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Nol15736 · 05-01-2025, 08:58 AM

There is no question that the top line is the best line for Carolina. Cheawon and Hetasksh alone account for 35 goals and 26 assists. But if you take a look at what is going on for Carolina's second line compared to other second lines around the league the Krakens spot near the top of the leaderboard will come as no surprise.

Five Hole Goes West has accounted for 14 goals and 15 assists, linemate Ryan Dino-Nugget Hopkins is not far behind with 10 and 17, and from the other wing Erkki Kaila has chipped in 6 goals and 18 assists. All told the second line has accounted for 80 points (30 goals and 50 assists) which is the 4th best 2nd line in the league currently.

The rest of the leagues second line points are as follows.
St Louis (102)
Quebec City (95)
Kelowna (92)
Vancouver (80)
Newfoundland (73)
Yukon (63)
Detroit (57)
Nevada (49)
Colorado (48)
Anchorage (47)
Great Falls (46)
Thunder Bay (45)
San Diego (43)
Maine (39)
Ottawa (39)

The top 5 teams all share a common theme and that is the fact that the 2nd line is chipping in and not leaving all of the scoring up to one line.
Spreading the points out is going to keep the teams stronger and the top guys fresher for powerplay opportunities as they come. Heading back to Carolina specifically lets take a deeper look into what is working.

Both Kaila and Hopkins are on their 2nd full season with the Kraken and FHGW is in his first season. One driving factor is FHGW's face off win percentage of 57.1% tops on the team among the centers. Allowing the line to start with the puck more often then gives line 2 a chance to set up their plays and get more pucks on net. They also aren't afraid to fire the puck at the net relentlessly with the forwards accounting for 165 of the teams 808 shots. Add in defenseman Chitters and Burns and the shot total goes up to 235 as the defenders have also fired 70 pucks at the net between them. The line has also played very well defensively as their plus minus ratio is a combined +82 counting the defenseman once again.
Kaila and Hopkins have both also factored in on the Carolina powerplay unit. The Kraken currently have a 22.5% power play ratio which is the third highest in the league. Kaila has 1 power play goal and Hopkins has 2 power play assists. Five Hole Goes West has played a little on the short handed unit picking up 1 assist but the penalty kill is one are that is lacking in Carolina's game as they currently have the worst PK unit in the league at only 73.6%

When the season began Carolina ranked 14th in overall TPE and I personally thought that we would struggle. However from what has happened so far with the second line and the team in general I think the Kraken may be near the top of the standings for the entirety of the season and who knows what will happen come playoff time. All told the second line has the makings of something special and as long as they continue to thrive the Carolina faithful will be hoping for a repeat championship win this season!

chetib · 05-02-2025, 12:49 AM

@Nol15736 Denied at this time due to not meeting the 500 word minimum. If you beef up your submission ping me and I can reassess.

Tib

chetib · 05-02-2025, 03:53 PM

@Nol15736 Approved! +5 TPE for Gryffindor!

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