What went wrong
Defensive issues: The Kraken have had difficulty keeping the puck out of their net this season; only the Chicago Blackhawks (264) and San Jose Sharks (270), two rebuilding teams, have conceded more goals than Seattle (242) in the Western Conference. The Kraken are allowing 3.23 goals per game, putting a lot of pressure on their offense to overcome defensive deficiencies, and have a minus-19 goal differential. Goalie Philipp Grubauer struggled; he’s 7-16-1 with a 3.59 goals-against average and .873 save percentage in 24 starts and was placed on waivers Jan. 29. There were times where Grubauer did not have a lot of help in front of him, but his numbers dropped significantly from last season, when he was 14-16-2 with a 2.85 GAA, .899 save percentage and two shutouts in 36 games (34 starts).
Injuries: Seattle has 105 man-games lost to injuries. The most significant was to captain Jordan Eberle, who sustained a pelvic injury Nov. 14 and missed 40 games. Eberle had surgery and went through a lengthy rehabilitation process to get back into the lineup. His offense was missed, and the Kraken were unable to fill the void. Seattle also was without center Yanni Gourde for 26 games; he missed 22 after having surgery for a sports hernia, three with a lower-body injury and another for undisclosed reasons before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a three-team deal also involving the Detroit Red Wings on March 5. Defenseman Vince Dunn was another key player to miss extended time this season, out 20 games with an upper-body injury.
Not-so-special teams: Seattle’s power play has not been much of a threat, converting at 19.2 percent through 74 games and ranking 23rd in the NHL. Eberle has one power-play goal in 34 games this season. The penalty kill has also struggled, ranking 22nd in the League with a success rate of 76.5 percent.
