The Seattle Kraken are playing like they don’t want general manager Ron Francis to throw in the towel at the March 8 trade deadline. With points in four straight games (3-0-1), they’ve kept themselves in the playoff hunt and earned another “signature” win Thursday, their second victory in that category during this stretch of improved play (we consider the 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Feb. 15 to be the other one). This one came against the usually high-flying Vancouver Canucks in 5-2 fashion at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday.
“That was a solid performance all the way through,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “We got good contributions from everybody. Our play with the puck drives a lot of our success tonight as far as moving the puck, taking care of it, making good, hard plays, and getting through the neutral zone. We played fast, and that’s the way we looked tonight for most of the night.”
Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle led the way with seven points between them, and Philipp Grubauer improved to 2-0-0 since his return from injured reserve on Jan. 23 (yes, he has only played two games in a month since being activated).
Here are our Three Takeaways from an impressive 5-2 Kraken win over the Canucks.
Takeaway #1: Jared McCann is cooking
McCann has quietly been on a heater for the last 15 games, in which he’s racked up 22 points (11-10—21), and Thursday marked his first career four-point game. He exudes confidence right now, and as the game went on against Vancouver, you could sense more and more that he was really feeling it.
“I’ve never been a guy to focus on points,” McCann said. “Sometimes, they come, sometimes they don’t. [I just] try to control what I can control, and that’s just my effort.”
Well, his effort has been outstanding ever since he got temporarily “demoted” to a de-facto fourth line for a couple games, and since returning to the top line with Matty Beniers and Eberle, he has been almost unstoppable.
“I think from Day 1, I’m just trying to get him out of his own head,” Eberle said. “He’s very skilled, he has one of the best shots I’ve ever seen. If you can get him to play with some confidence like he is now, he’s a dangerous, dangerous player.”
McCann’s power-play goal got the second period off on the right track for Seattle. The Kraken had temporarily lost the puck in the corner, but Alex Wennberg, Andre Burakovsky, and Jaden Schwartz swarmed Ian Cole and forced him to cough it up. In a desperate attempt to escape the pressure, Cole handed it to the wrong guy in the wrong spot.
McCann was standing all alone in the slot and had time to spin, pick his spot, and wire a perfect shot off the post and in.
That marker put Seattle in the driver’s seat for the first time in the game, and although Vancouver got a lucky goal that pinballed off Justin Schultz and Sam Lafferty and floated over Grubauer, the Kraken deserved everything they got in this contest. So too did McCann, who also set up Vince Dunn and Eberle for goals of their own.
Takeaway #2: Gourde line was humming
After wins, we usually dedicate our Takeaways to players that scored goals or made big saves, but on this night, we were impressed by the Oliver Bjorkstrand, Yanni Gourde, and Eeli Tolvanen line. The trio came up empty on the scoresheet, but every time they were on the ice, they wreaked havoc on Vancouver’s defenders.
“They did what they do,” Hakstol said. ”They go out, they play hard, they take on any different matchup that you want. I mean honestly, they’re coming off of a game [Monday against Detroit] where they weren’t at their best. So we knew tonight that they would have a great effort.”
Most notably, there was a stretch that started with 4:10 left in the first period in which the Canucks could not get out of their zone for about 1:45 of game time. It started with the McCann/Beniers/Eberle line, but they swapped out for a fresh Gourde line, and then Vancouver was stuck.
Every time a Canucks player touched the puck, they were immediately met by one of those three forwards and forced to turn it over. They were buzzing, cycling the puck, and getting shots and tips through to Thatcher Demko. Bjorkstrand even hit the crossbar during the sequence.
So, it did’t result in a goal, but the shift got the ice tilted in Seattle’s favor and set the tone for the rest of the game.
“They’ve grown over time, right?” Hakstol said. “We put them together… I think it was right around Christmastime last year when Tolvy came into the lineup. That line has pretty much stayed together throughout. We’ve moved around a little bit, but they continue to grow with chemistry. And that’s important, and the bigger factor with those guys is their competitiveness, and like I said, when you come off of a night that maybe isn’t your best— those guys are competitive guys, and you saw their contributions tonight and the way they played.”
