The Seattle Kraken are getting prepared to take to the ice against the St. Louis Blues in the first game of their regular season. If the Kraken are going to have any chance at returning to the post-season, they are going to need to start strong.

Here are the expected lines for this afternoon game.

McCann-Beniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Stephenson-Burakovsky
Tolvanen-Wright-Bjorkstrand
Kartye-Gourde-Tanev

Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Montour
Evans-Borgen

Grubauer

In a bit of a surprise it seems like Grubauer, not Daccord will start for the Kraken today. Wright will get a chance to show what skills he can bring alongside Tolvanen and Bjorkstrand and that is the line I am most keen to watch today.

One big piece of news we will almost certainly get today is the unveiling of the Kraken's second captain and first since their inaugural season. Bylsma was coy with the media and when asked if there is going to be a captain announced he responded, "I guess you'll see at puck drop."

We know that Eberle, Gourde, Larsson, and Schwartz will be wearing letters for the Kraken this season so it's a pretty safe bet to assume the captain will be one of those players. My guess? Seattle announces Jordan Eberle as the second captain of the Seattle Kraken.

The other key area I will be watching tonight is the powerplay. Despite a solid group of forwards and even two seasons ago when the Kraken were scoring at an unsustainable rate, the powerplay never clicked under Hakstol. With a top unit of Eberle, McCann, Beniers, Bjorkstrand, and Dunn (though I am a bit surprised it isn't Montour) the Kraken have some potent weapons. I will be looking to see how quickly this group moves the puck and if they are putting themselves into high danger scoring positions or simply passing the puck around the outside of the zone.

It's a new season for the Kraken and I am excited to watch it alongside all of you once again! Who do you have scoring the first goal for Seattle this season? My money is on Matty Beniers.

Thanks for reading.

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