The Seattle Kraken are the latest reminder of a hard truth in the NHL: progression is rarely linear.
Despite winning its only game of the weekend on Friday — a 3-1 victory over lowly Anaheim — Seattle is one of two Western Conference teams (along with the Minnesota Wild) that will not be part of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs after participating in the 2023 derby.
And, of course, the Kraken weren’t just participants in last year’s post-season, they were players. In just its second NHL campaign, Seattle was a single victory away from advancing to the Western Conference final.
No matter how rational you are, a run like that raises the bar for any fan suddenly dreaming on where their team can go.
But hopes were dashed pretty quickly when Seattle won just a single game in its first six outings out of the gate in October. A mid-season surge in the form of a nine-game winning streak brought the Kraken right back into the wild-card mix in January, but it wasn’t sustainable. In March, Seattle endured its second eight-game losing streak of the campaign.
In a bit of a cruel twist, the Kraken are actually receiving much better goaltending this year than last season, when the team made the playoffs despite posting the 23rd-ranked five-on-five save percentage of .907. This time out, Seattle actually has the No. 4 five-on-five SP in the NHL (.923), but is condemned to watch spring hockey from the sidelines.
If there’s a microcosm within the team for how this season went down in Seattle, surely it’s the sophomore struggles of centre Matty Beniers. The 2023 NHL rookie of the year didn’t score a goal until Nov. 9 and scuffled through that second-year hex that really does seem to land on even the most promising players.
But you know what? Beniers scored on Friday for the fourth time in his past six games. And you know who drew the assist? Shane Wright, who just happened to pop two goals of his own in the win to give him three tallies in three games since being called up from the AHL.
Few prospects in the game could speak on the up-and-down nature of progression with as much frustrating, firsthand knowledge as Wright. The one-time anointed top pick in the 2022 NHL Draft fell to fourth on that big day and has played more games in the OHL (20) than the NHL (14) since Seattle called his name.
He spent the majority of this year in the AHL, producing 20 goals in 53 games. Now, he’s closing out the year with the big club and confidence has to be surging through his body unlike at any other time in the past 24 months.
Progression — for a player or team — is almost never straightforward. But that doesn’t mean you won’t eventually get there.
For Wright, Beniers and Seattle, there’s still plenty of advancement to come. And with a few bumps already behind them, perhaps next year will reveal a more enjoyable stretch of the development curve.
Other Takeaways
• Seattle was bounced last year in Round 2 by a Dallas Stars team that looks as good as anybody right now. The Stars’ eight-game winning streak was snapped Saturday in Chicago, but Dallas came right back 24 hours later to ostensibly deliver the knockout blow in the race for top spot in the Central by beating the Avalanche 7-4 in Colorado. Dallas now holds a five-point lead over the Avs for top spot in the division, which is the same advantage it enjoys on the wheel-spinning Vancouver Canucks for first place in the Western Conference. Dallas is scoring 4.3 goals per game during this 9-0-1 stretch while surrendering just 1.8. Jake Oettinger saw you leaving him off all those mock Team USA Four 4 Nations Face-off and Olympic rosters and wanted to remind you who he really is.
• Speaking of Chicago, the Hawks — even after getting blanked by Minny 4-0 on Sunday — are a highly respectable 8-7-0 in their past 15 games. That’s a nice little run for a young squad that needs to get out from the horror of losing night after night. Chicago is kind of getting the best of both worlds in that the wins are a nice reward for the players after a hellish grind through the first 60 games or so, but the team is still well-positioned to land with the second-best lottery odds in a 2024 draft that will be headlined by Macklin Celebrini. And, let’s face it, Chicago already cashed in its good-fortune chip last year, so even if it jumps Anaheim and winds up with the third-best odds, it’s going to have a two-year run at the table where it selects a franchise-changer in Connor Bedard followed by a really, really good player in the third- to fifth-overall range.