Takeaway #3: No ground gained
It does feel like the Kraken have gotten themselves onto a pretty good roll over the last four games, in which they’ve knocked off the Islanders, Bruins, and Canucks, and lost in overtime to the Red Wings. And yet, at 59 points in the standings, they remain three behind the Blues for the last wild card spot, while the Predators are now level in points with St. Louis at 62.
Nashville won its third game in a row, 4-1, over the Los Angeles Kings Thursday, and St. Louis took down the Isles 4-0.
Meanwhile, Calgary won 3-2 in overtime over Boston, keeping the Flames level with Seattle, and Minnesota—the Kraken’s next opponent—was idle and will play Friday in Edmonton.
This is exactly why it’s so hard to gain ground at this time of year. Three points sounds like nothing, but when you have multiple teams that are playing for their playoff lives, it turns into a dogfight that’s less about “Which team can win the most?” and more about “Which team can lose the least?”
Seattle is doing its part right now, but it will need to keep rolling for much longer to get back into the playoff picture. The rest of this regular season could be very stressful.
Bonus Takeaway: Canucks weren’t happy
Not to take anything away from the Kraken’s performance, but it’s probably worth noting the Canucks were not happy with the way they played in this game. They’ve had a rough stretch of games lately, and the loss was their fourth in a row, their longest skid of the season.
“I don’t have much to say,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “Not much compete from the guys, and that’s on me. I’ve got to take the blame for that. I didn’t get the guys to compete hard enough, so I’ll take the heat on this one. A lot of no-shows tonight.”
That’s a hilarious quote, by the way. It’s like Tocchet is saying, Hey, everybody, please blame me for the players not showing up to play. It’s my fault. They stunk. But blame me. But they stunk.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Not sure this win really helps, as it might just delay the inevitable. I hope Francis is ready to pull the trigger on those trades, regardless.
Btw, did anyone see Craig Button’s top 50 NHL-affiliated prospects list? Shane Wright is ranked 44!!!! I wonder if Francis regrets that pick. He passed on Gauthier, ranked number 1!! I counted at least a dozen other 2022 draftees taken after Wright who were ranked higher than him. Oh Lord….
Is this the same Gauthier who decided he didn’t want to play for the team that drafted him?
Craig Button will do this again in 5 years, and of course everything will be totally different. Judging how 20 year olds are performing based on their draft order is amusing, at best.
Shane is going to be fine. He actually kind of reminds me of Aleksander Barkov as he fills out and finds some confidence. Barkov was drafted #2 overall, so that would make Shane a very good draft pick.
I guess the point is how low people in the hockey business are valuing Shane Wright now, retrospectively. I have long wondered whether his early high profile was mostly due to his early physical maturity (look at that full beard at such a young age). Now that others have caught up in physical maturity, they are beginning to pass him by.
I think 5 of the top 10 2022 draftees are playing in the NHL now, and Gauthier can’t while in college. It just seems like maybe Wright has plateaued and the draft day analyses of other GMs were more astute than Francis’, who may have been seeing himself all those decades ago.
Hope the guy does turn out well, the Kraken certainly cannot afford to whiff on such a high pick. I guess the proof will soon be in the pudding, if Francis pulls the trigger on a trade of Wennberg and allows Wright to play out the season in that spot.
Shane was the “consensus #1” pick for something like three years. When he fell to the Kraken at #4, it would have been utterly insane for Francis to not select him given the stage in our development. The three teams ahead of us had very specific reasons for why they didn’t take Shane, mostly based on the roles they were looking to fill. Arizona was interesting, but they made it clear they loved Cooley due to his “pizazz”, as a skill forward and an American, frankly, well before Shane didn’t get picked at 1 or 2. AZ was already invested in Cooley, and weren’t going to change their mind.
Shane is a very good player. He missed a whole year of development due to Covid. He is going to be fine, and everyone will be happy to have him. Before this concussion business, he was progressing really well.
