NHL LIVE Seattle Kraken vs San Jose Sharks 11th April 2024 Full Game Reaction
13The Seattle Kraken will wrap up the home portion of their 2023-2024 schedule when they play host to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
Despite the disappointment of missing the playoffs after coming within a seventh game of a spot in the Western Conference finals last season, the Kraken in recent days have at least been giving their fans something to look forward to.
Notably, the play of Shane Wright, the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NHL draft. Wright has five points (four goals, one assist) in four games since being recalled from Coachella Valley of the American Hockey League.
Many expected Wright, who was in consideration to be the first overall pick, to step right in last season. But he was still young -- he didn't turn 20 until this past Jan. 4 -- and one of his junior seasons was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He played in eight NHL games last season, with one goal and one assist while averaging just 8:29 of ice time per contest, before being sent back to juniors. He finished the season in the AHL, helping the Firebirds reach the Calder Cup final.
He appeared in three more games for the Kraken in November before being sent back to Coachella Valley for more seasoning, where he flourished with 20-plus goals.
Wright's stay with the big club is about to end, as he can only play in two of Seattle's final five regular-season games without triggering the start of his three-year, entry-level contract.
General manager Ron Francis has said the plan is to send Wright back to the minors for another playoff run so he gains more experience and is ready to compete for an NHL job in the fall.
Considering what he's done the past few games centering the second line with veterans Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz, he should be close to cementing a spot before training camp begins.
Wright scored on a backhander just 1:08 into a 5-0 victory against visiting Arizona on Tuesday. Philipp Grubauer made a season-high 39 saves in posting the shutout for the Kraken (33-31-13, 79 points), who have won two in a row and five of their past seven games.
It wasn't the prettiest goal, as it deflected off the glove of Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka and trickled between his pads.
Wright scored his first goal of the season last Monday in a 4-2 win at San Jose.
The Sharks (18-51-9, 45 points), who have the worst record in the league, have lost four of their past five games, including a 3-2 overtime defeat Tuesday against visiting Calgary.
Goals by William Eklund and Jacob MacDonald gave the Sharks a two-goal lead, but they couldn't hold on despite Mackenzie Blackwood's 38 saves.
Kraken projected lineup
Forwards
Andre Burakovsky - Matty Beniers - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Jaden Schwartz - Shane Wright - Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen - Jared McCann - Tye Kartye
Brandon Tanev - Yanni Gourde - Ryan Winterton
Defencemen
Ryker Evans - Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak - Will Borgen
Brian Dumoulin - Justin Schultz
Goalies
Scratched: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Tomas Tatar, Kailer Yamamoto, Logan Morrison
Injured: Vince Dunn (upper body)
Sharks projected lineup
Forwards
William Eklund - Mikael Granlund - Fabian Zetterlund
Klim Kostin - Luke Kunin - Collin Graf
Justin Bailey - Jack Studnicka - Thomas Bordeleau
Ryan Carpenter - Nico Sturm - Justin Bailey
Defencemen
Mario Ferraro - Jan Rutta
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Calen Addison
Henry Thrun - Kyle Burroughs
Goalies
Devin Cooley
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratched: Mike Hoffman, Kevin Labanc, Givani Smith, Ryan Carpenter
Injured: Matt Benning (hip), Alexander Barabanov (lower body), Vitek Vanecek (lower body), Filip Zadina (lower body)
A Big Thank You To My Channel Members
Dougy fresh Richards
FakeTtEllie
Cr7_King_ 123
Nathan hardie
karlosdub3
James Sunderland
Turtle
jay thomas
Sonny Bimbo
Moe Sizzlak
ajstyleslover4682 (Bork Lesser)
VaderBuckets
Spaghet
Mr.KingKiwi
Ronnie Hood
Avatar
Shirley Adams
Gaming Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AllThingsGaming93
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/allthingsgaming93
Discord: https://discord.gg/fc3rfQWEH4
Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/AllThingsWrestling
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealKingTom
Chat Rules:
1. No Discrimination Because of Race, Gender, Ethnicity, Religion, Sexuality or Mental Capacity
2. Generally Treat Everyone In Chat With Respect
3. No Spamming (SPAM Means Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages) (Retracting Messages Is Spam)
4. No Promotion of Yourself or Other Channels Without Permission or Asking for Shoutouts
5. No Asking For Mod
6. Only Speak English In Chat
7. No Politics, Religion or Sexual/Love Comments(Against Chat Members)
8. When Asked To Stop Talking About A Topic By A Mod or Me Stop
9. No Going On Other Accounts To Avoid Timeouts or Bans To Chat
Failing To Follow The Rules Will Result In a Time Out or Ban
#SeaKraken #KrakenVsSharks #ATW #NHL #SeattleKraken #SanJoseSharks