After making the Stanley Cup playoffs last season in only their second year of existence, the Seattle Kraken got off to an awful start this season.
They were highly inconsistent in all areas of their game, did not win a lot of hockey games, and they put themselves behind the eight-ball in their division, conference, and league. Overall, things were bleak, and it looked like the Kraken would not even challenge for a playoff spot this season.
Well, things have changed for the better in Seattle. This might be an understatement because the Kraken have won eight straight games, tying their longest winning streak in franchise history and also extending their point streak to 12 games.
Thanks to their winning streak, the Kraken have put themselves back in the playoff picture. They are currently fifth in the Pacific Division and ninth in the Western Conference with a record of 18-14-9 for 45 points, which also puts them tied for the second wild-card spot with the Nashville Predators.
There are a few reasons why the Kraken are back in the thick of things when it comes to chasing a playoff spot. The main one has been the terrific play of goaltender Joey Daccord.
Going into this season, the team’s goaltending was supposed to be about Philipp Grubauer reestablishing himself as a top-flight goaltender. Unfortunately, that has not happened because not only is he currently dealing with a lower-body injury, but when he has played, he has not played well as he is currently 5-9-0-1 with a 3.25 goals-against average and a .884 save percentage.
The team turned to Daccord, 27, and since doing so, have been rewarded. As of this writing, Daccord is 12-5-0-8 with a 2.23 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage, and two shutouts.
His numbers over the last five games have been amazing:
- December 29th: Stopped 27 of 28 shots in a win over the Philadelphia Flyers
- January 1st: Stopped all 35 shots he faced in a shutout win over the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2024 Winter Classic
- January 4th: Stopped 32 of 33 shots in a win over the Ottawa Senators
- January 9th: Stopped 36 of 38 shots in a win over the Buffalo Sabres
- January 11th: Stopped 25 of 26 shots in a win over the Washington Capitals
Daccord has come in and made the big saves, kept his team in every game, and won a lot of hockey games. The Kraken are in the position they are in now because of the play of Daccord between the pipes.
The team has also turned a corner because they have done a better job of killing penalties. The Kraken are currently 13th in the league in that category, as they have killed off about 81 percent (80.9 percent) of the penalties they have taken this season.
Daccord has been a big part of the team’s success in killing penalties. Another reason why the Kraken have been good at killing penalties is because they do a good job of clearing rebounds, keeping shots the outside, and also blocking shots.
Another reason why the Kraken are playing well is because they are doing what they can to limit the number of shots that their goaltenders face. As of this writing, the team is 12th in the league in shots allowed per game, as they have allowed about 30 shots per game (29.7) so far this season.
That statistic shows that the team is dedicated to trying to make things easier not only for their goaltender but also for themselves. The Kraken do not score a lot of goals (26th in the league), so the better they can play defensively, the less pressure they put on their offense to pile in goals every night.
Going forward, the Kraken need to continue to focus on one game at a time and do everything they can to pick up two points consistently. Given the way things have gone in the Western Conference this season, they could easily find themselves near the bottom of the standings if they start losing a lot of games like they did earlier in the season.
