SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 01: Jared McCann #16 of the Seattle Kraken warms up before the game against the Vancouver Canucks at Climate Pledge Arena on January 01, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images
The Seattle Kraken have been forced to forge on without Brandon Tanev. Then, Jaden Schwartz.
The latest challenge: leading scorer Jared McCann.
Maybe even Yanni Gourde, too.
Shortly before the Kraken entered the ice to take on morning skate ahead of a 7pm matchup against the Boston Bruins, the team announced McCann, already with a career-high 21 goals, has been sidelined on injured with what head coach Dave Hakstol later confirmed is an upper body ailment.
Yanni Gourde was not seen on the ice for morning skate, ending an eight-game goal drought on Tuesday in a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders, and is a game-time decision for this evening’s contest.
The Kraken will start Philipp Grubauer in between the pipes looking for a two-game split against Boston, who beat the Kraken 3-2 in the first meeting earlier this month during a four-game trip. The Kraken, looking to snap a string of eight losses in ten games, earned goals from Joonas Donskoi and Mason Appleton, rallying out of a 2-0 hole before falling on the body of work that included a pair of power play goals by David Pastrnak.
Boston will start Linus Ullmark in net against the Kraken, who hold the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and open a six-game road trip tonight along the west coast, eventually ending with a stop Mar. 5 back east in Columbus.
Brad Marchand, out to a six-game suspension, will make his return to the lineup tonight and is tied for the Bruins lead with David Pastrnak with 49 points.
KRAKEN LINE RUSHES VS BOSTON, MORNING SKATE:
Johansson-Jarnkrok-Eberle
Sheahan-Wennberg-Donskoi
Blackwell-Lind-Appleton
Donato-Geekie-Czarnik
Oleksiak-Larsson
Giordano-Soucy
Dunn-Lauzon
Fleury-Borgen