“There are a number of very good players available in the 2017 NHL Draft, but Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings is a franchise centre and superior talent who stands alone at No. 1.”
-Craig Button
Just to be clear, is this the Craig Button you’re talking about?
“I never considered another player at No. 1,” Button said. “No other player showed me that he was better than Shane Wright.”
The Kingston Frontenac centre tops Button’s final Craig’s List ahead of the July 7 draft in Montreal where the host Canadiens hold first pick.”
Or maybe it’s this Craig Button…
😂
Although to be fair… he did have Eeli Tolvanen No.2 on his 17-18 list behind No.1 Elias Patterson… but ahead of Miro Heiskanen, Cale Makar, Kirill Kaprizov, Shesterkin & Sorokin, and 39th overall pick, Jason Robertson – who did not even make Button’s “Top 50”.
I do not think Ron Francis even considers Craig Button or Cutter Gauthier when it comes to developing and evaluating Shane Wright. He’s a GM… not a fan.
Go Kraken!!!
…how low people in the hockey business have him ranked?
At the beginning of the season Cory Pronman at the Athletic had his 2022 “re-draft” and Shane Wright went… No.4… again.
Last month he did his Under 23 rankings, and Shane Wright came in at No.38 of ALL skaters and prospects under 23… No.6 from the 2022 class.
I think the point is… he just turned 20 a little over six weeks ago. What anyone has to say about his “ranking” and development is premature and very likely misinformed. Furthermore, class comparatives are overly simplistic. The fact that David Jiricek has been up and down with Columbus – and has been miserable – says absolutely nothing about Shane Wright and his path in Seattle.
1. It took Hakstol 56 games to find his line 4th center…someone who actually used to play center. That Karts line looks legit. Frankly, you could probably rotate any of our spare forwards onto a Karts line and they would do fine.
Tuna-Karts-Turbo (last night)
Tuna-Karts-Yamamoto?
Belly-Karts-Tuna?
Shore-Karts-Yamamoto?
Lots of exciting possibilities.
2. It should be no surprise Schwartz-Wennberg-Burakovsky is a good line. Unfortunately we couldn’t play this line for much of the season due to injuries, but imagine if we had these guys playing together for even 20 of our 56 games, instead of the 5 or something they have actually played together? Maybe would have converted 5 of those OT losses to wins?
3. Grubauer managed to get the win, which is what we should expect from our backup goalie ($5.9mil/yr backup) facing 21 shots, and that’s great. That sequence with his stick stuck in the net behind him just before the first Vancouver goal…he just makes games so exciting. He’s worth every penny.
Karts has played center before and although I think that line played well last night, I don’t think it was his best game. The second Canucks goal was partially due to a misplayed puck by Tye in the offensive zone that caused the rush for Vancouver.
This team is really frustrating me, they show you that they can bring it when they get motivated but why so many games that they just look lost and unmotivated?
“I don’t have much to say,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “Not much compete from the guys, and that’s on me. I’ve got to take the blame for that. I didn’t get the guys to compete hard enough, so I’ll take the heat on this one. A lot of no-shows tonight.”
I’ve never heard anything remotely similar from 🔥H….. get your team motivated and engaged, too many games that we haven’t shown up for when it’s obvious that they have more in the tank than they show us most games. Yesterday’s game was more similar to the go get them Kraken that we saw last year, this year to me has looked more like a systematic cat and mouse game that we have been trying to play. I’m still not sure if it has been a poor coaching adjustment or flat out lack of motivation.
That said it was probably the best effort I’ve seen this season and a very good win. Gru wasn’t busy and wasn’t tested with anything challenging for the most part (other than the pucks that went in). That’s very impressive considering how good the Canucks have been this year and how much offense they have.
McCann said basically the same thing about how “frustrating” it is that they don’t play like that every night. Don’t think I included it in this story, but he said it, I swear!
I think the difference is a coaching style, and not many Kraken fans appreciate it. I’ve said this a million times, they need a captain! Someone who rallys the team, gets them motivated and is their peer.
