Mediocre Stretch Of Play Has Kraken Searching For Answers, Especially On Offense

The Seattle Kraken continue their slog through the current NHL regular season, and their recent stretch of games have been an exercise in mediocrity (much as the entire season has been for them), as they’ve gone 4-6-0 in their last 10 games. On Thursday, they beat the New York Islanders, but on Friday, they lost to thew New Jersey Devils. As a result, the Kraken now sit in sixth place in the Pacific Division, four standings points behind fourth-place Calgary – but only four points ahead of the last-place Anaheim Ducks.

Offense has been a major problem for Seattle, as in five of their past six losses, they’ve scored two goals or fewer. And another element of the Kraken’s season that stands out is their inability to beat teams that aren’t in a playoff spot. Indeed, in five of their losses, Seattle has been unable to beat the Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks (twice) and Anaheim Ducks — all of them curently out of a playoff position. Even a couple wins against those teams would have the Kraken tied for a playoff berth in the Pacific.

Related: Kraken Attempt To Erase Four-Goal Deficit; Come Up Short In 4-2 Loss To The Sharks

So, what’s the solution? As per Puck Pedia, the Kraken have just $2.17-million in salary cap space – not enough to add a needle-mover at either end of the ice, but enough to add a bit of depth in one area or another. But something has to improve internally if Seattle is going to get into a playoff berth position. And nobody is going to be charitable to them as they try to turn their trajectory around for the better.

To wit: the Kraken aren’t going to get a break from the schedule-maker anytime soon. In their next 10 games, Seattle has matchups against the wobbling New York Rangers, the excellent Florida Panthers, the slightly-above-average Boston Bruins, the solid Tampa Bay Lightning, the Senators, the last-place Chicago Blackhawks, the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver Canucks, and Utah Hockey Club. Out of that group, only the Hawks are a “gimme” game. Otherwise, the Kraken are going to face significant challenges just to go .500 in that 10-game span, let alone go on a .600 points streak or better.

In their season thus far, the Kraken have had a three-game win streak and a four-game win streak, so it’s hardly out of the question for them to string up another series of consecutive wins. But they need to do that sooner than later, or find themselves well back in the Pacific playoff race. And the longer they linger in the lower half of the Pacific race, the more they take control out of their own hands and give it to divisional rivals.

To be sure, Kraken GM Ron Francis needs to find the pulse of his team and build on it in short order. In Friday’s 3-2 loss to New Jersey, Seattle did have two separate leads before handing the game over to the Devils early in the third period, so there are signs of life from the Kraken. However, the Kraken were outshot 36-19 against New Jersey, and that speaks to Seattle’s overall offensive-weakness.

Even with captain Jordan Eberle on Long–Term Injured Reserve, the Kraken aren’t getting the offensive results they’re expecting from their veterans. Top point-getter Jared McCann has just one point in his past six games. Center Chandler Stephenson has four points in his past seven games, and in five of his past seven games, Stephenson has been held pointless. And in his last 11 games, star center Matty Beniers has just four points, and Beniers has been held off the scoresheet in eight of those games.

Related: Kraken’s McCann Plans To Pay It Forward

Clearly, Seattle’s key veterans have to do better on offense, as the Kraken’s defense can’t do all the heavy lifting for this team. And there’s no easy fix on the trade front for Seattle.

The Kraken know what their issues are, and now it’s a matter of either imposing their will in their next stretch of games, or being dealt more losses and digging an even deeper hole they probably won’t be able to crawl out from the rest of the way this year. They’ve got the opportunity to decide their own fate, but another handful of losses through the end of December and Seattle will be too far out of the playoff race to claw their way back into it.

The time to win is now, and if the Kraken can’t do it, Francis may have to look at bigger moves to try and salvage what’s left of their season. They need more goals-for, right away, or they’ll be looking at the second straight season without Stanley Cup playoff hockey. And that will almost assuredly lead to more notable roster changes this summer.