While the Carolina Kraken may not have the top pair of players on the points leaderboard, they are definitely more consistent within the top 20 than the team that does, the Newfoundland Berserkers. The Kraken have four players within the top 20 points leaders, and five in the top 25. Compared to Newfoundland, they have three more players in the top 25 for total points. These five players, in order of points from highest to lowest, are Linus Grimstad, who clocked 54 points with 22 goals and 32 assists, Jimmy Wagner with 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points, Vitek Vitecek with 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points, Kwame Dakari, with 22 goals and 18 assists for 40 points, and last but not least Dwight Knight, with 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 total points. The entirety of Carolina's roster, those five named just now a bit more so, helped bring the Kraken to where they sit today: finishing the regular season with a second seed position in the East and having just beat the living daylights out of the Vancouver Whalers in the SMJHL playoffs with a sweep in the second round. 

It definitely wouldn't be a stretch to say that the Kraken might just be better overall than the Newfoundland Berserkers. You may say "but the Berserkers finished first seed in the East!", but the only thing that helped them get to that position was their six overtime losses. Carolina finished with two more regulation wins, and a better goal differential of +82 compared to Newfoundland's +80. It may not look like much on paper, but 2 goals can win games. If the Berserkers-Kraken matchup ever comes up in the playoffs, I can definitely see Carolina taking the series. Newfoundland has the best pair of forwards, sure, but the Kraken have a roster that's pretty good all-around. That's not even taking into consideration goaltending.

Carolina's two goalies, Blunt Man and Ragnar-Alexandre Ragnarss, are a mean pair. Man, Carolina's starter, posed a 1.99 GAA and .920SV%, while Ragnarrs the backup held up a similar 1.99 GAA and .913SV%. Both goalies combined averaged out to 1.99 GAA, and a .917SV%. Compare that to Newfoundland's goalie tandem in Cale Amundsen and Junior Guarda: Amundsen, the Berserkers' starting goalie, had a 2.06 GAA and a .916SV%, while the backup in Guarda posed a 1.99 GAA and .905SV%. While their stats might not be that far apart, you have to keep in mind that Blunt faced less shots compared to Amundsen. Man faced 923 shots, while Amundsen came up against 1006 shots. This fact brings to light the fact that Carolina's defense is, by stats alone, technically better. I doubt that either backup is going to be played during either team's playoff series, so there is really no point in going over their stats. Either way, the point that the Kraken's defense is better than Newfoundland's still stands. All either team can hope for is that their players show up and the simulation rules in their favor. Good luck to both Carolina and Newfoundland!

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