If you told us on the morning of Dec. 12 that the Seattle Kraken would close the calendar year and roll into the Winter Classic on an eight-game point streak, a four-game win streak, and with a .500 record, we flat out would not have believed you. Things swung from the “lowest of lows” to the “highest of highs” seemingly overnight for this team, though, and with their 2-1 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday, the Kraken moved back to within two points of a playoff spot.
“I think we’re just sticking with it,” said overtime hero Justin Schultz. “And guys are working hard, and we know it’s there, it just wasn’t coming for us. We believe in this group. We have almost the same group as last year so we know we can do it, and like I said, we’re heading in the right direction now. We’ve just got to keep her going.”
Joey Daccord was outstanding yet again, making 27 saves on 28 shots, including this early robbery on Sean Couturier to set the tone for another low-scoring game.
Here are our Three Takeaways from a huge 2-1 Kraken overtime win against the Flyers.
Takeaway #1 (Darren): Good feelings for Justin Schultz
It’s been a rocky stretch for Schultz, a veteran of 13 seasons and 704 career games in the NHL. Since Ryker Evans was recalled from AHL Coachella Valley on Dec. 6, it has been Schultz getting scratched from the lineup most frequently, including the two games prior to Friday’s contest.
Against the Flyers, the defenseman got some vindication and made future decisions to scratch him tougher on the coaching staff. His game-winning goal came at 2:35 of overtime, as he got himself into the right spot on the doorstep next to Carter Hart. Oliver Bjorkstrand, playing his 500th career game, sent a high-to-low pass that Schultz simply redirected through the wickets on Hart.
“I just tried to come and help the team as best as I can,” Schultz said. “And we’ve got a great group here. It’s been doing a great job the last couple of weeks. So, it feels good to have two points tonight.”
You could tell there were a lot of good feelings in the dressing room for Schultz, who Dave Hakstol praised as a consummate pro. The coach spoke at length about the tough decision to take the veteran out of the lineup and what he has meant to the club.
“The decisions that are made are always what we feel is best for the team,” Hakstol said. “We’re pushing for success right now, but we’re also looking towards the future and future development, and those two things have to go hand in hand. Ryker’s here because he’s earned the opportunity to be here.
“You know, Schultz, he’s a guy that’s played in this league for a long time. And all you have to do is look at his performance tonight to know how good of a pro he is and how great of a teammate he is. I mean, when we talk about wanting to have team-first guys, selfless guys in this room… I’m sure it was very difficult for him, personally, to come out of the lineup. That hasn’t been the case many times for him in his career, yet, the way he handled that really pushes the group inside of this dressing room, the right direction.”
Takeaway #2 (John): Another low-scoring affair
The Kraken have averaged just 2.33 goals per game over their last six, boasting a record of 4-0-2 in this stretch. While the lack of scoring might typically raise concerns, it’s worth noting that they faced two of the most defensively sound teams in the league during this span. Winning games without consistently scoring four or more goals is crucial for long-term success in any season.
“We’ve been in some low-scoring games,” Daccord said. “I think we’re confident in our structure, and we have a blueprint for how we need to win games. And I think when we stick to that, and we have a full group committed to the team and in the structure that we’ve set up in our game plan, good things happen.”
Although goals are the ultimate measure of offensive performance, they occur relatively infrequently during a game and may not provide a comprehensive picture of the team’s overall capabilities. Against Flyers, the Kraken had an impressive 57 shot attempts, marking their sixth-highest shot attempt total of the season and the most since their 7-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 14.
While there’s a legitimate cause for concern regarding recent scoring struggles, the team continues to generate a significant number of shot attempts. It’s when these shot attempts become scarce that genuine apprehension should set in.
Takeaway #3 (John): Burky’s back
Andre Burakovsky returned to the lineup after another three-week stint on injured reserve. When healthy, Burakovsky is one player you can expect to chip in some goals. We discussed his imminent return on the latest Sound Of Hockey Podcast, since his place in the lineup was not abundantly obvious.
Last night did not clear up where Burakovsky fits into the forward corps now that the team has been winning. He spent the first half of the game with Kailer Yamamoto and Tye Kartye on the fourth line, but the rest of the game, he bounced all over the lineup. By the end of game, he had roughly five minutes with Yamamoto and Kartye, another five with Alex Wennberg and Brandon Tanev, and the rest of his 14-plus minutes of ice time were spread across Jordan Eberle, Matty Beniers, Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Eeli Tolvanen.
