Kraken Game Day Preview: Home End vs. Sharks – Hockey Writer – Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken are preparing to take on the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, November 5th. The game was the final game of the Kraken’s five-game homestand. They just defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on November 3rd. It was Seattle’s second win at home. They hope to close out the tournament with a win over San Jose.
Related: 3 takeaways from Kraken’s 3-1 win over Blackhawks
The Sharks just concluded a four-game homestand of their own. In their final game, they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in a shootout on Sunday. San Jose will look for a win at Climate Pledge Arena before returning to SAP Center.
Siren storyline
The Kraken picked up a huge win against Chicago, which moved Seattle to two points in the standings. While it’s still early in the season, these two points have put the Kraken in a good position as they currently sit in first place in the Pacific Division. Despite being tied on points with the Edmonton Oilers, Seattle has certainly had their best start to the season in their five NHL seasons.
Prior to the morning skate on Nov. 3, defenseman Ryker Evans took to the ice in his regular jersey. On October 1, the team announced that he would miss 6-8 weeks due to an upper body injury. This game against the Sharks marks the end of five weeks. While it’s good for Evans to be on the ice with his team and his return seems imminent, they want to make sure he’s fully recovered before playing against him. The last thing Seattle needs is another injury to a player in the first game of the 2025-26 season.
While Evans is set to return to the ice, there’s still no update on Jared McCann or Frederic Gaudreau. McCann is still listed as day-to-day, but Gaudreau at least skated in a red non-contact jersey. I wish these two players, as well as Evans, a speedy recovery.
The player to watch in this game is Eeli Tolvanen. He’s had a slow start to the season and has four assists so far, including the second on Marty Beniers’ goal against Chicago. Ryan Lambert switched up the defense, putting Tolvanen alongside Beniers and Eberle. With increased ice time and the help of skilled teammates around him, Tolvanen will soon be able to score his first goal of the season.
Team statistics
Seattle Kraken
Season record: 6-2-4
Top scorer:
- Jordan Eberle – 5 goals (G), 5 assists (A), 10 points (P)
- Jaden Schwartz – 4 G, 6 A, 10 P
- Brandon Montour – 3 G, 5 A, 8 P
- Marty Beniers – 2 G, 6 A, 8 P
- Chandler Stephenson – 3 G, 4 A, 7 P
Goalie statistics:
- Joey Daccord – 6-1-3, 2.53 goals against average (GAA), .910 save percentage (SV%)
- Philipp Grubauer – 0-0-1, 2.12 GAA, 0.897 SV%
- Matt Murray – 0-1-0, 3.13 GAA, 0.909 SV%
san jose sharks
Season record: 4-6-3
Top scorer:
- McLean Celebrini – 7 G, 11 A, 18 P
- William Eklund – 5 G, 6 A, 11 P
- Will Smith – 4 G, 7 A, 11 P
- Dmitry Orlov – 0 G, 10 A, 10 P
- Philip Kurashev – 5 G, 4 A, 9 P
Goalie statistics:
- Yaroslav Askarov – 2-4-1, 4.29 GAA, 0.867 SV%
- Alex Nedelkovic – 2-2-2, 3.29 GAA, 0.895 SV%
Expected lineup
(Subject to change before puck drops)
Projected lineup articles based on hockey writers.
Seattle Kraken
Ellie Tolvanen — Marty Beniers — Jordan Eberly
Jaden Schwartz — Chandler Stephenson — Kaapo Kakko
Mason Marchment – Sean Wright – Jani Nyman
Tye Carty – Ben Meyers – Ryan Winterton
Vince Dunn — Adam Larson
Ryan Lindgren — Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura — Jamie Oleksiak
Joey Daccord
Matt Murray
Scratches: Carl Fleury, Philip Grubauer, Berkeley Catton
Injuried: Jared McCann, Frederic Gaudreau, Rick Evans, Max McCormick
san jose sharks
Tyler Toffoli – MacLean Celebrini – Will Smith
Philip Kurashev — Alex Weinberg — Adam Gaudet
Jeff Skinner – Michael Misa – Ethan Caldwell
Barclay Goudreau — Ty Delalandria — Colin Graff
Dmitry Orlov — Timothy Liljegren
Nick Leddy – John Klingberg
Sam Dickinson – Shakeel Mohammadulin
Alex Nedelkovic
Yaroslav Askarov
Scratches: Mario Ferraro, Vincent Iorio, Vincent Desharnes
Injuried: William Eklund, Ryan Reeves
What’s next for Kraken
The Kraken will travel to Missouri to face the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, November 8, the first game of their two-game road trip.
