The Seattle Kraken will take on the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, Dec. 23. This is their last game before the Christmas break and the second half of a back-to-back. They just beat the Ducks 3-1 on Monday. The Kraken will try to end this game on a high note as well.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Kraken’s 3-1 Win Over the Ducks
The Kings are about to play their second game in a back-to-back as well. They just lost 3-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday. Mason Marchment, a former Kraken forward as of last Friday, scored two of the three goals to give Columbus the win. He is finding his stride in Columbus, it seems.
The Kraken won the first game of the season series in overtime with a final score of 3-2. Hopefully, they can continue this luck tonight and extend their lead in the series.
Kraken Storylines
The Kraken are down another defenseman tonight. Vince Dunn exited the game early last night against the Ducks. He was hit hard by Ross Johnston. There was no penalty called against him, and Dunn left the game clearly upset and in physical discomfort. Although there was no practice today due to the back-to-back, coach Lane Lambert has already ruled out Dunn due to an upper-body ailment.
This news comes just a day after the team announced Brandon Montour will miss four weeks due to a hand injury. He underwent successful surgery and now needs plenty of time to recover. The absence of both Montour and Dunn is a major hit to the blue line, especially in this game against the Kings.
Luckily, the team still has defenseman Cale Fleury with them. If the Kraken choose to run with the standard six-man defense, Fleury will likely slot in to the lineup for the first time since Oct. 23. Fleury has played in four games so far this season and has recorded one assist.
The player to watch in this game is Kaapo Kakko. He recorded two assists in yesterday’s game and has really been finding his stride on the first line alongside Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle. He has seven points in 18 games so far this season after missing several due to two different injuries.
Team Stats
Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 14-14-6
Top Scorers:
- Jordan Eberle – 12 goals (G), 10 assists (A), 22 points (P)
- Chandler Stephenson – 9 G, 12 A, 21 P
- Eeli Tolvanen – 5 G, 15 A, 20 P
- Vince Dunn – 5 G, 14 A, 19 P
- Matty Beniers – 4 G, 15 A, 19 P
Goalie Stats:
- Joey Daccord – 9-9-4, 2.86 goals-against average (GAA), .901 save percentage (SV%)
- Philipp Grubauer – 5-3-1, 2.59 GAA, .911 SV%
- Matt Murray – 0-2-1, 2.21 GAA, .922 SV%
Los Angeles Kings
Season Record: 15-11-9
Top Scorers:
- Adrian Kempe – 13 G, 17 A, 30 P
- Kevin Fiala – 12 G, 11 A, 23 P
- Quinton Byfield – 4 G, 15 A, 19 P
- Anze Kopitar – 6 G, 11 A 17 P
- Joel Armia – 8 G, 7 A, 15 P
Goalie Stats:
- Darcy Kuemper – 10-6-6, 2.19 GAA, .917 SV%
- Anton Forsberg – 5-5-3, 2.73 GAA, .901 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
Seattle Kraken
Kaapo Kakko — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen — Chandler Stephenson — Frederick Gaudreau
Jani Nyman — Shane Wright — Ryan Winterton
Tye Kartye — Ben Meyers — Jacob Melanson
Ryan Lindgren — Adam Larsson
Cale Fleury — Jamie Oleksiak
Ryker Evans — Josh Mahura
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched:
Injured: Vince Dunn, Brandon Montour, Jared McCann, Berkly Catton, Jaden Schwartz, Matt Murray, Max McCormick
Los Angeles Kings
Trevor Moore — Anze Kopitar — Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala — Quinton Byfield — Alex Laferriere
Warren Foegle — Alex Turcotte — Andrei Kuzmenko
Joel Armia — Samuel Helenius — Corey Perry
Mikey Anderson — Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson — Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin — Cody Ceci
Phoenix Copley
Anton Forsberg
Scratched: Jeff Malott, Jacob Moverare
Injured: Darcy Kuemper
Next Up for the Kraken
Following the Christmas break, the Kraken will host the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, Dec. 28.
The season series will continue in Los Angeles on Feb. 4.
