The Seattle Kraken appear to have lost one forward for this weekend’s home games against the New York teams and might be gaining another.
Forward Jordan Eberle, the Kraken’s captain, will miss at least Saturday’s game against the Islanders and Sunday’s contest with the Rangers because of a lower-body injury that happened early in the second period of Thursday’s 3-1 victory against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.
Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said after practice Friday that Eberle will need additional tests and will be re-evaluated early next week.
The addition could come in the form of forward Daniel Sprong, who was re-acquired in a trade with Vancouver a week ago. Sprong, who scored 21 regular-season goals for the Kraken when they reached Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals in 2022-23, finally got his immigration paperwork approved and was expected to arrive in Seattle on Friday afternoon.
However, Sprong hasn’t played since Nov. 7 so the Kraken might instead look to their American Hockey League affiliate in Coachella Valley, which is playing this weekend in nearby Abbotsford, B.C.
Eberle was injured 13 seconds into the second period Thursday when he slid awkwardly into the end boards after a collision with Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy. Eberle made it to the bench on his own bunch hunched over in pain immediately afterward and trainers helped him down the runway toward the locker room.
“We were moving pretty well before (Eberle) got hurt. I think there was a little bit of a step back, obviously, after your captain goes down in a not great way,” said Kraken forward Matty Beniers, who scored the opening goal later in the period. “So I think it was a great response and needed at that time.”
The Kraken’s Jaden Schwartz, a 14-year veteran, added his 200th career NHL goal in the third period as Seattle improved to 3-0-0 on its six-game homestand.
“It’s a cool milestone,” Schwartz said. “It’s not something you really think about on a day-to-day basis. But certainly, it’s fun to chip in and help the team. It’s always nice seeing guys play certain games that are milestones or have hit different (benchmarks) … And, yeah, guess as I’m getting old, it’s something you realize a little bit.
“It wasn’t the cleanest game execution. Maybe it wasn’t perfect, but it’s an 82-game schedule. The standings are tight, and you’ve got to find ways to win, especially at home.”
The Islanders won 5-2 on Thursday in Vancouver as Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Scott Mayfield, Pierre Engvall, Anders Lee and Noah Dobson scored.
“It was a huge team effort,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “It’s hard for me to single out anybody because everybody played real solid.”
Goaltender Semyon Varlamov stopped 25 shots as the Islanders extended their point streak to five games (3-0-2).
“To finally get rewarded for playing the right way, it definitely feels nice,” said Islanders forward Bo Horvat, who had a pair of assists in his return to Vancouver. “We knew all along, if we were playing the same way and playing that way, we’re going to get rewarded eventually.”
