On Saturday, Oct. 18, the Seattle Kraken continue their six-game road trip to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Kraken’s record currently sits at 2-0-2, dropping their first two games on the road to the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. However, both games went into overtime, so Seattle picked up two points.
Related: Kraken Place Frederick Gaudreau on IR, Recall John Hayden from Coachella Valley
The Maple Leafs’ record is 3-2-0. Both of their losses were on the road, and all three of their wins were recorded at home. They are currently on a two-game winning streak. This game against the Kraken is their fourth of a five-game homestand.
Kraken Storylines
Four games into the season, and the Kraken are already falling to injuries. Frederick Gaudreau is joining Kaapo Kakko and Ryker Evans on Injured Reserve (IR). Gaudreau exited the game in the second period on Thursday against Ottawa and did not return. Before the game on Oct. 18, the Kraken announced Gaudreau will be out for 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury. Wishing him a speedy recovery.
Since Gaudreau was sidelined for the foreseeable future, John Hayden was recalled from the Kraken’s American Hockey League (AHL) team, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. He has been with the Seattle franchise since the 2023-24 season, but has spent the majority of his career with the Firebirds.
Although Hayden was called up to the Kraken, PuckPedia has him listed as a healthy scratch for this game. Centering the fourth line, according to PuckPedia, will be Berkly Catton. The 2024 draft pick made the opening night roster after his preseason performance. In five preseason games, he recorded one goal. Since the start of the regular season, he has been a healthy scratch for the first four games. This game could potentially be Catton’s first NHL game. Tye Kartye and Jani Nyman are listed as the left and right wing players. To have the two rookies and a young player is an interesting coaching choice, but perhaps it’ll work out in Seattle’s favor if this is the lineup they choose to go with.
Unfortunately, the Kraken will be missing a defenseman in this game as well. The Kraken gave an early morning update on Brandon Montour, stating that he will be stepping away for a short period to attend to a family matter. Here’s hoping everything is okay and he will be back on the blue line soon.
Team Stats
Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 2-0-2
Top Scorers:
- Jared McCann – 3 goals (G), 1 assist (A), 4 points (P)
- Vince Dunn – 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
- Brandon Montour – 0 G, 4 A, 4 P
- Jaden Schwartz – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
- Matty Beniers – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
Goalie Stats:
- Joey Daccord – 2-0-1, 2.23 goals-against average (GAA), .918 save percentage (SV%)
- Philipp Grubauer – 0-0-1, 2.77 GAA, .870 SV%
Toronto Maple Leafs
Season Record: 3-2-0
Top Scorers:
- William Nylander – 2 G, 7 A, 9 P
- Matthew Knies – 2 G, 5 A, 7 P
- John Tavares – 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
- Morgan Reilly – 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
- Auston Matthews – 4 G, 1 A, 5 P
Goalie Stats:
- Anthony Stolarz – 2-2-0, 2.52 GAA, .907 SV%
- Cayden Primeau – 1-0-0, 4.00 GAA, .867 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
Seattle Kraken
Jared McCann — Jordan Eberle — Matty Beniers
Jaden Schwartz — Chandler Stephenson — Eeli Tolvanen
Mason Marchment — Shane Wright — Ryan Winterton
Tye Kartye — Berkly Catton — Jani Nyman
Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren — Cale Fleury
Josh Mahura — Jamie Oleksiak
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: John Hayden, Brandon Montour, Matt Murray
Injured: Frederick Gaudreau, Kaapo Kakko, Ryker Evans, Max McCormick, Lleyton Roed
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Easton Cowan
Matias Maccelli — John Tavares — William Nylander
Nicholas Robertson — Max Domi — Bobby McMann
Steven Lorentz — Nicolas Roy — Dakota Joshua
Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev
Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Simon Benoit
Cayden Primeau
Anthony Stolarz
Next Up for the Kraken
After Toronto, the Kraken will continue on their first East Coast road trip of the season. They will head down stateside to take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, Oct. 20.
