The Kraken booked their ticket to the postseason with a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night, giving them 96 points on the season.
Jared McCann started things off with his 38th goal of the year and added two assists for the Kraken. Jordan Eberle also had a goal and a pair of assists, while rookie Matty Beniers chipped in a goal and assist of his own. Vince Dunn rounded out the scoring for Seattle with his 14th tally of the season. Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots to earn the win.
Making the playoffs caps a remarkable turnaround for the second-year franchise after Seattle recorded a 27-49-6 record last year during its inaugural season. That was good enough for 60 points and a last-place finish in the Pacific Division.
The Kraken become the seventh Western Conference team to clinch a postseason berth this season, leaving just one up for grabs. The Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames are currently tied for that last spot with 89 points, while the Predators sit one point back. The Jets and Predators each have one game in hand on Calgary.
By making the playoffs in their second season, the Kraken follow in the footsteps of the expansion franchise that preceded them, the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas of course managed to not only make the playoffs in its first season but went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Washington Capitals. The Golden Knights made the playoffs in each of their first four seasons before missing out on the postseason last year for the first time.
The Kraken have four games remaining in the regular season, concluding the year with a pair of consecutive games against Vegas prior to the playoffs.
Dan and Sat discuss what Rick Tocchet is looking for in his forwards and all the defencemen that have played for the Canucks this year. Also, hear from Sportsnet's John Garrett on his early broadcasting career and his time in the WHA.
This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
Bednar added that both players are dealing with new injuries, not just maintenance from previous ailments.
Thursday's meeting with the San Jose Sharks will be Makar's second straight missed game and 17th total of the campaign. He's been sidelined for brief stints multiple times this season with an upper-body ailment, a head injury, and a previous lower-body issue.
Makar, the reigning Conn Smythe and Norris Trophy winner, has been spectacular when available, posting 66 points in 60 games while averaging a league-high 26:23 per contest.
New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Alex Killorn were each fined $5,000 for slashing, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced.
Fox appeared to spear Corey Perry during Wednesday's game between the two teams.
Slashing penalty was a joke. That was a blatant spear by Adam Fox. Perry may or may not have embellished (rep?). Regardless. TNT did a terrible job as they missed that and never showed that replay... here you go. pic.twitter.com/2NkMQvOw20
The Sabres are quietly heating up. They've gone 4-1-1 over the past six games, leaving the door ever so slightly open for a miracle run to the playoffs.
While the odds are still stacked against Buffalo, the team has a ceiling of 93 points. That's six clear of where the Panthers and Islanders are at, with those teams having four games remaining. If the Sabres take care of business the rest of the way, things could get very interesting.
As daunting of a task as that is, they only need to take things one step at a time, and the first step isn't a big one.
This Red Wings team is nothing more than mediocre, particularly on offense. Detroit ranks 28th in expected goals per 60 over the past 10 games at five-on-five, keeping company with clubs like the Coyotes, Canadiens, and Blackhawks.
The Red Wings struggle to generate scoring opportunities at a healthy clip. With top prospect Devon Levilikely to start for the Sabres, Detroit probably can't rely on outscoring its expected outputs. The team will need to generate plenty of volume, which is something it hasn't done all season.
I think the Sabres have a lot more firepower. They've overwhelmed the Red Wings in each and every meeting this season, piling up 18 goals and 115 shots over three games.
Detroit's goaltending has been iffy of late, with its trio of netminders combining to post a .884 save percentage. I'm not sure they'll hold up against an offense like Buffalo's.
With a more talented roster and a lot to play for, the Sabres should be able to grind out a big two points to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Bet: Sabres (-115)
Alex Ovechkin over 3.5 shots (-135)
For one reason or another, players always seem to perform better against certain teams. The Canadiens are one of them for Ovechkin.
Ovechkin has scored 10 goals over his past 10 games against Montreal. He has consistently piled up shots in bulk, recording four or more each contest.
