Photo: Getty Images
Gratifying of a win as they come, the 3-1 victory on Tuesday night for the Seattle Kraken will be put in the rear view mirror very quickly, all set for the next assignment: the Pacific Division leading Anaheim Ducks, Wednesday night, 7:00pm at Honda Center (6:30pm, Kraken Audio Network).
It's a condensed day with condensed preparations. Though travel by air from northern to southern California is only a tad longer than watching one period of hockey (including commercial breaks), it was late in the night, with no morning skate today in Anaheim.
"It's all about getting the body ready to go," said Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol. "To be honest it's just about simplifying things a little bit."
The Kraken will see the Ducks for the second time this season, hoping for different results than the first meeting when Anaheim got a three point game each out of Troy Terry and Ryan Getzlaf, winning 7-4 in Seattle.
Terry, who has exploded with Trevor Zegras as part of a young "next generation" core for the Ducks, leads the team with 17 goals (5th, NHL) and 28 points.
Updates:
- Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol confirmed before Tuesday's game in San Jose that Philipp Grubauer would get the start for the game in Anaheim. No change in that plan after a brief media summit with Hakstol via Zoom. Grubauer will start.
- Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports Anthony Stolarz is the likely starter for the Ducks this evening. John Gibson, in net for the Ducks 7-4 win on Nov. 11, is battling a lower body issue after being removed from last Saturday's game at Pittsburgh.
- Hakstol hinted at lineup changes but only for the sake of respecting fresh legs on the back end of two games in two days. Max McCormick, Haydn Fleury (former Duck), and Will Borgen all were out last night as healthy scratches.
- Big congrats coming for Alex Wennberg, scheduled to suit up in the 500th game of his NHL career tonight.
- Jordan Eberle, who missed a pair of games with a lower body injury Dec. 1-3, still leads the Kraken with 12 goals, though has gone three games without a goal. Anaheim could help - he has multi point games in the last two meetings.