The Seattle Kraken, mired in a nine-game losing streak over their last 10 contests, begin a four-game road trip against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, December 18, at Scotiabank Saddledome. Coming off a 5-3 home loss to the Colorado Avalanche, Seattle hopes to halt their slide, while Calgary seeks to rebound from a 6-3 defeat to the San Jose Sharks.
The Kraken enter the matchup with a 12-13-6 record, having dropped nine of their last 10 games, including a 5-3 loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday where Nathan MacKinnon scored twice. This contest marks the start of a road trip that includes stops in California against the Sharks on December 20, with the season series against Calgary continuing January 5 in Calgary.
Injuries plague Seattle, notably defenseman Brandon Montour, who was hurt late in the third period against Colorado and did not travel with the team. Coach Lane Lambert indicated Montour is under evaluation and may join later in the trip. Montour, a key two-way player with six goals and 10 assists in 27 games, is scratched, joining sidelined forwards Jared McCann, Berkly Catton, Jaden Schwartz, and goaltender Matt Murray. Forward Josh Mahura is expected to return after two scratches.
Captain Jordan Eberle is a player to watch, having scored in his last game and assisted in the prior one, potentially extending his point streak to three. He centers the top line with Mason Marchment and Matty Beniers.
The Flames, at 13-17-4, have won three of seven December games, four at home. They stick with the same lineup from their Sharks loss. Defenseman Jake Bean faces indefinite absence after surgery for a long-standing issue, per coach Ryan Huska. Forward Dryden Hunt was waived Thursday. Top scorers include Nazem Kadri with 29 points and Matt Coronato with 19.
Projected Kraken lines: Mason Marchment — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle; Eeli Tolvanen — Chandler Stephenson — Frederick Gaudreau; Jani Nyman — Shane Wright — Kaapo Kakko; Tye Kartye — Ben Meyers — Jacob Melanson. Defense: Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson; Ryan Lindgren — Jamie Oleksiak; Ryker Evans — Josh Mahura. Goaltenders: Joey Daccord starts, Philipp Grubauer backs up.
Flames lines: Jonathan Huberdeau — Morgan Frost — Matt Coronato; Yegor Sharangovich — Nazem Kadri — Joel Farabee; Connor Zary — Mikael Backlund — Blake Coleman; Ryan Lomberg — John Beecher — Adam Klapka. Defense: Kevin Bahl — Rasmus Andersson; Yan Kuznetsov — MacKenzie Weegar; Joel Hanley — Hunter Brzustewicz. Goaltenders: Dustin Wolf, Devin Cooley.
