The Seattle Kraken are preparing to host the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, Dec. 10. This game marks the first in a four-game series between the two teams. The Kraken are concluding a four-game homestand tonight, and they hope to break their six-game losing streak as well.
Related: Kraken News & Rumors: Oleksiak, Injury Report, & More
This matchup is the second of a two-game road trip for the Kings. They just beat the Utah Mammoth on Monday, Dec. 8, 4-2. The Kings are now on a two-game winning streak and will look to extend it to three before they head back down to California.
Kraken Storylines
The biggest storyline ahead of this game is that Berkly Catton was placed on injured reserve (IR) after he endured an upper-body injury. The young rookie has recorded five assists in 21 games this season. Hopefully he heals soon and can return to the ice.
In his stead, Ben Meyers has been recalled from the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. Meyers previously played in nine games with the Kraken this season and recorded three assists. His last game was on Nov. 13 against the Winnipeg Jets before he was sent back down to Coachella Valley.
So far this season, Meyers has played in 11 games with the Firebirds and has recorded 13 points (nine goals and four assists). He us a vital part of Coachella Valley’s offense and hopefully he can find a way to translate that on the Kraken’s bottom six for as long as he is with the team.
It is unclear yet, but Meyers might be a healthy scratch in this game. The Kraken still have Jani Nyman with them, and he played in their last game against the Minnesota Wild. Overall, he has played 17 games and has scored four goals. We’ll see with the final lineup for tonight’s game.
The player to watch in this game is Chandler Stephenson. This game is his bobblehead night, so the first 10,000 in attendance will receive a bobblehead version of him “yeeting” the classic fish whenever the Kraken win a game. He has gone three games without recording a point, but this game seems like the perfect time to break that mini drought.
Team Stats
Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 11-10-6
Top Scorers:
- Jordan Eberle – 9 goals (G), 8 assists (A), 17 points (P)
- Matty Beniers – 3 G, 13 A, 16 P
- Jaden Schwartz – 8 G, 7 A, 15 P
- Brandon Montour – 6 G, 9 A, 15 P
- Chandler Stephenson – 5 G, 9 A, 14 P
Goalie Stats:
- Joey Daccord – 7-7-4, 2.99 goals-against average (GAA), .891 save percentage (SV%)
- Philipp Grubauer – 4-1-1, 2.54 GAA, .900 SV%
- Matt Murray – 0-2-1, 2.21 GAA, .922 SV%
Los Angeles Kings
Season Record: 14-8-7
Top Scorers:
- Adrian Kempe – 10 G, 16 A, 26 P
- Kevin Fiala – 10 G, 11 A, 21 P
- Quinton Byfield – 4 G, 15 A, 19 P
- Anze Kopitar – 6 G, 9 A, 15 P
- Corey Perry – 7 G, 7 A, 14 P
Goalie Stats:
- Darcy Kuemper – 10-6-5, 2.23 GAA, .914 SV%
- Anton Forsberg – 4-2-2, 2.69 GAA, .894 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
Seattle Kraken
Jared McCann — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Mason Marchment — Chandler Stephenson — Eeli Tolvanen
Jani Nyman — Shane Wright — Kaapo Kakko
Tye Kartye — Frederick Gaudreau — Ryan Winterton
Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren — Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura — Ryker Evans
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: Ben Meyers, Jamie Oleksiak, Cale Fleury
Injured: Berkly Catton, Jaden Schwartz, Matt Murray, Max McCormick
Los Angeles Kings
Alex Laferriere — Anze Kopitar — Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala — Quinton Byfield — Joel Armia
Warren Foegele — Phillip Danault — Trevor Moore
Andrei Kuzmenko — Alex Turcotte — Corey Perry
Mikey Anderson — Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson — Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin — Cody Ceci
Scratched: Jeff Malott, Jacob Moverare, Samuel Helenius
Injured: N/A
Next Up for the Kraken
The Kraken will play a one-off game on the road against the Mammoth on Friday, Dec. 12.