Hakstol seemed fine with Burakovsky’s efforts. “You know there’s gonna be a little bit of rust… He had the one shift in the first period where he generated a great offensive opportunity, and then the puck came off his tape for a breakaway against. But in all honesty, that’s probably the one mistake he made with the puck.”
Where Burakovsky lands in the lineup longer term is still to be determined, but it is great to see him back. Aside from that blunder at the blue line, he did have some excellent offensive plays and a positive night.
Other odds and ends
- Prior to last Friday’s game, the Kraken were 0-6-4 in their last 10 games when the opposing team scores first. The Flyers scored first, but Seattle still won.
- The last six games have been decided by one goal.
- That was just the Kraken’s fourth win out of 13 games that required overtime this season and the first overtime win since their Tampa Bay game on Oct. 30.
- It was the first game the Kraken have won this season when they trailed in the third period.
- Friday was Oliver Bjorkstrand’s 500th career NHL game. He is sixth all time in NHL games played by a Danish national. He assisted on both of the Kraken’s goals.
One more odd or end…
During the eight game losing streak, the Kraken only scored 13 goals.
During the eight game points streak, the Kraken have only allowed 13 goals.
One other thing…
Just now getting a chance to catch the latest pod… never miss it.
I think because Driedger was an “emergency loan” the waivers clock can basically be reset after nine games. After nine, they can reassign him to Coachella, and then immediately recall him to Seattle on a standard call up and reset the 10-game/30-day waiver exemption.
Go Kraken!!!
I don’t think Dreidger was an emergency loan. Lind was the one we were talking about. (your point is still noted)
Ok, but the Flyers was Game 9… If Capfriendly is correct, I would expect he gets “exchanged” ahead of the Winter Classic, and remains waiver exempt through the Leafs game. But it’s more likely I’m just missing something here.
Go Kraken!!!
Beat Vegas!!!
I am looking at CapFriendly for CD and is says Emeg. Loan, so the original analysis should apply.
The more interesting thing about CD is whether the Kraken intend to re-sign him for next year, obviously at a backup’s salary. The way he looked in the AHL and his one NHL start, I would certainly take him and JD over any more time with PG. PG only has a NTC, so he could be waived and sent to the AHL, so would that not be better to keep the Kraken going on their hot streak, which has been heavily dependent on great (i.e. non-PG) goaltending?
If Driedger is worth resigning, I would guess he could get more elsewhere. I also thought Joey might do better in free agency and he stayed… so that shows what I know. But paying Grubauer AND Joey AND Driedger again is a lot of money on goaltending. If he gets a few more quality starts, I think they need to try and move him. After the Calgary start, Elliotte Friedman was already mentioning him on 32 Thoughts as possibly be available.
What the heck is that penalty call, “playing the puck from the bench”?
What happened there?
That was definitely one for “Ya Don’t See That Everyday”. And was that Seattle’s first Bench Minor? Still a fan of Too Many Men Alison, but Tuna fishing from the SEA wall gets the honors this time.
Tartar was sitting on the boards ready to hop on the ice, puck came to him, he reached out and played the puck and then hopped on the ice. An obvious penalty call that was correctly made. Of course he promptly got run over after the whistle by one of the Flyers in front of the referee. Should have been 4v4 hockey but instead Philly got the PP.
Technically, didn’t the Kraken score all three goals last night? 😉
One beef I have: they are not .500, not even close. They have a .500 Pts%, ie “fake .500.” They’ve still lost 9 more games than they’ve won. That’s not .500 in any other sport. The loser point is for the loser GMs who want to make their mediocre teams look better so that they can keep their jobs. I love this team’s trajectory, and it’s seriously refreshing (and weird) to have excellent goaltending, but they still have a long way to go before being considered playoff contenders.
In the regular season it’s points that get you into the playoffs. In the playoffs it’s wins that get you the cup. Imagine if a team went 20-0-62. Such a team would have lost 3 times more games than they won. But they would have 102 points (0.622 of the points available) and would be in the playoffs (with high probability). You have a good point though – how far such a team would go in the playoffs would be highly suspect. But then again, once you get into the playoffs you never know when a team will catch fire, whether like a rocket or like a dumpster.
I’m really just saying fake .500 should never be good enough or sufficient for us as fans. We want to be playoff competitive, not barely scraping mediocrity. True contenders are typically at or above “real .500”, which is when last year’s team started showing some serious promise.