After a high-scoring match against the San Jose Sharks, the Carolina Hurricanes improved to 4-1 after the victory at the Shark Tank. Antti Raanta earned his first victory of the season. Onto Seattle to face the third year, Kraken.
A four-goal third period secured the win, Seth Jarvis broke out in a big way with two goals, and Brady Skjei had two helpers to stay hot. Michael Bunting had a multi-assist evening as well while continuing to make a strong impact in his new home.
Seattle is coming off a very successful season in 2022-23. In their second season of existence, the Kraken were able to make the playoffs. It was a big step in the right direction for the organization.
Fast forward to this season and things have not gone as well. The Kraken are still looking for their first victory of the 2023 campaign.
Like the Canes, the Kraken started the season on a difficult road trip. First, Seattle opened by watching the Vegas Stanley Cup banner raised. After being defeated 4-1, they traveled to Nashville and were shut out. A quick stop in St. Louis found the young franchise salvaging a point in OT with a 2-1 defeat to the Blues.
The home opener in Seattle was against the high-flying Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche won easily by a score of 4-1.
The Kraken have had a difficult time scoring this season and have yet to score more than one goal in their first four matches. The defensive game has fallen off in front of Philipp Grubauer.
The Western Conference opponents are led by defenseman, Vince Dunn, with 2 points, both assists. Jaden Schwartz, Jared McCann, and Kailer Yamamoto have each scored a goal so far.
Jordan Eberle is always an offensive threat with his play-making ability but like his teammates has gotten off to a slow start. Still, the former New York Islanders forward has one helper.
It will be interesting to see who is between the crease for Rod Brind’Amour’s group but I would not be surprised if Pyotr Kochetkov gets his first action of the season after being called up from the Syracuse Crunch.
The Canes are slight favorites as they are -144 per FanDuel.