On Tuesday, Dec. 16, the Seattle Kraken are preparing to host the Colorado Avalanche for their first matchup of the season. The Kraken just lost to the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Sunday, Dec. 14. So far in December, the Kraken have only won one of their six games. With this game against Colorado, they are going to need to pull out all the stops to try and beat them.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Kraken’s 3-1 Loss to the Sabres
Meanwhile, the Avalanche have been having major success this month. They won their last game at home against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, Dec. 13 and have won five of their seven games in December. Their two losses were road games, against the New York Rangers and the Predators. Maybe the Kraken will have the upper hand in this game since they are on home ice.
Kraken Storylines
In the game against the Sabres, Mason Marchment did not play due to illness. Tye Kartye had to sit out the game against the Utah Mammoth for the same reason. At Kraken practice on Monday, Kaapo Kakko and Vince Dunn were not participants because they, too, are sick. Head coach Lane Lambert said he believes the two should be good to go for this game against the Avalanche. Let’s hope so, because the Kraken will need all their strong players to tackle Colorado.
Jacob Melanson received the call-up from the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s American Hockey League affiliate, when Jared McCann was placed on injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s game. Melanson had the opportunity to play in his first game of the season with the Kraken; he played on the fourth line and only recorded 7:47 of ice time, but was all over the ice. Melanson should be in the lineup for this game against Colorado and have another chance to prove himself.
The player to watch in this game is Chandler Stephenson, who scored the only goal against the Sabres on Sunday. This goal was also a power-play marker, which is something the Kraken have not had very many of lately. Seattle will need him strong and healthy in this game if they want their power play to have success.
Team Stats
Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 12-12-6
Top Scorers:
- Jordan Eberle – 9 goals (G), 10 assists (A), 19 points (P)
- Vince Dunn – 5 G, 13 A, 18 P
- Chandler Stephenson – 6 G, 11 A, 17 P
- Matty Beniers – 4 G, 13 A, 17 P
- Brandon Montour – 6 G, 10 A, 16 P
Goalie Stats:
- Joey Daccord – 8-8-4, 2.89 goals-against average (GAA), .893 save percentage (SV%)
- Philipp Grubauer – 4-2-1, 2.61 GAA, .900 SV%
- Matt Murray – 0-2-1, 2.21 GAA, .922 SV%
Colorado Avalanche
Season Record: 23-2-7
Top Scorers:
- Nathan MacKinnon – 26 G, 29 A, 55 P
- Martin Necas – 14 G, 29 A, 43 P
- Cale Makar – 10 G, 28 A, 38 P
- Artturi Lehkonen – 12 G, 15 A, 27 P
- Brock Nelson – 12 G, 9 A, 21 P
Goalie Stats:
- Scott Wedgewood – 14-1-4, 2.11 GAA, .920 SV%
- Mackenzie Blackwood – 9-1-1, 2.19 GAA, .920 SV%
- Trent Miner – 0-0-2, 2.12 GAA, .909 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
Seattle Kraken
Eeli Tolvanen — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Kaapo Kakko — Chandler Stephenson — Frederick Gaudreau
Jani Nyman — Shane Wright — Ryan Winterton
Tye Kartye — Ben Meyers — Jacob Melanson
Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren — Brandon Montour
Jamie Oleksiak — Ryker Evans
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: Mason Marchment, Josh Mahura, Cale Fleury
Injured: Jared McCann, Berkly Catton, Jaden Schwartz, Matt Murray, Max McCormick
Colorado Avalanche
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Victor Olofsson — Ross Colton — Gavin Brindley
Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Joel Kiviranta
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Josh Manson — Brent Burns
Samuel Girard — Sam Malinksi
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratched: Zakhar Bardakov, Ilya Soloyev
Injured: Jacob MacDonald, Logan O’Connor
Next Up for the Kraken
The Kraken will begin a four-game road trip Thursday Dec. 18, with their first stop being in Calgary against the Flames.
