Upstart Seattle Kraken are hanging with the league’s best thanks to their depth

The Seattle Kraken sent their series with the Dallas Stars to Game 7 by winning 6-3 at home on Saturday. The NHL’s newest team has taken it to more talented squads throughout their first postseason and finds itself just a game from the Western Conference Finals. ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark joined host Frank Seravalli on Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live to explain how the Kraken have brought Dallas to the brink.

Frank Seravalli: Ryan you’ve been at all the Seattle home games so far in the playoffs, you’ve watched this team up close and personal, and you’ve seen them save their season yet again. Over the weekend they forced a Game 7 against the Dallas Stars. Every time I have thought the Stars or the Avalanche were in a great position to win their series with Seattle, the Kraken stay right there in their way. Now, they have another opportunity to win Game 7. What do you like about the Seattle Kraken and how they have adjusted to the different pace that the Stars have from Colorado?

Ryan Clark: It has been just how layered and multi-functional they are. We’ve talked so much this postseason about teams that not only have depth, but have depth that can adapt to different situations. Think about what the Kraken did in Game 6, that’s a really strong example. In Games 4 and 5, that was a team that really struggled to get to the low slot and those high danger areas. The result was they were held below their 5-on-5 averages in shots, scoring chances, high-danger scoring chances.

You look at Game 6, from the minute the game started they were aggressive and got to the front of the net and the low slot. What you saw was all of their goals except for Tye Kartye’s 31-foot wrister were from close distance. They were able to get to that part of the ice which they were desperate to and couldn’t in Games 4 and 5. 

How they did it has really been the mantra and the narrative of this team throughout the season: it’s not just one player, or two, or three, it’s literally their whole lineup, whether it’s the top-six or the bottom-six. All six of their defensemen are capable of scoring and making the sort of plays that lead to scoring chances at the other end.

You can watch the entire episode here…