On Sunday, Nov. 23, the Seattle Kraken are getting ready to take on the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. They just played on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins and won 3-2 in overtime. With the second half of a back-to-back, the Kraken will be tired but looking to repeat this success.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Kraken’s 3-2 OT Win Over the Penguins
Luckily for Seattle, the Islanders are also on the second half of a back-to-back. They lost on Saturday, 2-1, against the St. Louis Blues. However, unlike the Kraken, the Islanders hosted this game, so they don’t have to worry about traveling. The Islanders will look to right the ship in this game.
Kraken Storylines
After just about 21 hours, the Kraken will take to the ice once again to try and secure another two points. This back-to-back is the Kraken’s third of the season. Both games in the second half earlier this season resulted in losses: 4-1 to the Washington Capitals and 2-1 to the Dallas Stars. Last season, the Kraken lost all 12 of the second half of their back-to-back games. Hopefully, they can break this awful streak against the Islanders.
Since Philipp Grubauer got the start against the Penguins last night, Joey Daccord will likely be the Kraken’s starter tonight. His last game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday resulted in a win, which was his first in three games. Since he has had four days to rest and recover, let’s hope he is in a good place to defend the crease tonight.
The player to watch in this game is Matty Beniers. He scored his first goal since Nov. 3 last night against the Penguins. He has been a solid member of the top line alongside Jordan Eberle and now Mason Marchment at the wing. Although he recorded no points in the game before Nov. 22, he had four assists in the three games prior. He is on a hot streak, and let’s hope that continues against the Islanders.
Team Stats:
Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 11-5-5
Top Scorers:
- Jaden Schwartz – 8 goals (G), 7 assists (A), 15 points (P)
- Jordan Eberle – 8 G, 6 A, 14 P
- Matty Beniers – 3 G, 11 A, 14 P
- Brandon Montour – 4 G, 8 A, 12 P
- Chandler Stephenson – 4 G, 8 A, 12 P
Goalie Stats:
- Joey Daccord – 7-3-3, 2.78 goals-against average (GAA), .900 save percentage (SV%)
- Philipp Grubauer – 4-0-1, 2.14 GAA, .912 SV%
- Matt Murray – 0-2-1, 2.21 GAA, .922 SV%
New York Islanders
Season Record: 12-8-2
Top Scorers:
- Bo Horvat – 14 G, 11 A, 25 P
- Mathew Barzal – 6 G, 11 A, 17 P
- Kyle Palmieri – 6 G, 11 A, 17 P
- Emil Heineman – 9 G, 6 A, 15 P
- Matthew Schaefer – 7 G, 8 A, 15 P
Goalie Stats:
- Ilya Sorokin – 7-6-2, 2.67 GAA, .905 SV%
- David Rittich – 5-2-0, 2.99 GAA, .896 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
Seattle Kraken
Mason Marchment — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Jaden Schwartz — Chandler Stephenson — Eeli Tolvanen
Berkly Catton — Frederick Gaudreau — Shane Wright
Tye Kartye — Oscar Fisker Molgaard — Ryan Winterton
Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren — Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans — Jamie Oleksiak
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: Jani Nyman, Josh Mahura, Cale Fleury
Injured: Kaapo Kakko, Jared McCann, Matt Murray, Max McCormick
New York Islanders
Emil Heineman — Bo Horvat — Kyle Palmieri
Jonathan Drouin — Mathew Barzal — Simon Holmstrom
Anders Lee — Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Anthony Duclair
Casey Cizikas — Calum Ritchie — Max Shabanov
Matthew Schaefer — Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech — Tony DeAngelo
Adam Boqvist — Scott Mayfield
David Rittich
Ilya Sorokin
Scratched: Maxim Tsyplakov, Marshall Warren, Kyle MacLean
Injured: Pierre Engvall, Jesse Nurmi, Daylan Kuefler, Alexander Romanov, Ethan Bear, Semyon Varlamov
Next Up for the Kraken
Seattle will head back to Climate Pledge Arena, where they will host the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, Nov. 26.
