Seattle is 9-6-1 and has alternated wins and losses all month: 2-3 in the last 5, with a 4-3 loss to the Rangers last time out. The wins came in tight games, 5-4 over Toronto and 2-1 over Calgary. The losses weren't close, 5-1 to Minnesota and 6-2 in Calgary. That's a team getting by on goaltending and one-goal margins, and Carolina doesn't give you many of those.
The injury list is the real story for Seattle. Jared McCann is out about 10 weeks with a lower-body injury, so the Kraken lose one of their few reliable goal scorers. Ryan Lindgren went on IR in early October with a 4-to-6-week timeline. Jacob Melanson, Jake O'Brien and Curtis Douglas are all out too. One name on the list isn't actually hurt. Nikke Kokko, a Finn, was recalled from Coachella Valley as a non-roster 3rd goalie for the trip. He only gets activated if Joey Daccord or Philipp Grubauer can't go.
The style matchup is simple. Carolina puts 2 or 3 lines over the boards that forecheck hard, and Seattle has a thinned-out blue line that has to break the puck out against them. Without McCann and Lindgren, the Kraken have less margin than usual, and they still need Daccord or Grubauer to steal a game. Neither team gets home ice, both just crossed 9 time zones, and they play again Saturday in the same building. Whoever handles the jet lag better probably sets the tone for the weekend.