Question for Darren: I was at CPA for last night’s game, and the Canucks definitely did not look like one of the NHL’s elite teams. If anything, in their inability to maintain sustained pressure in the offensive zone, Vancouver looked more like the Kraken have looked in many of their losses this season. So my question is, what was missing from Vancouver’s game last night that for most of this season has put them in contention for the President’s Cup?
Takeaway #3. No ground gained
Given the recent history, I cannot see the Flames not unloading at or ahead of the deadline. As decent as they have been playing, I think they’re safe to count out… but that leaves four teams for one spot – I’m giving LA wild card No.1.
It really feels like any one of these teams could get hot and separate by March 8th. It also feels like it could be a four-way tie on March 8th. And… it feels like none of them is going to do anything until they have to. They’re all hoping the standings will make the decision for them.
I beginning to think Seattle is just going to rent their own players. They have a ton of home and “winnable” games in March and April and the return on trades probably won’t be worth passing on a run at the playoffs. If they could get a 1st for Wennberg… they probably do that, but otherwise, they finally have goaltending… I think they’re looking at April 19th rather than March 8th.
Go Kraken!!!
One small quibble even though his overall game was pretty good — Beniers has to get more of a shooters mentality. There were at least two times when he had grade A opportunities but instead tried to pass it through like three guys and then they got nothing. At least he shot the puck a few other times, but still, Matty could be more greedy! Franchise 1Cs don’t pass it in those situations.
Who had 1963 assists in the nhl… yes it was a center. Not a comparison to Matty but we should not be complaining about players looking to make a pass. Yes there are times to shoot but we only complain about the pass when it doesn’t go in the net. How many shots don’t go? Yeah most don’t go…. When the pass creates a goal we say what a fantastic play, when it doesn’t we say why didn’t he shoot!!!
In nineteen seasons Patrice Bergeron had more goals than assists once, he had twice as many assists as goals three times.
I could not believe how many times last night I had to hear “shoot!!!” any time a Kraken player had the puck on his stick in the offensive zone.
“Shoot the puck”… puleeze.
Re-watch the 2 on 1 with Beniers trying to pass it through 2 guys instead of taking a grade A shot. There is no way that Beniers himself watched that replay and said “that was a great idea!” And I’m not talking about the “throw the puck at the net” shooting, I’m specifically talking about the tendencies of some players on this team to pass it on PRIME scoring opportunities. Beniers, Gourde, and Wennberg are all offenders in this regard. Beniers is (hopefully) not a finished product, unlike the other 2.
Also, having more assists than goals means almost nothing, considering there are two assists for every one goal most of the time. I’d wager that if Bergeron were on a 2 on 1 with his passing lane blocked, he’d take the shot.
Not trying to be difficult here… but if it’s a two-on-one, how are there two guys to pass through? Not sure which play you’re specifically talking about.
If it is truly a two-on-one, I definitely prefer the pass if it’s available.
But rather than a specific play I’ll look at it a little more generally.
Over the first two months – before Joey took over – the Kraken were near the bottom of the league (28) in HDCF, but in the upper quarter (8) in both MDCF & LDCF. Since December 10th they’ve done something of a reversal and are near the top of the league (5) in HDCF, but are middle of the pack (19 & 16) in MDCF & LDCF. Even though they are getting 2.37 more HDCF/60, they’re actually getting less total chances and almost 2 less shots per 60. If this was simply a matter of getting guys to the front of the net to convert the rebounds, I don’t think you’d see and actual drop in chances and shots, you’d see an increase. It seems to me they’re making better shot selection and probably passing more often than just shooting… and that’s why shooting less has actually resulted in a more than half-a-goal per 60 increase and a scoring rate that was 30th, but has since been 14th.
But what does this have to do with all those guys you say aren’t shooting enough? I’d say those guys, and most of the team really, WERE taking shots, and those shots were easy saves. That would help explain the .930+ save percentage teams had against the Kraken the first two months rather than the .906 since. Vezina frontrunner Conor Hellebuyck is a .927.
