A Homestand Facing Stanley Cup Contenders 

A late season homestand against two Stanley Cup contenders should provide a gauge of sorts for a Kraken team hoping for significant improvements in their playoff positioning a year from now.

It was just two years ago the Kraken came within a victory of the Western Conference Final before falling in the second playoff round to a Dallas Stars team they’ll face the final two matchups of a three-game homestand running through Monday at Climate Pledge Arena. Ahead of that, the Kraken on Thursday launch the homestand against another Cup contender when they look to snap a nine-game losing streak against the Edmonton Oilers.

The fact the Kraken hasn’t beaten either Cup hopeful since making their only playoff appearance in the spring of 2023 should prove ample motivation for coach Dan Bylsma’s squad in its penultimate homestand of the 2024-25 campaign.

“The guys are clearly wanting to make a statement here with our game the last 10 games remaining in the season,” Bylsma said after Tuesday’s overtime loss in Calgary against the playoff-contending Flames. “That’s a 20-man effort and that’s coming from everybody. Guys hanging their jerseys together. Guys playing for each other. And that’s how you play the game.”

Now, the Kraken get to measure themselves against two top NHL franchises of the past half decade. Both are missing key players but also looking to continue feasting on the Kraken to bolster immediate fortunes.

The Kraken are just 4-17-3 lifetime against the Oilers and Stars in the regular season, making it even more impressive they took Dallas the full seven games of that playoff series. They haven’t beaten the Oilers since Jan. 3, 2023, going 0-8-1 thereafter while being outscored 38-21.

They last beat Dallas in the regular season on March 21, 2023, in a 5-4 road victory in overtime. They’ve gone 0-3-1 since, getting outscored 12-4 in those contests and managing only one total goal the last three times they’ve played the Stars combined.

But lately, games against Edmonton have been closer – including a 5-4 defeat on the road just last weekend. The last six games between the Pacific Division foes were decided by two goals or fewer and the Kraken led in three of those contests.

“We’re just trying to instill a culture of battling and never giving up and playing for the guy beside you,” Kraken winger Tye Kartye said of the team’s goals for this homestand and final two weeks. “So, for the last 10 games, we’re just trying to instill that into our game.”

Both Edmonton and Dallas have knocked on the door of Cup contention in recent seasons only to get taken down by eventual champions. The Oilers were beaten in Game 7 of last year’s Cup Final by Florida while the Stars lost to eventual champion Vegas two years ago in the conference final after taking down the Kraken the prior round.

Last season, the Stars were favored by many to claim the Cup before the Oilers beat them in a six-game conference final.

The Stars currently hold the second spot in the Central Division with 94 points, unlikely to catch runaway leader Winnipeg and trying to hold off hard-charging Colorado to maintain home advantage in a likely first-round versus the Avalanche.

Edmonton sits third in the Pacific with 87 points, eight up on fourth place Calgary and only two behind second place Los Angeles. So, they’ve still got a shot at securing home ice for a first-round series against the Kings.

As recent Cup champions can attest, regular season positioning and a championship don’t always correlate. Often, it’s about getting to the playoffs with enough momentum and letting postseason experience take over from there.

Given they play in the same conference, it’s guaranteed one of the Stars or Oilers will be eliminated before quenching a Cup drought dating to 1990 for Edmonton and 1999 for Dallas. So, there’s pressure to capitalize on their current, stacked rosters.

But with the Oilers, you get the sense their Cup contention window might start inching shut if they don’t seal the deal this time. They’d seemed a lock to repeat as Western Conference champs back in January but then lost five in a row right after the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

Winning five of six heading into Wednesday night’s game against Dallas helped settle things somewhat, but the health status of the team’s two generational superstars – Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl -- has everybody in Edmonton on edge.

Three-time Hart Trophy winner and reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP McDavid didn’t face the Kraken last Saturday and remains out with an undisclosed lower-body injury. His dynamic teammate, Draisaitl, will also miss this game as he did last weekend while nursing an injury that’s yet to be disclosed.

The Oilers will still bring plenty of firepower to Climate Pledge, including Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard. But without McDavid and Draisaitl, the Oilers aren’t going anyplace this spring.

And in many ways, they’re paying a depth price for not matching a St. Louis offer sheet last summer that cost them forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg – both now thriving with the Blues.

As for current Oilers, Draisaitl leads the league with 49 goals and is No. 2 in points at 101 while McDavid is fourth in points at 90. Some fuss has been made about how this will likely be McDavid’s first sub-120-point campaign in a non-COVID-shortened season since 2018-19.

While any Kraken player would love his 90-point total already reached, the reality McDavid might be human and starting to slow has heightened urgency surrounding the team’s contention window.

As for the Stars, their trade deadline pickup of sensational former Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen from Carolina signaled they remain all-in on going for it this year and beyond. His acquisition and subsequent eight-year contract extension has softened the blow of losing standout two-way defender Miro Heiskanen the rest of the regular season and likely a playoff round.

And provided hope this might be the year the Stars get past the conference final roadblock.

“The experience hardens you,” Stars general manager Jim Nill told reporters after the Rantanen deal of falling short of past playoff expectations. “You understand what it takes, understand the highs and lows, know there’s going to be situations that won’t all be good times. But you’ve been through struggles and learned how to fight through them. Our team’s been hardened that way.”

Beyond Rantanen, the Stars have plenty of offensive weapons with team points leader Matt Duchene, top goal scorer Jason Robertson, star center Roope Hintz and third-year youngster Wyatt Johnston. But much like the Oilers and their goalie tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, their playoff longevity and Cup potential could again come down to the man in net.

Jake Oettinger has turned in some dazzling playoff performances and entered Wednesday with a solid .909 save percentage in 51 starts. Combined with strong backup Casey DeSmith, the Stars had the fourth best goals per game allowed at 2.57.

But Oettinger’s more recent playoff series – including against the Kraken two years ago -- haven’t always gone as hoped. He’s also struggled lately, posting a save percentage of just .865 his last five starts before registering his second shutout of the season Monday against Minnesota.

That 32-save performance has folks breathing easier as the Stars with a performing Oettinger have arguably the deepest and finest combination of goal scoring and prevention in the league.

The Oilers can’t say the same with Skinner or Pickard, though what they have got them to the Cup Final a year ago. They shored-up their defense by acquiring Jake Walman from the Sharks at the trade deadline, but once again the biggest questions surround No. 1 netminder Skinner.

“You know, I think right now, as we…head towards the playoffs, there might not be a more scrutinized player in the league than Stuart Skinner,” NHL insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said in a recent radio interview.

When it comes to using offense to help offset defensive liabilities, it may also surprise folks to hear Dallas has outscored Edmonton this season at a fifth-best 3.36 goals per game rate compared to a seventh best 3.27.

That’s another reason many feel the Stars are built for a Cup this year and longer while the Oilers might not see one again if they can’t turn the trick this time.