The Kraken Are Stuck in Hockey's Weirdest Battle, and a Playoff Spot Is Still There for the Taking
Connor McDavid called it a "pillow fight." That's one way to describe what is happening in the Pacific Division right now. Another way? It is an absolute mess, and the Seattle Kraken are right in the middle of it.
The Western Conference is doing something weird this year. You have got two of the league's best teams up at the top, and then everybody else is basically treading water. That means the gap between "we are making the playoffs" and "we are going to watch from home" is thinner than it has been in years. For a Kraken team that has been in this fight all season, that sounds like good news. It also sounds terrifying.
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This is not a division where one team is running away with it. The Pacific is the kind of race where almost anybody still in it has a shot, and almost anybody can slip right out of contention with a bad week. That is what makes it a pillow fight. Nobody is landing a knockout punch. Everybody is just trying to stay awake long enough to outlast the guy next to them.
The Kraken have been built for this kind of grind. Matty Beniers, Jordan Eberle, Jared McCann, Chandler Stephenson, and the rest of the forward group know what it takes to stay competitive in a tight race. On the back end, Adam Larsson, Vince Dunn, and Brandon Montour have to be locked in. Joey Daccord in net cannot give away any games. In a pillow fight, every point matters. Every win could be the difference between playing hockey in May and summer plans.
The Window Is Open. Right Now.
Here is what makes this interesting for Seattle fans: mediocrity is meeting opportunity. The Pacific Division is not separating itself, which means there is a real path to the playoffs sitting right there. The Kraken just have to take it.
That does not mean it will be easy. It means it is possible. And in a season where a lot of teams are struggling, possible is sometimes all you need.
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