Photo: Getty Images
From Climate Pledge Arena comes the land (or ice surface of opportunity): the Seattle Kraken, ready for their second home game in franchise history, will take aim at the Montreal Canadiens who are struggling, but have shown signs of progress.
One team will walk out of the building with their second win of the season. If it is the Kraken: they will have their first home win in franchise history. If it is Montreal: they’re playing into the hands of “one’s an accident, two’s a trend” – with regards to responding to their first win of the season, Saturday night in a 6-1 dismantling of the Detroit Red Wings after losing their first five games.
As documented here, it will be the first time Seattle and Montreal meet for hockey in 102 years: proving that hockey has a rich history involving these two teams, and ultimately, life is precious.
The Kraken and head coach Dave Hakstol didn’t reveal much with regards to lineup changes, saying there will be “a couple of tweaks to the lineup tonight, but we’ll leave that until game time. There will be a couple of lineup changes.”
For the record: goaltender Chris Driedger, placed on the seven-day injured reserve list last Tuesday, is eligible to become activated as early as today. He was seen taking the ice before a team optional skate this morning, participating in drills with goaltending coach Andrew Allen.
For the record: defenseman Will Borgen is the last remaining player on the roster yet to appear in a game. He sat out Saturday night, along with forward Ryan Donato and defenseman Haydn Fleury.
If you need a refresher, here’s how the Kraken showed up at practice, yesterday:
Schwartz-Gourde-Jarnkrok
Donskoi-Wennberg-Eberle
Tanev-McCann-Appleton
Bastian-Sheahan-Donato
Geekie
Giordano-Oleksiak
Lauzon-Larsson
Fleury-Dunn
Soucy-Borgen
Grubauer
Daccord
Notes:
-A did you know: tonight’s game will match up the NHL’s newest team (Kraken) against the oldest (Montreal).
-Two Kraken forwards are on the roster with ties to Quebec, where the Canadiens are treated like royalty: forward Yanni Gourde and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon. Gourde, who scored a goal in game one of the Stanley Cup Final against Montreal, has shown signs of getting hot against his childhood team, on home ice: five points, in the last five games when he’s worn a home jersey.
-Jared McCann needs a goal or assist to reach a four-game point streak, which would match his previous career best.
-Montreal shared more in their pre-game media availability, besides a Seahawks game they attended last night, that has a lot of weight with regards to one of the biggest names in hockey: longtime defenseman and captain Shea Weber, owner of over 1,000 games played and one of the game’s most lethal shots. Weberwas placed 12 days agoon long-term injured reserve, unclear if he will ever return and currently leaves a huge gap in the Canadiens lineup, along with goaltender Carey Price, who is away with the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.He’s been seen with Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, giving the team a “boost.”
Broadcast notes:
·Coors Light Pre-game show: 6:30pm along 950 KJR and the Kraken Audio Network, where we’ll hear from the Kraken before tonight’s game and head coach Dave Hakstol, joined by play-by-play Everett Fitzhugh.
·Post-game: a reminder – we’re sticking around longer, and hope you do with us, too. For those in the building: you’re invited to huddle up with us at the Coors Light Lounge (section 20) for Talkin’ Kraken after the game. I’ll be joined by Kraken TV analyst J.T. Brown. Say hello!
·Intermission: more “Meet The Kraken” with defenseman Vince Dunn, who scored the historic first goal in Climate Pledge Arena history, and another catch-up with radio analyst Dave Tomlinson.