On Thursday, Dec. 4, the Seattle Kraken are preparing to take on the Edmonton Oilers. This time, they’ll be seeking revenge as the Oilers just shut them out at Climate Pledge Arena in their last game on Nov. 29. After beating the Oilers once already this season, Seattle will try and take the lead in the season series tonight.
Related: Seattle Kraken’s Three Stars of November
The Oilers, however, had one game in between this home-and-home for Seattle. The Oilers returned to Edmonton and hosted the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, Dec. 2, and got a taste of their own medicine when the Wild shut them out 1-0. The Oilers will be on their A-game so they don’t get shut out two games in a row in front of their fans.
Kraken Storylines
As the season progresses, so do the injuries, it seems. Mason Marchment will not travel with the team to Edmonton; the extent of his injury is unknown at the moment, but head coach Lane Lambert called him day-to-day. Hopefully he recovers soon and retakes his position as solid member of the team’s top-six forward group. Although he doesn’t put up as many points as some other players, the Kraken will be hurting without him.
Another player Seattle could be missing in this game is Brandon Montour, who is questionable for tonight’s matchup after missing the last couple of practices. Here’s wishing him a quick recovery as well. He is an important part of the Kraken’s defense, and as a solid two-way defender, Seattle can’t afford to lose him.
Eeli Tolvanen is the player to watch in this game. Although he has been in a scoreless slump for the last five games, he had the strongest performance out of all forwards and defenders in November, recording nine points. With Jaden Schwartz out for the foreseeable future and Marchment not joining the Kraken on the road trip, all eyes will be on Tolvanen in the top six.
Team Stats
Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 11-7-6
- 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 – 5 G, 8 A, 13 P
- Vince Dunn – 4 G, 9 A, 13 P
Goalie Stats:
- Joey Daccord – 7-5-4, 2.68 goals-against average (GAA), .902 save percentage (SV%)
- Philipp Grubauer – 4-0-1, 2.14 GAA, .912 SV%
- Matt Murray – 0-2-1, 2.21 GAA, .922 SV%
Edmonton Oilers
Season Record: 11-11-5
- Connor McDavid – 11 G, 25 A, 36 P
- Leon Draisaitl – 15 G, 16 A, 31 P
- Evan Bouchard – 4 G, 18 A, 22 P
- Jack Roslovic – 10 G, 8 A, 18 P
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 6 G, 12 A, 18 P
Goalie Stats:
- Stuart Skinner – 9-8-3, 2.90 GAA, .888 SV%
- Calvin Pickard – 2-3-2, 4.04 GAA, .847 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
Berkly Catton — Chandler Stephenson — Eeli Tolvanen
Jani Nyman — Shane Wright — Kaapo Kakko
Tye Kartye — Frederick Gaudreau — Ryan Winterton
Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren — Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans — Jamie Oleksiak
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: Josh Mahura, Cale Fleury
Injured: Mason Marchment, Jaden Schwartz, Matt Murray, Max McCormick
Edmonton Oilers
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Connor McDavid — Zach Hyman
Vasily Podkolzin — Leon Draisaitl — Matt Savoie
Mattias Janmark — Adam Henrique — Andrew Mangiapane
Connor Clattenburg — Curtis Lazar — Trent Frederic
Mattias Ekholm — Evan Bouchard
Darniell Nurse — Alec Regula
Brett Kulak — Ty Emberson
Calvin Pickard
Stuart Skinner
Scratched:
Injured: Jack Roslovic, Jake Walman, Kasperi Kapanen, Noah Philp
Next Up for the Kraken
This is a one-off road game for the Kraken. They’ll head back to Seattle to host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, Dec. 6.
