On Thursday, Oct. 23, the Seattle Kraken will take on the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre. This will be the final game of Seattle’s six-game road trip. The Kraken have lost their last two games against the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals, bringing their overall record to 3-2-2. The Kraken are seeking their next win to end the road trip on a positive note.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Kraken’s 4-1 Loss to the Capitals
The Jets lost their home opener against the Dallas Stars but have otherwise been on a five-game winning streak to open the season. They will be performing at the highest caliber to kick off their three-game homestand with another win.
Kraken Storylines
Per Piper Shaw, Mason Marchment was with the group for morning skate. While there is still no confirmation yet that he will be back in the lineup for this game, this is progress. Unfortunately, there is still no update on Jared McCann’s status. Hopefully, Marchment will be able to slot into the lineup for this game, and McCann will be quick to follow.
With the absence of both players, the forward lines have changed a bit, according to Puckpedia. Berkly Catton is still listed as the left wing on the top line, and Jordan Eberle is still at right wing. Chandler Stephenson is now centering the top line instead of Matty Beniers. He and Beniers are both still the top-six centers, but the pair have swapped off what line they will play on. Stephenson has outperformed the majority of the players on the team, tying Jaden Schwartz and Vince Dunn for the most points recorded so far this season. As a result, the coaching staff likely changed the lines to give him more ice time and more of a chance to score, as the Kraken were outperformed in their last two games.
With this change, Stephenson is also the player to watch in this game. He is the player to watch not only because of his offensive performance in the season thus far but also to see how he performs with his new linemates, Catton and Eberle. The Kraken coaching staff is also trying to find the perfect spot for Catton in the lineup now that he has played his first two NHL games. Let’s see if the Kraken will run this line in this game and how Stephenson and Catton both perform.
Team Stats
Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 3-2-2
Top Scorers:
- Jaden Schwartz – 2 goals (G), 3 assists (A), 5 points (P)
- Chandler Stephenson – 2 G, 3 A, 5 P
- Vince Dunn – 2 G, 3 A, 5 P
- Jordan Eberle – 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
- Jared McCann – 3 G, 1 A, 5 4
Goalie Stats:
- Joey Daccord – 3-1-1, 3.09 goals-against average (GAA), .890 save percentage (SV%)
- Philipp Grubauer – 0-0-1, 2.12 GAA, .897 SV%
- Matt Murray – 0-1-0, 3.13 GAA, .909 SV%
Winnipeg Jets
Season Record: 5-1-0
Top Scorers:
- Mark Scheifele – 7 G, 3 A, 10 P
- Kyle Connor – 3 G, 6 A, 9 P
- Nino Niederreiter – 2 G, 4 A, 6 P
- Morgan Barron – 3 G, 2 A, 5 P
- Jonathan Toews – 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
Goalie Stats:
- Connor Hellebuyck – 4-1-0, 2.21 GAA, .927 SV%
- Eric Comrie – 1-1-0, 2.00 GAA, .943 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
Seattle Kraken
Berkly Catton — Chandler Stephenson — Jordan Eberle
Jaden Schwartz — Matty Beniers — Eeli Tolvanen
Ryan Winterton — Shane Wright — Jani Nyman
Tye Kartye — Ben Meyers — John Hayden
Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Charlie Lindgren — Cale Fleury
Josh Mahura — Jamie Oleksiak
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: Matt Murray, Brandon Montour
Injured: Mason Marchment, Jared McCann, Kaapo Kakko, Ryker Evans, Frederick Gaudreau, Max McCormick, Lleyton Roed
Winnipeg Jets
Kyle Connor — Mark Schiefele — Gabriel Vilardi
Nino Niederreiter — Jonathan Toews — Gustav Nyquist
Alex Iafallo — Vladislav Namestnikov — Brad Lambert
Cole Koepke — Morgan Barron — Tanner Pearson
Josh Morrissey — Dylan Demelo
Logan Stanley — Neal Pionk
Haydn Fleury — Luke Schenn
Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
Scratched: Parker Ford, Colin Miller, Nikita Chibrikov
Injured: Cole Perfetti, Adam Lowry, Dylan Samberg
Next up for Seattle
This game against Winnipeg will conclude the Kraken’s six-game road trip and they will finally return home to Climate Pledge Arena. They don’t have much time to recover, for they will have to be ready to host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, Oct. 25.
