avalanche, who have been able to work up from their poor early season positioning to find them in the thick of a difficult Central division, but to have to fly out after this game and deal with them after a brutal matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights is one of the more excruciating back-to-backs a team could face. This stretch of three road games (Chicago, Las Vegas, Colorado) leads Seattle into the NHL’s Holiday break that spans from the 24th-26th officially but lasts from the 23rd through the 26th for the Kraken, before their next game after that is also on the road as they head slightly North to take on the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, December 28th, with an early puck drop time of 1PM PST. The Kraken continue to falter and aren’t showing any real life offensively, so Seattle must find some sort of spark to get themselves going as we reach the end of the month of December.
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