What better way to prove your desperation. Beat the best team in the National Hockey League.
The Kraken need to pretend this is spring, 2023 all over again. Game-7 against the Avalanche in round-1. Seattle won it and moved on as the surprise team in the NHL that postseason.
OK. We know. This isn’t that team. It’s not that time of year. But Seattle needs to pretend it is, or any hopes and aspirations for an uprising in the spring of 2026 will disappear before that new year begins.
Yes, there’s always the 2019 St. Louis Blues; worst in the NHL in January, Stanley Cup champions in June.
This isn’t that club. Not even close.
“The message doesn’t change for us, our offensive game, clearly we need to score more goals, but that’s gonna have to piggyback off our defensive play tonight,” Kraken head coach Lane Lambert said after morning skate. “We’ve gotta be above them, we’ve gotta make sure that we’re not letting them join and get outnumbered rushes. I thought we did a really good job against Buffalo of that.”
The Sabres still won the game 3-1 on Sunday. The dead-last in the Eastern Conference Buffalo Sabres.
The Avalanche are first overall in the NHL in practically every category, especially where it matters most; wins (23), points (53), and goal differential (+54).
Do the Kraken have a chance? Of course. The games aren’t played on paper.
But also, this is not that Seattle team from 2023.
That team had the best 5-on-5 shooting percentage in the NHL. The entire surprisingly good 4th-line is long gone. So is head coach Dave Hakstol, now an assistant with the Avalanche. So are shi(f)t disturbers Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev, which triggers the question; who has replaced that attitude?
As the Kraken continue to try and find their offensive game, they’re also still trying to nail down their identity. We know what they think it is, or what they want it to be, but are those aspirations reality?
“I think we work, I think we compete, I think we’re committed,” Lambert said. “That’s what you expect from a coaching perspective, that’s what you ask for from a fan’s perspective. We certainly haven’t cheated the game or cheated our fans even though we haven’t won these hockey games, I think we’ve given it everything we’ve had.”
Complete desperation wouldn’t hurt. Seattle needs it in spades on Tuesday night.
— Fun And Fast, But Kraken Lose To Mammoth
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