There's every reason to believe Ovechkin's success against the Habs will continue Thursday night.
They're a poor five-on-five team and rank in the bottom 10 in shot suppression over the past 10 games. They've also taken penalties at an above-average rate during that period, which is especially beneficial to a primary power-play shooting threat like Ovechkin.
With nothing else to play for, Ovechkin will no doubt be hoping to chip away at No. 99's goal scoring record over the final few games of the season. This is as good of a spot as any for him to do so.
Jason Robertson over 3.5 shots (-135)
Robertson continues to be a priority shooting target on home ice. He's gone over his total in 24 of 38 games, good for a 63% success rate.
What I love about Robertson is we've seen no real dip in volume. His shot attempt average over the past 10 home dates (7.4) is directly in line with his outputs for the season (7.8).
I believe Robertson has a strong chance at a ceiling game against the Flyers. They give up plenty of shots at five-on-five, take a lot of penalties, and struggle most against Robertson's position; no team has conceded more shots per game to left-wingers over the past 10 contests.
Look for Robertson to capitalize on an advantageous matchup he doesn't necessarily need to find success.
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
It's around 11 a.m. in early March, moments after a morning skate, when Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson starts scanning the home team's dressing room inside KeyBank Center. He cranes his neck to see past the reporter blocking his view of the semi-circle wall where the forwards sit.
He's compiling a list of the squad's biggest "hockey nerds."
"Mittsy, Coz, Skinny, Quinner, OP - oh man, there's a bunch of them. Joster, for sure. Okie is when he has some free time with the family," Samuelsson says, smile widening. "Sometimes he's just busy. But on the road, man, Okie's always watching hockey and always has something to say about it."
Ben Green / Getty Images
Mittsy is Casey Mittelstadt. Skinny is Jeff Skinner. Coz is Dylan Cozens. Quinner is Jack Quinn. OP is Owen Power. Joster is Tyson Jost. Okie is Kyle Okposo. All of them "know every detail about everything" to do with hockey and the NHL, Samuelsson explains. "All the stats, stick curves, tape jobs … "
Samuelsson, 23, signed a seven-year contract extension on the eve of the season. He committed to the Sabres through 2029-30 partly because he feels strongly about the core's abilities on the ice and its makeup off it.
"Nobody's ego is too sensitive. Everybody kind of gives it to everybody," Samuelsson says. Yes, that includes 41-year-old goalie Craig Anderson, respected captain Okposo, and star forward Tage Thompson. "I can chirp him just as much as I chirp anybody else," Samuelsson says of "Thommer."
"You can also tell someone to get their head out of their ass, and they're not going to get mad at you for it," the blue-liner adds. "They know you're just looking out for them, and you're trying to do what's best for the team."
Joe Hrycych / Getty Images
This open environment is shaped by time spent away from the rink - team dinners, golf outings, Xbox battles, NFL and UFC watch parties, shopping trips, and card games - plus the fact the Sabres' roster is the youngest in the league. "Sometimes," Samuelsson says, "it honestly feels like a college team."
That's what a "good room" looks and feels like for the Sabres. What about elsewhere? What are the pillars of a "good room" in cities across the NHL?
'Honest but not too harsh'
Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has described Nathan MacKinnon's leadership style as "feisty." To maintain the Avs' high standard, the 100-point center has been known to be abrasive on occasion.
MacKinnon isn't a tyrant, though. His ears perk up when others take charge.
"We encourage guys to speak before games and voice to the group what they really think, regardless of how long they've been in the NHL," MacKinnon tells theScore. "That's really big as far as establishing and keeping a good room. It's simple in a way: Just be good to each other. Be honest but not too harsh."
Michael Martin / Getty Images
Case in point: Perhaps Cale Makar, a force of nature on the ice but relatively shy off it, wouldn't speak up as much as he does had he not been encouraged to do so by MacKinnon or team captain Gabriel Landeskog.
