On Monday, Dec. 22, the Seattle Kraken will take on the Anaheim Ducks in the teams’ second meeting of the season. The Kraken just broke a four-game losing streak against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday with a 4-2 victory.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Kraken’s 4-2 Win Over the Sharks
This game marks the last of three at home for the Ducks. They just beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-3, on Saturday. Anaheim is hoping to give their fans an early Christmas present with a win on home ice before the holiday break.
The Kraken hosted the Ducks for their home opener on Oct. 9, beating the Ducks 3-1 to give Seattle their first home opener victory in five seasons in the NHL. The Ducks have been on a tear this season, sitting atop the Pacific Division.
Kraken Storylines
According to Frank Seravalli, rookie Berkly Catton is nearing his return. Seravalli also noted that the Kraken will not loan him to Team Canada for this year’s World Juniors. The 19-year-old has played 21 games this season, with five assists. His last game was on Dec. 6, when he sustained a hand injury. With Mason Marchment out of the lineup, the young forward should have ample opportunity to slot into the lineup when he’s finally healthy.
Chandler Stephenson has set a career-best eight-game point streak, with nine points. He also now holds the fourth-longest points streak in Kraken history. With his empty-net goal and an assist against the Sharks, he has now catapulted himself into first place on the Kraken points leaderboard.
The player to watch in this game is Eeli Tolvanen. He also scored two points, a goal and an assist, against the Sharks. A prominent member of the top six, Tolvanen is on a hot streak of his own with four points in three games.
Team Stats
Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 13-14-6
Top Scorers:
- Chandler Stephenson – 9 goals (G), 12 assists (A), 21 points (P)
- Jordan Eberle – 10 G, 10 A, 20 P
- Vince Dunn – 5 G, 14 A, 19 P
- Eeli Tolvanen – 5 G, 14 A, 19 P
- Matty Beniers – 4 G, 14 A, 18 P
Goalie Stats:
- Joey Daccord – 9-9-4, 2.86 goals-against average (GAA), .901 save percentage (SV%)
- Philipp Grubauer – 4-3-1, 2.78 GAA, .900 SV%
- Matt Murray – 0-2-1, 2-21 GAA, .922 SV%
Anaheim Ducks
Season Record: 21-13-2
Top Scorers:
- Leo Carlsson – 17 G, 24 A, 41 P
- Cutter Gauthier – 18 G, 18 A, 36 P
- Troy Terry – 10 G, 25 A, 35 P
- Beckett Sennecke – 11 G, 17 A, 28 P
- Chris Kreider – 13 G, 9 A, 22 P
Goalie Stats:
- Lukas Dostal – 13-7-1, 2.91 GAA, .899 SV%
- Ville Husso – 5-3-1, 3.25 GAA, .884 SV%
- Petr Mrazek – 3-3-0, 3.85 GAA, .868 SV%
- Vyacheslav Buteyets – 0-0-0, 9.00 GAA, .769 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
Seattle Kraken
Kaapo Kakko — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen — Chandler Stephenson — Frederick Gaudreau
Jani Nyman — Shane Wright — Ryan Winterton
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: Brandon Montour, Jared McCann, Berkly Catton, Jaden Schwartz, Matt Murray, Max McCormick
Anaheim Ducks
Cutter Gauthier — Leo Carlsson —Troy Terry
Chris Kreider — Mason McTavish — Beckett Sennecke
Frank Vatrano — Mikael Granlund — Ryan Strome
Ross Johnston — Ryan Poehling — Alex Killorn
Jackson LaCombe — Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov — Radko Gudas
Olen Zellweger — Ian Moore
Lukas Dostal
Petr Mrazek
Scratched: Drew, Hellion, Nikita Nesterenko, Jansen Harkins
Injured:
Next Up for the Kraken
The Kraken will play the second half of a back-to-back tomorrow, Dec. 23, when they take on the Los Angeles Kings to close out the California road trip before heading back home for the Christmas break. The season series will continue in Seattle on Jan. 23.
