An important four-game homestand was set to began Tuesday night with the Kraken having won four consecutive games and gearing up for the five-week stretch run into what should be their first playoff appearance.
Entering Tuesday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, the Kraken held a hefty nine-point lead over Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators teams vying for the final Western Conference playoff spot.
The Kraken emailed fans Tuesday morning touting that “The playoff hunt is on” and “the only way to secure presale access for all potential home playoff games” is to become a season ticket member — first by joining the High Tide Waitlist in hopes of spots opening.
The reality hinted at by the email and the standings is the Kraken have all but clinched a playoff spot, meaning the style they play down this stretch should be more akin to what comes once the postseason begins.
“It’s awesome — even these last couple of games on the road trip, especially against Colorado, have gotten that playoff feel,” Kraken defenseman Carson Soucy said after Tuesday’s morning skate. “I think it’s going to be big down the stretch. These one-goal games are going to be huge. I think that’s where we’re starting to grow as a team, learning how to win those close games.
“Last year and at the start of this year it seemed like we let a couple slip away. But I think we’ve done a better job lately of kind of keeping our composure and doing a good job of closing them out.”
The Kraken took three overtime losses the opening few weeks but have since captured seven consecutive games decided by the three-on-three sessions. They’ve yet to win in a shootout this season, but those sessions don’t carry into the playoffs — where overtimes are at five-on-five and unlimited in time.
Since their franchise-record eight-game win streak ended Jan. 16, the Kraken have posted 10 more victories — eight by two goals or fewer.
Soucy said the overtime win over Colorado on Sunday was “huge,” considering that’s the type of team the Kraken will face come playoff time. It was the Kraken’s first win over a team in a playoff position since beating the New Jersey Devils in overtime Jan. 19
“They’ve obviously been rolling, too, and they’re the former Cup champs,” Soucy said of the Avalanche. “They know how to win hockey games. So closing out one against those guys — and with a comeback win it’s always more exciting — it just shows that we’ve got confidence in this group that we can beat anyone.”
Soucy took part in a couple of playoff trips with the Minnesota Wild and anticipates the Kraken altering their style slightly as the postseason draws closer. He said the team’s big, physical defensive corps will need to deploy that size to its advantage.
“They kind of let a little more go in the playoffs,” Soucy said. “So we’re going to have to bring a physicality to these last couple of weeks just to almost get used to the playoffs. I kind of know from the one or two times I’ve been kind of elevates. It’s almost a completely different game.”
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol expects to see an increase in some of the things he’s spent much of the season preaching already. Strong two-way play and the ability to thrive in close games will be crucial.
“It’s just continuing to take care of the details and the consistency that you do it with,” Hakstol said. “I’ve mentioned taking care of the day. Number one. What’s past — a win or a loss — doesn’t matter. What’s coming down the road really doesn’t have a bearing on today. So it’s making sure of our preparation to prepare for each individual game and the two points that are at hand, number one.
“And then in game, just having the presence to react to different situations in the right way and have the consistency in our play to do that on a 200-foot basis. I’ve talked a little bit more how in general it gets tougher to score, and defensively you have to take care of your details and make sure that you’re committed to being hard to play against in a defensive sense.
“But there’s no magic to it,” he added. “As you go through a year you work to build and prepare to be at your very best. And typically at this time of year you’ve got to play really well together for a full 60 minutes.”
Notes
- Daniel Sprong, who’s been stuck on 15 goals for nearly two months, was tabbed for one of his increasingly infrequent starts Tuesday. Sprong had appeared in just seven of the team’s 14 games after the All-Star break. Hakstol said he’s looking for “a steady, 200-foot game in both directions” from Sprong. “It’s not all about scoring at this time of year. It’s about working and being a really good 200-foot player, taking care of the game defensively and taking care of the game without the puck. And then, when the opportunity is there to create and generate offense go out and do that. And that’s not specific to any one player on the team. We value that consistency throughout our lineup.”
- Vince Dunn entered Tuesday riding a six-game points streak in which he’d tallied two goals and six assists. It was the fourth-longest active streak in the NHL and the longest by a defenseman.
- Jared McCann’s 30 goals entering Tuesday were the most by any NHL player averaging fewer than 16 minutes of ice time. McCann had averaged 15 minutes, 46 seconds per game, down from his 16 minutes, 8 seconds played per contest last season.
- Yanni Gourde’s overtime winner Sunday made him the team’s league-leading 13th 10-goal scorer this season. The Florida Panthers led the NHL with the same number of 10-goal scorers last season in winning the Presidents Trophy for the highest regular-season points total. The Kraken can top Florida’s mark over the final 19 games, as Jamie Oleksiak has eight goals and Morgan Geekie seven.