• One thing that occurred to me while watching this outrageous, five-team battle for the final two Eastern Conference playoffs spots: When is the last time a major piece sold at the deadline wound up facing his old squad in the playoffs? That is in play if the Pittsburgh Penguins — winners of four straight after bouncing back from blowing a 4-1 third-period lead to Tampa Bay on Saturday — can climb up into third spot in the Metropolitan Division and face Jake Guentzel and the Carolina Hurricanes. Michael Bunting, by the way, scored the winner versus the Bolts and now has 13 points in 16 games with the Pens after coming over from Carolina, while Guentzel — who popped two goals in the Canes’ 4-2 victory over Washington on Friday — has a whopping 21 points in just 14 games with his new team.
By the way, are we talking enough about the number of goals that could be available on the open market this summer as UFAs? Sam Reinhart already has 52 goals, while Jonathan Marchessault has 41. Steven Stamkos needs four more to become the third pending UFA with 40 tallies, while Guentzel has only 27 because he missed a month with injury. He’s playing at a 94-point pace this year. Finally, there’s Tyler Toffoli, who’s already netted 31 goals with Jersey and Winnipeg. We don’t know who will make it to market, but names like that can certainly change your top-six mix in a hurry.
Weekend Warrior
All the best to referee Steve Kozari, who was stretchered off the ice in Pittsburgh on Saturday following a frightening collision with Tampa’s Haydn Fleury. (And all the best to Fleury, who also did not return in the contest.) Kozari lost consciousness for a moment after the collision, but all the news has been positive since then. Referees are putting their bodies on the line out there, too.
Red and White Power Rankings
1. Edmonton Oilers (47-24-5) After a weekend sweep of Colorado and Calgary, the Oilers are three points back of Vancouver for top spot in the Pacific and begin a four-game homestand on Wednesday after a few days off. The third team they’ll see in this stretch is Vancouver, on Saturday.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (44-23-9) With his 48th even-strength goal on Saturday night in Montreal, Auston Matthews needs two more to become the first player with 50 even-strength goals in a season since Teemu Selanne had 52 in 1992-93. Alexander Mogilny had 49 that year and, since then, the only person to match Matthews’ 48 is Steven Stamkos, in 2011-12.
3. Vancouver Canucks (47-22-8) The Canucks had given up two power-play goals before the six-minute mark of their loss to L.A. on Saturday. It’s tough to win many games that way.
4. Winnipeg Jets (47-24-6) After going seven straight games surrendering more than two goals, Winnipeg is tightening its belt a little: Saturday’s 4-2 win in Minny was the second straight outing the Jets held their opponent to under three goals, and the victory was Winnipeg’s third in a row on the heels of its big six-game slide.
5. Ottawa Senators (34-39-4) It was a nice weekend for D-man Jake Sanderson, who scored a power-play marker versus the Devils on Saturday and followed that up with the OT winner — his 10th goal of the season — 24 hours later against Washington.
6. Montreal Canadiens (29-36-12) What a year for Mike Matheson, who picked up a total of four assists in losses to Toronto on Saturday and the Rangers on Sunday to give him 57 points on the season. He turned 30 six weeks ago and has just hit a completely different gear playing for his hometown team the past two seasons.
7. Calgary Flames (34-37-5) It has obviously been a tough ride in Calgary this year, but seeing Yegor Sharangovich net his 30th of the year on Saturday — even if it was in a 4-2 loss to the Oilers — has to register as a serious positive.
The Week Ahead
• Anybody who understands anything about hockey knows you never miss a meeting between the Canadian and American women. The two national teams clash Monday night at the women’s worlds in what could prove to be a preview of the gold medal match set for Sunday evening in Utica, N.Y.
• Detroit — trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016 — has two massive head-to-heads this week. The Washington Capitals visit Tuesday, while the Wings travel to Pittsburgh to face 40-goal man Sidney Crosby and the Penguins on Thursday.
• The NCAA Frozen Four kicks off in St. Paul, Minn., with the semifinals on Thursday, followed by the championship game on Saturday. Denver will square off with Macklin Celebrini’s Boston University, while the other semi sees Michigan clash with Boston College.
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