Heading into the eye of the storm: previewing the Kraken visiting the Canes, December 3rd, 2024
By Charles Hamaker
Raleigh, NC - Coming off a brutal home loss to the San Jose Sharks back on Saturday and amidst a three-game losing streak, our Seattle Kraken will begin a four-game road trip tonight as they’ll battle the Carolina Hurricanes for the eighth time in these teams’ head-to-head history. Both teams are coming into this game with losing skids, and both teams are coming into this game off very frustrating losses but these two opponents are in far different spots in their respective seasons. The Carolina Hurricanes are in a hotly contested Metropolitan Division that sees just three points separate themselves in third place from the Washington Capitals in second place and the New Jersey Devils in third place, while our Seattle Kraken have sunk to the seventh spot in the Pacific Division following three straight losses to the two teams that were at the bottom of the group, as the Anaheim Ducks have currently passed them. Five points now separates the Kraken from the middle teams in the Pacific, and as such a potential spot, and with the tough road trip that they currently face ahead of them it doesn’t necessarily seem as though Seattle is equipped to pull themselves out of the medium sized hole that they created. Regardless of all that negativity, here is a game preview for tonight’s game between our Seattle Kraken and the Carolina Hurricanes in “Raleighwood.”
Looking at our Kraken
Seattle is on a three-game losing skid currently, and they’ve lost four of their last five as they limped through a five-game stretch against Pacific Division opponents that should’ve seen them climb into a playoff spot around the American Thanksgiving holiday. Instead, the Kraken seemed to forget how to play hockey and how to be normal (Have they ever really been normal? Sorry about that), leaving them sitting in the awkward position of not quite a playoff team and not quite tanking at the moment. This was just how Seattle had positioned themselves for the months leading into the trade deadline last season, showing hardly any consistency and ultimately lightly selling off while hoping for a turnaround this season. Despite adding two big contracts and largely staying the same with their roster, the Kraken haven’t seen improvement or any real consistency outside of them just being inconsistent. Brandon Montour has played well for Seattle and seems well worth the contract that general manager Ron Francis gave him, while Chandler Stephenson has done the little things many in media expected him to do: skate well and distribute the puck well. Sadly, the Kraken needed players that could shoot the puck often and well and needed the players that they did keep to get to the hard areas of the ice in order to boost their offensive game, which they haven’t really done. There feels like an extra gear is present for the Seattle offensive attack but it hasn’t yet been reached, and the longer that it takes for the Kraken to finally find this such gear, the less and less likely it seems their playoff chances diminish and let’s just say they weren’t very high to begin with. This may be yet another last year in the early chapters of Seattle’s NHL history, with more of their aging core from the expansion draft seemingly on the way out sooner rather than later. Time will tell, but things do not look good as it stands currently for the Kraken. At least we all still love Buoy.
Looking at the Canes
The Carolina Hurricanes are coming off an interesting last week of November that didn’t wrap up quite so well for them. The Canes won the first two games of the week, both at home, against two different potential playoff contenders in the Dallas Stars and the New York Rangers, and it seemed like things would continue to go well for Carolina to close out the month of November as they looked to climb further up the Metropolitan division standings with the Devils and Capitals sitting ahead of them. The Hurricanes played a home and away back-to-back series against the Florida Panthers, losing both of those games in ugly fashion by giving up six goals in each contest while being shutout in the second leg. Carolina is largely at full strength, with nobody listed on injured reserve currently, and this loss to the Panthers in shutout fashion seems to be an opportunity for them to reset things according to head coach Rod Brind'Amour. The Hurricanes have had their struggles in recent memory in the postseason, as they’ve fallen short of adding a second Stanley Cup (2005-06) to their trophy case despite seeming geared up to go on deep runs in the last decade or so, but Carolina remains a dangerous threat and Seattle will have their hands full dealing with them.
Last game for the Kraken
The last time out for our Seattle Kraken was ugly, frustrating, and seemingly a low point (At least, for now) as their 2024-25 season enters the third month of the campaign. The third loss in Seattle’s current streak came back on Saturday, November 30th as the fans at Climate Pledge Arena left unhappy once again thanks to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the lowly San Jose Sharks. The Sharks, led by young and talented forwards Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, used a three-goal third period to ultimately pull away from the Kraken as goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood tallied 36 saves for his team in their win. As has largely been the story for them this season, Seattle struggled to generate quality chances on net and couldn’t really get the gritty, greasy chances either that they’ve talked about creating throughout training camp to now, as both of the Kraken goals in this game came from nice shots. After Seattle won a wall battle, Jaden Schwartz was given plenty of space to fire a shot in alone against Blackwood, picking the corner over the netminders right shoulder to score and cut the Sharks lead to three goals. In the third period, Jared McCann added to his team lead in goals and points with a nasty snipe that seemingly used a San Jose defender skater as a screen in front of him as Seattle was outmanned on the rush. McCann’s goal was a beauty of a snipe that showcased how good his shot is, but it was too little too late as the Kraken couldn’t net the necessary two goals after it to tie things up and Seattle fell to the Sharks for the second time in as many days.
