TLDR: Seattle's best start in franchise history now runs into a Calgary club that dug itself a hole and then won 4 straight to climb out of it. Friday's game in the Saddledome comes down to who is left standing on both sides, and who is in the Flames' net.
An 8-4-1 Seattle team with the best start in franchise history visits a 5-7-0 Calgary club that won 4 straight at home on tight defense before getting shut out in Edmonton. The game turns on availability. Calgary's goalie during the streak, Devin Cooley, is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and Seattle is without Jared McCann for about 10 weeks and Ryan Lindgren for weeks, which puts a heavy load on Brandon Montour. No betting board is open yet.
+Allowed 2 or fewer in each of the 4 straight wins
+Home form strong: 4 straight wins at the Saddledome
+Wolf is a capable fallback if Cooley sits
−Cooley, the goalie behind the streak, day-to-day
−Shut out on 23 shots in Edmonton
−Huberdeau, Honzek out; Othmann day-to-day
The Kraken are 8-4-1, and they just beat Toronto 5-4 on Brandon Montour's goal with 33 seconds left, 1 minute after Auston Matthews finished a comeback from 4-2 down. That one showed both sides of this team. Seattle can score in bunches, with 3 goals from defensemen against the Leafs, and it can also give back a 2-goal lead in the 3rd period of a home game. The 3-2 run over the last 5 includes an 8-3 beating in Florida and a 5-1 home loss to Minnesota, so this is not a team that is shutting people down.
Calgary arrives in a stranger spot. The Flames are 5-7-0, but they are 4-1 in the last 5. They beat Carolina, Minnesota, Detroit and Toronto at home and gave up 2 goals or fewer in all 4 wins, and then Tristan Jarry shut them out 4-0 in Edmonton. The bigger problem from that night was Devin Cooley. He was named the NHL's second star of the week ending Oct. 25 after driving the win streak, then left the Battle of Alberta with a lower-body injury after a collision with Colton Dach late in the 1st period. Dustin Wolf played the rest of it. Cooley is listed day-to-day, and Calgary has not said who starts Friday.
Seattle's injury list is where its depth gets tested. Jared McCann got hurt in the 5-3 win over Utah and is out about 10 weeks. He had 8 points in 11 games, and the Kraken called losing him "a blow for sure." That means more ice time for Freddy Gaudreau, who led the team with 6 goals at that point, and for younger forwards like Catton and Wright. Jacob Melanson and Jake O'Brien are also on IR.
The Kraken blue line deserves a closer look. Ryan Lindgren is out 4 to 6 weeks with an upper-body injury. Montour missed the Florida game with a lower-body injury, then came back against Detroit and played a franchise-record 30:44. He scored the winner against Toronto, but a defenseman handling that kind of workload with Lindgren out is the thing to watch on a road trip. Calgary's offense was held to 23 shots in Edmonton and is not built to punish anyone, so the question is whether the Flames can get to Montour's minutes at all.
Puck drop is 6:00 PM MT. Calgary is missing Jonathan Huberdeau, who skated with the team but is not close to returning, plus Samuel Honzek on IR and Brennan Othmann day-to-day after he also left the Edmonton game. The home side has been winning on structure and goaltending. Seattle has been winning on offense and late goals. Whoever is in the Calgary crease decides which of those styles controls the game.
Kraken vs. Flames: Polymarket Odds & Prediction (Oct. 30) — Kraken Bring a Thinned Lineup Into a Saddledome Goalie Question
