That was close to exactly how we expected Saturday’s game between the Los Angeles Kings and Seattle Kraken to go. The Kings are known to be a good, structured team with a few star offensive players. They showed their defensive prowess against Seattle, only allowing nine shots through to Cam Talbot in the first 40 minutes, and 18 total in regulation. 

“They are a very structured team,” Yanni Gourde said. “We knew that going in, and we saw that all night. I think they’re probably one of the best-structured teams we’ve seen all year. We find a way to get a point there, I just obviously want to win every game.” 

The Kraken trailed 2-1 late but capitalized on a power-play opportunity and snagged a point from the jaws of defeat. 

It took nine rounds of a shootout to decide this one, and although Kailer Yamamoto, Yanni Gourde, and Matty Beniers all had goals in the skills competition, every time Seattle beat Talbot, the Kings shooters would answer. Eeli Tolvanen missed in Round 9, and Carl Grundstrom scored to decide the game. 

“We expect to win,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “We’re a good team in here too. We played hard from start to finish. One of the keys against that team is not becoming frustrated. They’re outstanding defensively, they play hard, they shut down the middle of the rink, they’re able to breakout with structure and beat your forecheck by a few feet here and there.”

Here are our Three Takeaways from a tough-sledding 3-2 Kraken shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings. 

Takeaway #1: Another good night for Joey

With Philipp Grubauer on the shelf and the Kraken in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, the team really needed Joey Daccord to step up and play a stretch of solid games as the de facto starter. He has done just that, posting a .954 save percentage in four starts with a 1.25 goals-against average. 

On Saturday, he made 36 saves on 38 shots and gave his team every chance—and we mean every chance—to get an unlikely win, but his teammates didn’t reward him. 

“Joey did his job,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “He played well, really well. I thought he played really well tonight and continued what he’s been doing, and that’s what we needed from him tonight.”

Daccord got peppered with 29 shots through the first two periods before things slowed down for him in the third. On the two goals he allowed, Seattle’s defense hung him out.

On the first, Trevor Moore ended up with the puck on his stick behind all five Kraken players, just a few feet above the crease. It developed quickly, so there wasn’t time for Daccord to slide back with LA’s leading goal scorer, and he was able to deke around Daccord. 

On the second, with Will Borgen in the penalty box, Anze Kopitar was able to (again) sneak to the back post with no defensive coverage, and Quinton Byfield found him for an easy tap-in. 

Daccord came up especially large in overtime, after Vince Dunn had taken a very undisciplined penalty (more on that in Takeaway #2). A 4-on-3 power play should almost guarantee a goal, but the Kraken’s killers made a bunch of blocks, and any puck that got through got gobbled up by Daccord. He made multiple saves on the manpower disadvantage sliding to his left to cut off one-timers that were heading into the net. 

Hakstol seems content riding it out with Daccord right now, and Joey is rewarding him by standing tall nightly. 

Takeaway #2: Undisciplined penalties

There were two penalties in this game that would make a viewer question Seattle’s discipline. We didn’t have a problem with the first one (we will explain momentarily), taken by Borgen, but it ended up costing Seattle. Kopitar made it 2-1 on the ensuing power play at 17:16 of the second period. 

Borgen’s penalty was an immediate retaliation on Anderson for a crushing (but clean) hit in the neutral zone that flattened Tye Kartye. It happened right in front of Borgen, and his response was to dump Anderson. 

This one is tricky, because we know the physical response from Seattle this season has been questioned many times, especially after Kraken players get hurt (Kartye didn’t get hurt on this one). Based on what we’ve seen the last few games, we’re willing to bet there have been conversations inside the dressing room about an immediate physical response when things happen on the ice. 

This was a quick decision by Borgen to stick up for his teammate, and it ended up biting him. So, we didn’t dislike the choice to hit Anderson when it happened, although it did put Borgen in the box for two minutes, and Los Angeles made the Kraken pay for the retaliation. 

The second penalty, though, a slashing penalty by Vince Dunn in overtime, was unacceptable. He had just been taken down by Drew Doughty in the offensive zone with no call from the officials, so he reacted by taking a big, looping swing at Phillip Danault. It was one of the more obvious penalties Seattle has taken this season. 

With the delayed call coming, Dunn swung again at Kevin Fiala and then got his hands up and hit Fiala in the face (we would not be surprised if he gets a fine for the last one). He could have taken three separate penalties on the play, but the referees were kind enough to only give him one. 

Oh, no, Vince.

He takes a very undisciplined penalty in OT and frankly could have gotten three penalties on the play. pic.twitter.com/hLeMdalbRo

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) December 17, 2023

“That’s out of a little bit of frustration,” Hakstol said. “I thought we took two penalties tonight that we’ll talk about internally, discuss it. There are the two penalties that we don’t want to take. Sometimes you get a little— there’s a frustration that builds when you see a couple of other calls or non-calls. I won’t get into which ones or what it is, bottom line is those things happen during a hockey game, so you have to step down to have the presence of mind to take care of the situation.”

Thanks to a huge penalty kill and some great saves by Daccord, the penalty didn’t end up immediately costing Seattle the game, but it certainly took two minutes of 3-on-3 time off the board, when the Kraken may have had an opportunity to get the win. 

Takeaway #3: Power play comes up big

Man, we love the look of Ryker Evans quarterbacking the Kraken power play. In a game when 5-on-5 offense was so incredibly difficult to generate, Seattle needed its power play unit to break through in a key moment. So many times this season, with the Kraken chasing late in a game, they’ve gotten opportunities with a manpower advantage, only to come up empty and lose in regulation. 

On Saturday, they broke through with an Oliver Bjorkstrand snipe from the top of the slot after exceptional movement and several chances. It was one of those power plays where it felt like a goal could come at any time, and sure enough, they eventually converted to snatch a standings point at 17:31 of the third. 

“The PP went out and executed,” Hakstol said. “They did a nice job, and those are the things you talk about when you go into your power play meeting in the morning is you’re going to execute when it means the most in the game.” 

It did mean a lot in that moment, and the Kraken did execute. It would have been better to get the second point, but on a night like that, when things aren’t coming easy, getting to the extra frame and stealing a point is a good consolation prize.