Kraken looking to ignite against struggling Canucks
With less than a week to go until the NHL's trade deadline, the Seattle Kraken are in a quandary.
The Kraken entered the weekend in the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, yet considering their first two games after the Olympic break, might still be sellers by 3 p.m. ET Friday, March 6.
The Kraken, who are scheduled to host Vancouver, the team with the NHL's worst overall record, on Saturday night in Seattle, sustained a 4-1 loss Wednesday at Dallas and a 5-1 defeat Thursday in St. Louis, which is tied for the second-fewest points in the league.
"Another game (in which) we were sleepy," Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour said. "You come off the break. You should show excitement, be ready to play some important games all the way in. Obviously we've wasted two games here."
The Kraken fell behind 4-0 against the Stars and allowed four unanswered goals after Kaapo Kakko tied the score against the Blues.
"It's the chances against that are my concern. There's too many of them," Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. "This game comes down to individual battles. We just weren't good enough in that area both those games."
Players said Lambert told the team between periods that he was worried about "overpassing."
"The whole team, we were looking for one more pass," said Kakko, who earned a bronze medal with Finland at the Winter Games, with three goals and two assists in six contests. "That's what happened the whole game, I feel."
Captain Jordan Eberle leads the Kraken with 20 goals and 39 points. Jared McCann, who spent two stints on the injured list, has been hot (31 points in 34 games).
This will be the third of four meetings between the Canucks and Kraken this season. They've split the first two games, with both going to shootouts. Vancouver won 3-2 at Seattle on Dec. 29 and the Kraken triumphed 4-3 at Vancouver on Jan. 2.
The Canucks, who have been much better on the road (12-16-2) than at home (6-17-5), returned from the Olympic break with a 3-2 overtime loss Wednesday to visiting Winnipeg, blowing a pair of one-goal leads.
Drew O'Connor scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season, Evander Kane also tallied and Nikita Tolopilo made 25 saves for the Canucks, who have lost four in a row and are 2-14-4 in their past 20 games.
The Canucks got four players back from injury following the Olympic break. Defenseman Zeev Buium returned after missing five games with a facial fracture, center Marco Rossi (18 games, lower-body injury), and wingers Brock Boeser (five games, concussion protocol) and Nils Hoglander (four games, lower body).
Veteran defenseman Tyler Myers was a late scratch by the Canucks for "roster management purposes." That's another way of saying he's on the trading block.
"I found out (Tuesday) night it may happen and then was told after the morning skate that we'd have to take him out," Canucks coach Adam Foote said. "This is the time of year where this kind of thing comes up and you're kind of ready for it and it's just the way it is. It comes with the trade deadline. We're all aware of what could happen, so it's our job to make adjustments."