"He's the best defenseman in the world, so he should be able to express his opinion," MacKinnon says. "This year, he's honestly been great in that department. It's been a tougher year for us with so many injuries, right, but he's been there to take the edge off that by being a little bit more vocal."
Alex Kerfoot subscribes to the same school of thought. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward thinks it's important for a room to be filled with unique individuals, 23 guys of varying nationalities, birth years, and career journeys.
"If your ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup, you want to have different opinions in the room," says Kerfoot, traded from Colorado to Toronto in 2019. "You want to have different experiences in the mix, people who have been through different scenarios. That is probably more valuable than having a bunch of guys who have been in similar circumstances."
The out-for-dinner test
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
It's fair to suggest Max Domi should be an expert in the study of hockey player dynamics. The Dallas Stars forward and son of longtime enforcer Tie Domi currently finds himself on his sixth NHL team in only eight pro seasons.
Insight No. 1 from Domi: He swears he's never been in a bad room, a toxic room, or one that's overly cliquey. "All of a sudden, you get a new guy coming in, and it's like butter," he says of the prevailing vibe. "He just fits right in."
(Side note: Domi's perspective isn't unique. All 16 of the players interviewed for this story were adamant they'd spent little to no time in a so-called bad room. If they have, they may prefer to forget those experiences or don't feel comfortable talking about them now.)
Insight No. 2: It helps to mingle. "We're all in the NHL for a reason. That's the easy part," Domi says. "But getting to know guys is key. Where are you from? Where did you play junior? What's your career been like? You get to know guys pretty quickly - it's not hard - and then it translates onto the ice."
Brian Babineau / Getty Images
Insight No. 3: There's a foolproof way to test the cohesiveness of a group, no matter the win-loss record. "If you can go out to dinner with anyone on the team, on any given night, you know you're in a good locker room," Domi says.
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Calvin de Haan makes the point that "guys lead in different ways." Sure, fans and media know about the role of the rah-rah and lead-by-example types. But the other characters - the designated DJ, the collector of fines, the party planner - often lead too, just in covert ways.
Regardless of the talent level, de Haan says, hockey is a team-first sport.
"I go out and play with my friends in the summer, and no offense to them, but I'm better than all of them," de Haan says. "But we don't necessarily win every time, even though I play in the NHL. The teams who win have guys who use each other well and play like a team. That's a part of leadership, too."
Leaders lead (and read)
John Russell / Getty Images
Mark Giordano's bona fides include captaining the Calgary Flames and Seattle Kraken and being the oldest skater in the NHL this season. He believes reading the room is a leader's most important job within the team setting.
Some teammates "need to get slapped," the Maple Leafs defenseman says, while others "need to get patted on the back and encouraged." Some are wired to beat themselves up too much; others are not self-reflective at all. And a bunch of guys fall between the two extremes.
"It's important to approach guys on a personal level and say, 'Hey man, I think you need to do this,'" Giordano explains. "That's for myself too. I like when guys come up and say, 'Hey, this is what I see about your game lately.' Sometimes you're caught off guard, and it gives you a different perspective."
"The biggest tell," the 39-year-old adds, "is when a group gets quiet. You know you're not in a good spot. But, when guys are chirping a lot, having fun but in a serious manner, I think that's when you know a team is rolling."
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Alex Galchenyuk has bounced around the league enough to spend time in every kind of hockey market: big (Montreal, Toronto), mid-size (Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Colorado, Ottawa), and small (Arizona). The 2012 third overall pick finds standards are set by the captain and head coach, moods tend to rise and fall with wins and losses, and the "block out the noise" discussion can be useful.
Fan and media attention is so cranked up in Canadian markets - "more of a TMZ style," he puts it with a grin - that leaders need to do their best to downplay the hysterics.
"Especially the world we live in now, you try and not focus on social media and things like that. But everywhere you go, it's hockey, hockey, hockey," Galchenyuk says. "So it's, 'Hey, let's keep what we've got going on in the room and block out the noise.' That's definitely a thing in the huge markets."
