Two teams going in different directions, but still outside the Western Conference playoff picture, meet Monday when the Seattle Kraken visit the Winnipeg Jets.
Winnipeg (33-31-12, 78 points) sits three points behind the Nashville Predators for the final West wild card slot while the Kraken (32-32-11, 75 points) are three points behind the Jets with a game in hand. Six teams are within six points of each other in the wild card hunt, so an exciting finish could await over the season’s final 10 days.
The Kraken are behind the other five teams due to an ugly 1-6-2 record in their last nine games. Seattle’s winless streak extended to four games (0-3-1) with Saturday’s 4-2 home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
While Chicago has long been out of the playoff race, the Kraken are now closer to the Blackhawks (a five-point gap) than they are the Predators.The Kraken never led in Saturday’s game and didn’t have a goal until Jaden Schwartz scored 10:48 into the third period.
Seattle defenseman Brandon Montour criticized his team’s play as “flat” and “unacceptable.”
“You’ve got to be playing your best hockey,” Montour said. “And if you’re not showing up each and every night, results are going to end up how they’ve been going …. Obviously we’ve dug ourselves in a pretty big hole, and that’s on us.”
As the Kraken have slumped, the Jets have surged. Winnipeg is 5-2-0 in its last seven games, with four of those victories coming on the road.
Despite the recent success, Jets coach Scott Arniel knows his team still faces an uphill battle to reach the postseason.
“We can’t do anything about what’s happening with the other teams. All we can do is take care of our own business,” Arniel said. “It may have to be we have to go 6-0 and win all six games (remaining). So, just focus on Seattle next.”
This must-win approach means that Connor Hellebuyck will probably make his 18th start in 20 games Tuesday. Hellebuyck rarely has been spectacular during this busy stretch, going 8-5-4 with an .895 save percentage and 2.74 goals against average in his last 17 outings.
Mark Scheifele leads the Jets in assists (60) and points (94) while Kyle Connor leads with 36 goals.
Jordan Eberle leads Seattle in goals (24) and points (52). Vince Dunn and Chandler Stephenson share the team lead in assists with 30 helpers apiece.
Since the Kraken also play Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild, goalies Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord probably will split the back-to-back starts. Grubauer has a .901 save percentage and a 2.82 GAA in his last seven games, but Daccord has struggled to an .854 save percentage and 4.22 GAA in his last eight appearances.
Daccord was much sharper Oct. 23 when he made 32 saves in the Kraken’s 3-0 shutout of the Jets in Winnipeg. The Kraken also earned a 5-3 win against the Jets on Nov. 13 in Seattle, so a victory Monday would give Seattle the season sweep.
Both teams are looking for any kind of spark on the power play. The Kraken are 0-for-14 with the extra attacker over their last six games, and 5-for-51 in their last 19 games. The Jets are 5-for-45 on the power play over their last 18 games.
