Streaking Kraken, Ducks face off in key divisional tilt
Just think where Jared McCann and the Seattle Kraken might be if the forward had been healthy all season.
McCann, the franchise's all-time leading scorer, missed 24 of Seattle's first 35 games this season because of injuries.
He's come back strong since, with 11 goals in his last 18 games entering Tuesday's contest at the Anaheim Ducks.
"It's just been one of those seasons," McCann said. "I'm hoping it's finally all behind me now and I can make up for some of it the rest of the way."
McCann set franchise records with 10 goals and 20 points in January and Monday was named the NHL's First Star of the Week after tallying four goals and three assists in three games.
After playing on the third line following his return, McCann is back to first-line duty alongside center Matty Beniers and captain Jordan Eberle.
Beniers also scored a franchise-record-setting 10 goals in January and Eberle has a team-leading 19 for the season.
"I'm happy for him," Kraken coach Lane Lambert said of McCann. "I'm happy with the way he's playing. I've talked about it over the last little while how smart he is. How poised he is. And it looks to me like he's feeling good. And that's the most important thing."
The Kraken have won four games in a row, including a 3-2 victory Saturday in Vegas to pull within three points of the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights.
Kaapo Kakko scored the winner in the third period Saturday, after Eeli Tolvanen and McCann gave Seattle a 2-0 lead in the first.
"We haven't had bad periods," Tolvanen said. "We know (the standings are) pretty tight. I don't think we should look at it that much. We just want to play as many games as we can."
The Kraken play Tuesday at Anaheim and Wednesday in Los Angeles before the Olympic break.
The Ducks snapped a two-game skid with a 4-3 victory against visiting Vegas on Sunday as Chris Kreider tallied twice.
Goaltender Lukas Dostal made 28 saves for the Ducks and Troy Terry, who had missed the previous 11 games with an upper-body injury, had a pair of assists. Ryan Poehling (goal, assist) and Jacob Trouba (two assists) also had a pair of points.
"Detailed game, honest game, defense-first game," Kreider said. "We kept it real simple. Trying to get pucks behind them, and when the opportunity presented itself, get to the net and get our bodies to the net, too, and just follow up on plays."
Cutter Gauthier leads the Ducks with 24 goals and 48 points, with Kreider second with 19 goals -- including a team-high seven on the power play.
The Ducks are currently tied with Seattle with 61 points, though the Kraken have a game in hand and two more regulation-plus-overtime wins.
This will be the last of four meetings between the teams in the regular season. The Kraken have won two of the previous three, by 3-1 margins on Oct. 9 and Dec. 22, while the Ducks triumphed 4-2 on Jan. 23 in Seattle.