As for Beniers… yes I agree… having more assists is the obvious expectation, so it’s surprising that the guy Bergeron was passing to – David Pasternak – had more goals than assists three of their last four years together. Last season the No.1 center on the “winningest” team in NHL history had three more goals and one more point than the rookie in Seattle. I would not argue Bergeron needed to “be more greedy” or that he wasn’t a legit No.1 center.
I appreciate that you’d like to see him shoot more, but to me, he’s not that guy. That doesn’t mean he’s not a “franchise 1c”. To me, the biggest problem this team had on offense earlier this season was taking too many of those “open” shots that are easy saves in the NHL. I believe, forcing the goalie to move laterally is more valuable than taking a shot he’s set for if you’re not a shooter. And I know he doesn’t have Pasternak to pass to, but Jared McCann led the league (edging out McDavid) in goals scored above expected last season and he’s top ten again this season. McCann IS a shooter. I don’t think him passing too much is any concern at all. As far as making a “bad decision” in that situation… maybe… in that situation… maybe.
And like a lot if things worth talking about – this is all so debatable.
And cheers for the chat.
Go Kraken!!!
I don’t think there’s much of a debate here — I’ve always agreed with you that getting the puck to the net and hoping for the best is not a sound offensive strategy. I did not realize that change on Dec 18, so thanks for the numbers!
The play I’m talking about is 10:45 left in the third, Eberle makes an awesome chip pass to Beniers on the rush with McCann. It’s a 2 on 1 with a defender rushing to get back and diving with his stick to block the pass, but Beniers had an open lane right to the net. The other factor which makes passing the worse option is that McCann is a L shot on the L side, so the one-timer is not possible in that situation, which means the goalie has more time to make that lateral move you speak of. It’s admittedly a small quibble, especially cause at 15:45 left in the 3rd, Matty moves to the middle and gets a great shot off on a different 2 on 1. I just try to think of it from the other teams perspective — would it be a gift if he passed instead of shot in that situation, or vis versa?
Beniers had a great rookie season, but he was one of the shooting% outliers, if I remember correctly. To make up for that regression, he has needed to increase his shot volume, especially when he has a probable HDCF. Otherwise, he’s just a Wennbergian player, who is useful, but a major disappointment for a 2nd overall pick.
I do wonder if they are, as a whole, trying to work the puck laterally more… and maybe passing up some juicy chances along the way… just not last night against the Wild. In 38+ 5v5 minutes, the Kraken had 45 scoring chances… and generated just 6 high-danger chances. It looked like lots of shots from beyond the circles and the numbers agree. On 30 chances (66%), the Wild generated 8 (133%). If I’m doing the math right, Minnesota converted chances to high-danger chances at twice the rate of Seattle.
So I went back and watched the play you were talking about. I’m sorry, but I totally disagree.
Demko is positioned perfectly there. He’s absolutely playing the shot and leaving the pass to the defender. Squared up, zero distraction… Beniers is going to have a very hard time getting the puck past the guy who is No.2 in the league in goals saved above expected. On the pass, McCann is set up, stick on the ice, waiting to tap the cross into a wide open backside net. For me, in an odd-man-rush, you always want to make the pass if you can and get the goalie moving laterally unless you have a true “shooter” carrying the puck. Garland coming back and diving to break up the pass is what saved a goal there. If No. 8 isn’t there… light the lamp; otherwise, it’s most likely a faceoff or the puck goes the other way. The rebound goal is way, way, less likely than any other scenario. My opinion… smart pass, tough break. I’m not a big Eddie O fan, but I agree here, “huge play by Garland there”.
On Beniers more generally… did you catch the Athletic article by Dom Luszczyszyn and Shayna Goldman? It relies a lot on data from Corey Sznajder’s “All Three Zones” tracking and – to me – makes a pretty strong case for him being something truly special, and certainly not a disappointment. Even though his offense – along with most of the team – has been a disappointment this season, his play in the defensive zone has actually improved over what was already “top of the league” last season. His game may not be “sexy” this year, but Wennbergian or disappointing? I disagree.
…and someone once said Seattle isn’t a hockey town!?!? I just hope we don’t turn into Vancouver.
Go Kraken!!!