VANCOUVER, B.C. — Kraken forward Jared McCann wasn’t mincing words Thursday about the importance of winning against Pacific Division rivals in an upcoming trio of games.
Things have gotten crowded for the Kraken in the division standings after they recently dropped five of six. They entered play Thursday in third place, just a point up on fourth place Edmonton and two behind second place Los Angeles — with only five points separating teams No. 2 through 5 in the division.
And in the case of the Canucks, who McCann broke into the NHL with seven years ago, it’s a team that had beaten the Kraken in regulation all five times they’ve played since the franchise launched. McCann, who opened the scoring seven minutes into Thursday’s game on a 75-foot snap shot that eluded Canucks goalie Spencer Martin, said these are games his team needs to be winning.
“It’s huge — it’s a division game,” McCann said following his team’s morning skate at Rogers Arena. “And we’ve got to go into every single game wanting to win. Obviously, they’ve had our number the last couple of years, so it’s going to be tough.”
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol agreed this upcoming stretch facing divisional foes Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton is a huge test. The Canucks game was also the team’s final one before the NHL’s annual Christmas break, which the Kraken had a chance to enter while holding down a playoff spot.
“These games are extremely important,” Hakstol said. “I’m not really worried about it being the last game before the break. I mean, it’s a really important two points against a divisional opponent.”
That said, Hakstol added that the lack of wins against Vancouver isn’t a prime concern.
“I don’t think the group that’s in our dressing room right now really cares about that,” Hakstol said before Thursday night’s game. “A lot of them had no part in it last year. These guys beat us at home a few weeks ago so they took two divisional points. We know they’re going to be at their best, so we’ve got to be ready to beat them at their best.”
McCann has helped the Kraken recover from their recent losing skid by netting goals in his team’s last two games, both of them wins ahead of scoring in his third straight here. He led the team with 28 goals last season, earning him a five-year contract extension that’s paying off fast.
Those scoring numbers seem far removed from his 2015-16 debut with the Canucks, who drafted him in the first round, 24th overall, back in 2014. After a nine-goal, 18-point rookie season, the Canucks traded McCann to Florida along with a fourth-round pick for defenseman Eric Gudbranson and a fifth rounder.
The general consensus in Vancouver now is that the Canucks got the short end of that deal given how McCann has flourished, first with Pittsburgh and then his Kraken breakout. Some Vancouver media members gathered around McCann’s locker Thursday morning to ask him whether beating the Canucks would feel extra special.
“That was a long time ago,” he said with a chuckle. “So, it’s water under the bridge, I guess. I’m always going to be thankful to the Canucks for drafting me into the NHL.”
Notes
— A big part of the Kraken’s early success has been offensive production from all four lines. Entering play Thursday, the Kraken had three of the league’s top four point-getters among players — usually fourth liners — averaging fewer than 11 minutes of ice time.
“We have more of an ability to create and generate offense,” Hakstol said. “And that’s empowered other parts of our game. We’re working hard without the puck, we’re doing a lot of little areas of our game that are pretty good.
“A lot of little areas of our game have to get a lot better. But right now, we’re a group that has confidence in each other and that’s probably the biggest difference — our ability and belief that we can generate offense at key times.”
Fourth liner Daniel Sprong had the NHL’s highest point total among players with fewer than 11 minutes of nightly ice time — with eight goals, nine assists while averaging 10:36 of ice time. Morgan Geekie was second in the league with four goals, eight assists in averaging 10:04 while Ryan Donato was fourth with seven goals, three assists in 10:59 of ice time per game.
Donato entered Thursday having scored in each of his past four games, needing one more against the Canucks to become the first player in franchise history to notch goals in five consecutive contests. A point of any kind would match his career high points streak of five games.
— Another Kraken player with Vancouver ties is goaltender Martin Jones, who hails from the suburb of North Vancouver. Jones — whose 14-5-2 record accounted for all but four of his team’s wins entering Thursday’s play — got his second straight start against the Canucks after stopping 22 of 24 shots against St. Louis on Tuesday.