“[It’s been a lack of] execution. Making bad plays with the puck, not getting it deep, and turn the puck over. And it just always seems to kind of go in the back of our net. So when that happens, you’ve just got to simplify. You’re not going to beat teams scoring five, six goals every game.”
“I was seeing the puck pretty well. Felt pretty good in there, felt comfortable. Guys did a good job of limiting second chances and keeping stuff to the outside.”
San Jose Sharks young star forwards Macklin Celebrini (#71) and Will Smith (#2) shined during their teams 4-2 road win over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, November 30th, 2024 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
Head to head between the teams
Our Seattle Kraken hold a record of 2-4-1 all-time versus the Carolina Hurricanes, including a 0-2-1 mark at the Lenovo Center. The two wins that the Kraken have taken over the Hurricanes have obviously both come at Climate Pledge Arena, and they came two years apart as they beat Carolina the first time they ever faced them back during their inaugural season and Seattle scored seven goals in a nice early season victory against the Canes last season. That first ever victory came on November 24th, 2021 in a tight 2-1 result, as Seattle scored the last two goals unanswered with a Jared McCann power play goal tying things in the second period before a Marcus Johansson wrap-around goal deep into the third period against goaltender Frederik Andersen gave the Kraken a thrilling win early into what would be a disappointing year one of the franchise. The second ever win over Carolina came on October 19th, 2023 as the Kraken used three goal periods in the first and third to get an early season victory against the Hurricanes. Vince Dunn and Oliver Bjorkstrand both tallied three points nights (With identical one goal, 2 assist stat lines) in the blowout victory that got a bit tighter than it was as Carolina scored three goals in the final frame as well.
Seattle lineup and injury notes
While Seattle did get Vince Dunn back from injury in the loss to the Sharks on Saturday, they may be without another key defenseman in this contest based off what took place in the teams practice at the Lenovo Center on Monday, December 2nd. Second year defenseman Ryker Evans was a limited participant in this practice, and during his post-practice availability head coach Dan Bylsma said that there is concern regarding the blue liner. Bylsma said that Evans, who seemed to injure his right hand during the loss to the Sharks on Saturday as he got it examined on the bench but did play for the rest of the game after coming off the ice, is dealing with some “lingering effects” and that the team will see how things go to determine if he plays against Carolina tonight. Chalk “Garth” up as a gametime decision, unless Seattle feels better about his health following the teams optional skate the morning of the game. In other lineup notes, Mitchell Stephens and Ryan Winterton remain with the time, as Stephens was called up the day of the San Jose game as centerman Chandler Stephenson missed that contest with what head coach Dan Bylsma called an “illness.” Chandler Stephenson was skating during this practice and there wasn’t much information outside of that, so we’re unsure currently if he’ll be good to go against the Hurricanes.
“With Chandler getting ill, felt like we needed something down the middle of the rink... We felt like he was a guy who had a great training camp, solid in the middle of the rink, good on faceoffs, potentially be a penalty killer for us. In the game, he was on a solid checking line that got pucks in the offensive zone and got scoring chances in the offensive zone.”
The teams morning skate today yielded a few interesting notes, as head coach Dan Bylsma confirmed that Ryker Evans will not play tonight as the effects of the injury he suffered Saturday in the loss to San Jose remain present. A key aspect of his quote regarding Evans is that the team will “see what it means for him going forward,” which sounds like this won’t necessarily be an injury that “Garth” can bounce back from after this game is over and the team heads off to play the Islanders on Thursday. Forward Andre Burakovsky is a healthy scratch alongside Daniel Sprong for this game, with the same sort of message that Bylsma had for Shane Wright when he was a healthy scratched being shared to Burky. In 25 games played this season, Burakovsky has just nine points (One goal and eight assists) while generating 3.1 expected goals, struggling to regain the sort of offensive form that Seattle saw from him in the first half of year one of his five year contract with the Kraken. Chandler Stephenson will return to the lineup after an illness kept him out of the game against the Sharks, and that leaves some interesting line combinations as shared by the Kraken Hockey Network’s very own Piper Shaw. It’s not currently known which goaltender Seattle will send out to battle the Hurricanes, but Carolina will have Russian netminder Pyotr Kochetkov in the crease tonight. Pyotr has missed the past four games because of a concussion, and is 1-1-0 in 2 games with a goals against average of 2.48 and a save percentage of .882 against the Kraken in his career.
Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn played 26 minutes in his return to action, recording 4 shots, 1 block, and 2 hits against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, November 30th, 2024 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
Key players to watch tonight
The return of Vince Dunn to game action for the Kraken is a boost that should help their offensive issues, whether that’s statistically or with how Seattle’s play with the puck flows. Returning to the lineup last game after missing 19 consecutive contests due to injury, Vince is an offensive driver on Seattle's blueline, starting the season by scoring the teams first goal of 2024-25 versus his former team in the St. Louis Blues on October 8th and had points in consecutive games on October 8th & 12th. Dunn has six points (Two goals/Four assists) in eleven career contests vs. Carolina. With a game under his belt, including more minutes than the team initially anticipated with him staying on the ice extra during the third period as the Kraken chased more goals, we’re looking for Vince to provide a positive impact against the Hurricanes. Another key player to keep an eye on in this game for Seattle would be forward Oliver “The Maestro” Bjorkstrand. Bjorky added an assist to extend his point streak to five games in the teams loss on Saturday to the Sharks, dating back to November 23rd in Los Angeles. This is Oliver’s longest such streak of the season, and he has recorded six points (Two goals/Four assists) in that span. Additionally, Bjorkstrand leads active Kraken skaters in goals (Seven), assists (13) and points (20) in 28 career games against the Hurricanes.
“He looked great, skated great, had a good jump to his game. All the things he can bring, he had. A few puck plays showed he was a little bit rusty, but that can only come with time. I thought his jump in the game, his skating were really good and that showed.”
Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand is introduced during pregame festivities of the teams home and season opener against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, October 8th, 2024 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photo by Rio Giancarlo)
On the Carolina side of things, we’re highlighting Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho as someone to keep your eye on in this contest. Aho matched Kraken General Manager Ron Francis for the second-most power-play assists in team history (since relocation) on November 29th versus the Florida Panthers. Aho recorded his 147th career multi-point game on November 25th vs the Dallas Stars, passing Esa Tikkanen for ninth-most among Finnish-born skaters in NHL history. Aho has five career points against Seattle (One goal/Four assists) in five games. Another player to keep in mind would be defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. “Ghost bear” is one of the highest point-getting blue liners in the NHL, sitting 11th in the league in points across all defensemen, is tied for the most power play goals by a defenseman in the league, and ranks second in the league in power play points. The Kraken penalty kill has largely been in the lower half of the NHL all season long, and if Seattle does give Carolina and their seventh best power play in the league any chances, Gostisbehere is someone that could do some serious damage.
Key stats
Unfortunately, just as I pointed out in the San Jose game preview, Seattle has continued to struggle defensively and in the goaltending department over the last stretch of games. The Kraken have now allowed 17 goals over the last three games, which is the most across any three-game stretch in franchise history, per our friend @KrakenStats on Twitter. As much as fan pages online will want to pin every goal in the road game against San Jose on netminder Philipp Grubauer, the past three losses that have seen the Kraken give up this mountain of goals can be chalked up to poor goaltending and poor defensive play alike. Yes, angry fan podcast, it is both and not just one thing. Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer have goals they want back along that three-game stretch, and we can certainly acknowledge that Grubauer had a very bad game against the Sharks in the first contest of the back-to-back. You can also acknowledge that the defensive play in front of the two goaltenders that are on the Seattle roster hasn’t been great, as showcased by the Hockey Stat Cards from the past three games as compiled by Dom Luszczyszyn of “The Athletic” below. The Kraken have had at least four defensemen in the lower half of these game ratings in all three games, particularly how poorly Jamie Oleksiak and Will Borgen have been playing, and that happening across three straight games is simply unacceptable. All of the defensemen get thrown in that lower half in that ugly loss to the Sharks on the road, which makes sense considering it wasn’t JUST Philipp Grubauer’s fault in that loss. We can acknowledge Grubauer didn’t play well, having not played in a long stretch and getting poor defensive play in front of him, just as we can acknowledge that his skaters need to play better in front of him. Stronger defensive play and tight goaltending have helped Seattle in the past, and returning to that formula will help them get going once again if they can find that very recipe.
How to watch tonight’s game
For the large number of us who want to tune in but won’t be at the Lenovo Center, this game is viewable on the Kraken Hockey Network, KONG, Amazon Prime Video for those who are in the local network area and ESPN+ for those who aren’t in the local network area. 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 game against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, our Seattle Kraken will continue a difficult four-game road trip as they somehow look to climb out of an ugly hole they dug themselves by losing four of their past five games. After this game against the Hurricanes the Kraken will head up the Eastern coastline, as they have a back-to-back against the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils taking place between Thursday and Friday of this first week of December. Seattle will fly out of Carolina after this game against the Canes, practice at UBS Arena on Wednesday, before a morning skate and game against the Islanders on Thursday night. The Kraken won’t hold a morning skate ahead of their night game against the Devils the next day, before a day off on Saturday that comes ahead of the final game of the road trip. That final game of the road trip comes on Saturday, December 8th as Seattle battles the New York Rangers for the second time this season in a matinee matchup at Madison Square Garden with a flight back to the Pacific Northwest after the contest concludes. It’s a brutally tough road trip in the first place but especially so when you consider that it’s coming right after a horrible stretch of hockey for the Kraken. In order for them to start stacking points again and dig out of the hole that is the bottom slots of the Pacific Division, it must start with this East coast road trip and that will be no easy feat.
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social
〰️
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social 〰️
Check out our previous Seattle Kraken articles here.
Check out our previous articles with writing by Charles Hamaker here.
Check out our previous articles with photos by Rio Giancarlo here, and his portfolio here.
Support the work of Circling Seattle Sports by checking out our merchandise!