State of the Kraken: What stands out from start to season

Oct 29, 2024, 9:52 AM | Updated: 11:35 am

Seattle Sports

After a promising initial start to the season, the Seattle Kraken have seen their goal-scoring struggles crop up again.

What ESPN analyst likes about two big Kraken newcomers

The Kraken netted 20 goals through their first five games, including seven in a rout of Nashville, six in a win over Philadelphia and five in a shootout victory over Minnesota. That gave them three five-goal games – a mark they reached just nine times all of last season.

But Seattle has since cooled off, mustering just eight goals over its past four games to fall to a 4-4-1 record entering Tuesday. Furthermore, five of those eight goals have come either in overtime or the final 10 minutes of regulation. That means that over the first 50 minutes of their past four games, they’ve scored a grand total of just three goals.

The scoring issues coincide with an injury to defenseman Vince Dunn, who was hurt on Oct. 17 and placed on long-term injured reserve a few days later. That means he must miss 10 games and 24 days at a minimum. Dunn was the Kraken’s second-leading scorer in 2022-23 (64 points) and their third-leading scorer last season (46 points), despite missing 23 games due to injury.

Seattle is currently tied for 19th in the NHL with 3.0 goals per game. The Kraken ranked 29th last season with just 2.6 goals per game, which led to them missing the playoffs with a 19-point drop in the standings from their 2021-22 second-round playoff team.

Here’s a look at some other things that stand out from Seattle’s first nine games of the season under new head coach Dan Bylsma.

McCann, Eberle start strong

Forwards Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle have paced the Kraken’s attack.

McCann is tied for 14th in the NHL with 12 points, having totaled five goals and seven assists. He is riding a six-game points streak, which matches the second-longest of his 10-year career. He also recently became the first 100-goal scorer in Kraken franchise history, netting his milestone goal in a 3-2 loss to Colorado on Oct. 22.

Canner’s 100th goal as a #SeaKraken was a beauty!

drop some 💯’s in the chat. pic.twitter.com/aZrxw3HO7S

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) October 23, 2024

Eberle, who was named Seattle’s captain just prior to the season, is tied for 10th in the league with six goals. The 15th-year veteran scored two regulation goals and the shootout winner in a 5-4 victory over Minnesota on Oct. 12 and netted an overtime winner in a 2-1 triumph over Calgary on Oct. 19.

CAPTAIN KRAKEN 🫡

Jordan Eberle scores his first @Energizer overtime winner as captain of the @SeattleKraken! pic.twitter.com/5t6zMixKpl

— NHL (@NHL) October 20, 2024

Seattle Kraken goalie comparison

Coming off a breakout campaign last season, 28-year-old goaltender Joey Daccord inked a five-year contract extension earlier this month. Daccord has had a solid start, posting a .910 save percentage and a .295 goals against average in five games. He made a number of big-time stops during a 35-save performance in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Carolina, almost single-handedly keeping the Kraken in the game until the final few minutes.

Meanwhile, 13th-year veteran Philipp Grubauer has posted a .881 save percentage and 3.10 goals against average in four games.

The sample size is small, but Daccord currently holds the edge in advanced stats. According to MoneyPuck, Daccord has 0.1 goals saved above expected, while Grubauer has minus-0.9.

OH MY JOEYYYY!!!!!!!!#SeaKraken x @WAFDbank pic.twitter.com/6a3xNUs0so

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) October 27, 2024

Beniers’ two-goal game

After going scoreless through the first seven games, 2021 No. 2 overall pick Matty Beniers scored twice and added an assist in a 4-3 overtime loss to unbeaten Winnipeg last Thursday. It was the 21-year-old center’s second career two-goal game and his first since Nov. 29, 2022.

Beniers’ two-goal game came after Bylsma shuffled Seattle’s lines and put the former first-round pick back with familiar line mates McCann and Eberle.

Beniers, who won the 2022-23 Calder Trophy with a 24-goal rookie season, is looking to bounce back after a 15-goal sophomore campaign. Last year, he went scoreless through his first 13 games and didn’t score his second goal until his 18th game.

An absolute SNIPE from Matty Beniers for his first of the season! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/LLSA8VyYne

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 25, 2024

Up next

The Kraken begin a five-game road swing Tuesday against Montreal. The trip will then have stops in Toronto, Ottawa, Boston and Colorado. They return to Seattle on Nov. 8, when they open a six-game homestand against Vegas.