Jordan Eberle didn’t spend three months rehabbing for this.
The Seattle Kraken captain returned last week after undergoing surgery for a rare pelvic injury, only to find his team floundering.
With 22 regular-season games remaining, the Kraken are 11 points behind the Vancouver Canucks, whom they will host on Saturday night, for the Western Conference’s second and final playoff berth. Four other teams are between Vancouver and Seattle in the chase.
With their playoff chances slim, Eberle said the Kraken would be looking for any sort of silver lining.
“The biggest thing is we have (22) games to try to build something, and whatever happens happens, but the biggest thing is you can’t make this season a waste,” Eberle said. “You have to try and build something, whether it’s culture … and continue to build and feel good (about) what (we are) moving forward.”
The Kraken played their first three games after returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off break on the road. They beat defending Stanley Cup champion Florida 2-1, lost 4-1 at Tampa Bay, and followed that up with perhaps their worst performance of the season.
On Tuesday, Seattle fell behind by seven goals to St. Louis before former Blues players Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz scored in the third period of the 7-2 rout.
Asked what his team was struggling with, Kraken forward Jared McCann said, “Take your pick. Pretty much everything. D-zone coverage, couldn’t get a forecheck established, we made it easy on them. Just looked like we didn’t have our legs, and it’s just overall pretty embarrassing.
“You have to play for the logo on the front, right? It’s an honor to be in the NHL, and there are a lot of other kids and other guys in this league who are champing at the bit to get into the play here. So, we have to take a long look in the mirror and figure out everything.”
The Canucks will conclude a five-game trip on Saturday, having gone 1-3-0. After posting a 3-2 overtime victory Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings — in which Conor Garland scored twice, including the winner in overtime — they led the Ducks 2-0 one period into the Thursday game but lost 5-2.
“We’re a desperate hockey team,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “I don’t care if it’s 4-0, you have to keep playing the game plan. We just had too many guys, instead of going straight, went right or left. A little too much perimeter for my liking. …
“We need some guys to rise to the occasion, whether that’s a middle drive or going to the net. We had shots on net with nobody going to the net, so a little disappointed in the grit part of our game.”
This will be the third of four meetings between the rivals this season. The Kraken rallied for a 5-4 overtime victory Dec. 28 in Vancouver, scoring three goals in the final 4:45 of regulation to tie it. Five days later, the Canucks won 4-3 in a shootout in Seattle after the Kraken tallied twice in the third to pull even.
–Field Level Media
