SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 16: Matty Beniers #10 of the Seattle Kraken skates during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at Climate Pledge Arena on April 16, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images
The wait is finally over. The Seattle Kraken are back on home ice at Climate Pledge Arena. While the games don’t account for anything in the standings, they present a big stage for the first showcase of features names, high impact newcomers, and hopefuls looking to break through by making the NHL club.
TONIGHT: 7pm PT vs. Edmonton Oilers
WHERE: Climate Pledge Arena
COVERAGE: 7pm on Sports Radio 950 AM KJR
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW, KRAKEN: The Kraken open up pre-season play with their first of two meetings against the Edmonton Oilers. They’ll open back-to-back games at home tonight, with the Calgary Flames visiting Seattle tomorrow.
The Kraken will suit up Martin Jones in net, making his pre-season debut after coming over via free agency in July from the Philadelphia Flyers on a one-year deal. He is expected to shoulder the bulk of the backup workload this season behind Philipp Grubauer, while Chris Driedger recovers from a knee injury suffered in the World Championships.
Jones is scheduled to play half of the game, with Joey Daccord set to take over for the final half.
Newcomers Oliver Bjorkstrand, Andre Burakovsky, and Justin Schultz will suit up on the Kraken side.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW, OILERS: Consider last season, expectations met. The Oilers reached the Western Conference Final, fulfilling expectations with superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in tow. Jay Woodcroft took over as head coach for the fired Dave Tippett on Feb. 10 and the Oilers didn’t look back, going 26-9-3 in the final regular season stretch before beating Los Angeles and Calgary in the opening two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
McDavid and Draisaitl won’t play tonight, and the Oilers will suit up a ton of hopefuls in this evening’s game, save a few veterans such as Derek Ryan, Kailer Yamamoto, and Tyson Barrie.
Olivier Rodrigue, splitting last season between the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors and ECHL’s Wichita Thunder, is expected to start for the Oilers.
The two teams will meet for one final time in the pre-season, Oct. 7 in Edmonton.
PROJECTED KRAKEN LINEUP
Donato-Beniers-Bjorkstrand
Burakovsky-Wennberg-Donskoi
Tanev-Geekie-Froden
McCormick-Petman-Melanson
Kempny-Schultz
Evans-Larsson
Seppala-Rafferty
Jones
Daccord