Kraken Get One Last Shot At Defeating Oilers Saturday At CPA

Seattle's six game homestand concludes today with another key game - because at this point of the season, with the Kraken seven points out of a playoff berth, they're ALL key games.

The Edmonton Oilers will be going for a four-game sweep of the Kraken. The Oilers prevailed twice at Rogers Place, 4-3 in overtime Nov. 15 and 4-2 on Jan 18, plus a 4-1 victory Nov. 11 at Climate Pledge Arena.

Maybe Seattle will have better luck during daylight hours. Note that Saturday's game has a 1 pm start time at CPA.

The Philipp Grubauer Comeback Tour to this point has been a resounding success. In four starts since healing from a Dec. 9 injury - all Kraken wins - Grubauer's game-by-game save percentage has been .963, .905, .906, and 1.000.

The perfect score came Thursday in a 33-save, 2-0 shutout of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Counting a relief appearance against Minnesota, Grubauer has stopped 124 of the last 131 shots he's faced.

Those numbers have helped the Kraken secure seven of a possible 10 points in the first five games of the homestand, without which the playoff contenders would have disappeared over the horizon.

"We're fighting for every point," Grubauer said after the Pittsburgh shutout. "It's not going to get easier from now on."

(Grubauer at left, awarded the Davy Jones hat. Seriously - between his black protective gear and beard, no one on the Kraken says "Pirate" quite like Grubauer.)

Oliver Bjorkstrand, who's scored in back-to-back games, praised his goalie's timely stops. "He kept us in the game. He made big saves at big moments."

The other goal-scorer Thursday, Alex Wennberg, added about Grubauer, "He wins the game for us. It's a team effort, but at the end of the day, you've got to have the goaltender make big saves and make the difference."

Defense is the one area in which Seattle has an edge over the high-octane Oilers. The Kraken have allowed 2.8 goals per game this season, compared with Edmonton's 2.98.

That edge will have to prevail if the Kraken hope to take the final meeting with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl & Co.