Short and long memory
Len Redkoles / Getty Images
Through his various stops, Alex Chiasson has shared a room with five recent greats - Jaromir Jagr in Dallas, Erik Karlsson in Ottawa, Alex Ovechkin in Washington, and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton.
"They're just like me. They love the game, they want to work, they want to compete. When you really go to the basics of it, their skills are slightly higher - OK, probably a little bit more than slightly higher - but that's the only real difference," says Chiasson, who's competed in 646 NHL games for seven teams, including 15 contests this year as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.
Chiasson's 32, so he's at the age where he'll run into retired teammates and reminisce. The winger snapped his fingers three times to illustrate how quickly he and former Star Ray Whitney recently rekindled their bond.
Victor Hedman is also 32. The Norris Trophy-winning defenseman practically grew up in the Lightning room, arriving in Tampa at 18, just two weeks after getting his driver's license. He's now a father of two with a pair of Cup rings.
Dave Sandford / Getty Images
Over the years, Hedman has learned to separate hockey from the rest of his life. If he's having a bad day at home or the rink, he can park the negativity.
"You can have stuff going on in your life, but when you get into the locker room, it's like a different world," he says with a sense of wonder. "Everything else, yeah, you put that aside for those few hours. You go in there and be with the boys. It's a great feeling and probably the thing I'm going to miss the most about hockey: the camaraderie that you have every day."
Hedman, who isn't retiring anytime soon, says contributing to a good room is all about having both a short memory - you can't hold grudges against a teammate for making a few mistakes on the ice - and also a long one.
You want to remember the pranks, the mindless banter, the intermission speeches, the player-of-the-game presentations. The blood, sweat, and tears.
"That brotherhood," Hedman says, "you can't get it anywhere else."
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).
The Calgary Flames couldn't have asked for a better bounce-back game from goaltender Jacob Markstrom during Wednesday night's vital 3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
"He was great today," forward Andrew Mangiapanetold reporters postgame. "He's been great down this stretch here, so we've got three more games. We're gonna need him for all three of those.
"He's a big part of our team, and I'm happy to see how he's playing right now."
Markstrom made 34 stops in the victory and saved 2.59 goals above expected while turning aside all nine of the high-danger shots he faced, according to Natural Stat Trick.
It's been a rough season for Markstrom, who was named a Vezina Trophy finalist last season.
The 33-year-old also manned the Flames' crease during Tuesday's difficult loss to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks, surrendering four goals on 23 shots.
Markstrom was happy to be singing a different tune one day later.
"(I was) obviously still pissed off from the other night (against Chicago)," he said. "I think that fed into it a little bit coming into this game - a little bit more emotions than usual. It was a great atmosphere and a big win, but we've gotta keep going here."
Wednesday's victory helps the Flames keep their playoff hopes alive amid a spirited battle for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Winnipeg and Calgary both have 89 points on the season, but the Jets have played one less game and own three more regulation wins.
Walker Duehr may have scored the eventual game-winner for the Flames, but he pointed to Markstrom as the most valuable player in the contest.
"He was huge, he bailed us out a handful of times," Duehr said. "You could say he won us the game for sure. He was amazing tonight."
Heading into the all-important showdown, Jets head coach Rick Bowness said the matchup would be "like a Game 7." Flames bench boss Darryl Sutter offered a more measured take after the final horn sounded.
"We're not in (the playoffs) yet. If we didn't win tonight, or if you lose in overtime or the shootout, that's a big swing, too," he said. "All we did was close the gap."
Sutter added, "The media and outside the room has been telling us it's the biggest game, or we're over, or how bad we are since the All-Star break, so, it's like I tell the players: Block it out and play the game."
Next up for the Flames is a clash with the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
Dan and Sat are joined by 2023 NHL Draft prospect Oliver Moore to talk about what he brings to the ice, how his year has gone, and much more.
This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
