The Kraken’s penalty kill has become a problem that’s hard to ignore.
Seattle has surrendered two power-play goals in five of its last six games, a stretch that even includes the 5-3 win over the Utah Mammoth on October 22nd. The only exception came in a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on October 24th, when the visitors from St. Paul went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
That’s a brutal run for a unit that now sits last in the NHL at 64.1% on the penalty kill. The Kraken have managed to win a few games anyway, including that home stretch last week against the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, but it’s the kind of success that doesn’t figure to hold up for long.
After Friday night’s 6-2 loss to the Flames, Freddie Gaudreau didn’t sugarcoat it.
“There’s no excuses here about, oh, we’re playing good teams, or good power plays, we’ve gotta find solutions within our group,” Kraken forward Freddie Gaudreau said after the 6-2 loss to the Flames on Friday night. “It’s on us.”
The issue looks bigger than the players alone. Seattle’s assistant coaches have changed since last season, but the penalty kill hasn’t moved in the right direction. The Kraken missed the playoffs after finishing 31st out of 32 NHL teams in penalty killing last season, and that kind of special-teams leak can sink a team fast.
“We’re not good enough right now, that’s it,” Seattle head coach Lane Lambert added.
Now the question is what gets changed first. The systems may need tweaking, and Seattle may need to try a different player or two on the kill. The club has four days off and two practices before its next game at home on Wednesday night against the Flames.
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