The Kraken lost 5-4 to the Oilers on Saturday in what would have been a crushing and embarrassing defeat if it were a regular-season game. Thankfully, this was just a meaningless preseason contest, so none of us need to lose sleep over it.
After conceding another early goal, just like they did last Sunday at home against the Calgary Flames, the Kraken bounced back and took control for a while, even briefly holding a two-goal lead late in the second period. But they gave up the dreaded response goal just 27 seconds later, and it was all downhill from there.
Still, there are some positive signs from this team. We have yet to see a full NHL lineup iced by the Kraken, and yet they’re showing significant progress in how they are playing.
Here are our Three Takeaways from the Kraken’s 5-4 preseason loss to the Oilers.
Takeaway #1: Tough night for Grubi
So far, it’s safe to say Joey Daccord has looked better in the preseason than Philipp Grubauer. After Grubauer’s first outing against Calgary last Sunday—where he seemed to be trying to catch up to game speed—he did look better for most of the game Saturday against the Oilers. There were some strong sequences in which he challenged shooters and tracked the puck well, kicking rebounds past crashing Edmonton forwards and recovering in time to stop the second and third waves of shooters.
But there were also a couple of gaffes, especially on the game-winning goal by Raphael Lavoie—the fifth goal allowed by the Kraken netminder on that night. On that one, Lavoie was in a good shooting position, but it was an unscreened, undeflected shot that slipped right through Grubi’s wickets at a key moment in this meaningless contest. You could tell from his reaction that Grubauer knew he should have had that one.
We chatted with Grubauer after the morning skate on Saturday, and he definitely sounded like he wanted more game action to continue ramping up. He did look sharper Saturday than last Sunday, so it was mostly a step in the right direction. Hopefully his final outing of the preseason (probably coming Wednesday at home) will be sharper still.
Grubauer finished the night with 31 saves, good for an .861 save percentage.
Takeaway #2: Kraken power play shows more signs of life
Over the past few seasons, the Kraken power play has gotten so stagnant. The players didn’t move around much last season, and as the campaign progressed, it felt like things only got more predictable. However, what we’ve seen from the power play in the last couple of games has been exciting. The players are moving a lot, and it seems to be throwing off opposing penalty killers.
On this night, it wasn’t even a full NHL-caliber power play that got the job done. Instead, it was a mix of prospects and projected AHLers who whipped the puck around the offensive zone before 2023 first-round draft pick Eduard Sale got his first goal in Kraken colors.
It was a beautiful play. Brandon Biro took a pass on the left half-wall and started moving toward the net to draw defenders. He dished it down low to Ryan Winterton, who then tossed a perfect saucer pass up and over a sprawled Mattias Ekholm, dropping it right onto Sale’s tape.
The power play only converted once, but seeing production and positive signs at this stage of the preseason gives Kraken fans reason to hope for continued success with the manpower advantage during the regular season.
It’s worth noting, however, that the power play allowed a short-handed goal to Vasily Podkolzin that tied the game 4-4 in the third period. But, as the Kraken social media admins would say, it’s preseason, so that didn’t count.
Takeaway #3: Roster hopefuls creating tough decisions
I’ve previously hypothesized that the battle for the last roster spot(s) seems to be boiling down to Winterton, Ben Meyers, and John Hayden. After an outstanding game Friday against Vancouver, Winterton was right back in the lineup Saturday, as was Meyers. Hayden also returned to action after making his physical presence known in Tuesday’s game against the Canucks.
All three players had an impact on the game Saturday, with Winterton beautifully setting up Sale’s goal in the first period, Hayden driving hard to the net and getting rewarded for it in the second, and Meyers looking off Biro and scoring off a 2-on-1 in the second period, while also adding a second assist on Jacob Melanson’s tally in the first.
Who coach Dan Bylsma ultimately picks to stay with the team out of training camp remains about as clear as mud.
What’s interesting, though, is that while I’m less convinced the Kraken will make a trade to become cap compliant than I was previously, Seattle is showing it has depth players who could theoretically backfill in the lineup if a player like, say, Brandon Tanev were to be dealt. Continue to keep an eye on this battle for roster spots.
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.
In the preseason games so far, Stezka and Daccord have looked fine and Grubauer like dog dodo (as usual). If I am not mistaken, Grubauer’s contract changed over the summer from a NMC to an M-NTC. I wonder if Francis has the nerve to waive Grubuaer to the Firebirds, hoping someone would take on his contract? Would solve a number of problems with one move.
It would be asinine to waive a good goalie. Also, who do you think would pick up his contract if he’s as shit as you think he is? Our fanbase still has a lot to learn it seems.
If your takeaway from the first two games is that Gru looked bad, you really need to pay attention more in the hockey game. It’s also laughable that you think Stezka is a worthy replacement.
Gru is not a good goalie. With your handle, clearly not biased. The guy has been terrible for the first three seasons here and looks on track to be for a fourth. How many NHL goalies with a $6 million AAV have turned in sub .900 SV% each season? The sooner this guy is gone, the better.
Stezka is worthy in that he makes much less, and has expectations of only being backup. They should have kept Driedger. Nobody will take Grubauer, unfortunately. The Kraken fanbase is pretty well informed, three seasons of mediocre play from PG makes it easy.
Thanks for confirming. You have a lot to learn about goaltending. The name was tongue in cheek. You also seem to have a poor grasp on comedy.
I for one would not be happy to see Tanev dealt. Nobody on this roster burns as many calories per minute.on the ice. No, he doesn’t score that much but he also isn’t given all that much ice time. He’s no doubt a fan favorite which doesn’t hurt ticket sales or TV ratings. He excels as a skater and passer and is terrific at setting his teammates up for scores. I hope Disco Dan agrees.
I am with you on that. You don’t need a fourth line winger to be a finisher. You need him to wreak havoc and tilt the ice, which Tanev is fantastic at doing. Yeah, his contract is too big for the position this year, but if I had my way I would see him get a new deal to keep him around for a few more years. Special players–guys who bring something unique to the game–should be held onto for as long as possible, because they are what sets a team apart from every other team in the league.
Tying to judge how a player can play during train camp is like grabbing a gold ring on a roller coster only you can’t tell if a gold ring or gold plated ring. It seems players that were 1st and second line players have trouble playing well with guys trying to earn a spot and vica versa. What makes it hard is that the other team is in the same postion and poor players play against other poor players and it makes them look better than on a normal roster. I would like to see some data on these kinds of match ups. Is Nelson really that good or has he been matched up against lines with fringe players?
I meant Myers
I didn’t see any notable gaffes on Gru this entire preseason sans the last goal. Surprised the author called him out as a negative at all given the D miscues (several occasions players ran into each other or Evan having his ankles broken in front of the net)
Another TLDR…
I feel like I pay attention to the games, but I’m sure I still have a lot to learn.
To me Grubauer pretty much looked the same. I agree with Darren’s take on both starts and I don’t feel like either was much of a departure from what we’ve seen from Gru in the past. He let’s in a bad one occasionally… mistakes in front of him often end up in the net… it’s the same same.
One “oops” every five periods adds 0.6 to GAA. If you subtract that from the 2.99 Grubauer posted over the past three seasons, he’d slot in right between Igor Shesterkin (2.38) and Jeremy Swayman (2.41) rather than Ville Husso (2.99) and Alex Lyon (3.00).
Of couse you have to wonder about the shots he’s facing.
Of the 33 goalies who’ve logged 6000+ minutes over the past three seasons, only Jake Oettinger and Frederik Andersen’s 2.6 xGA/60 is lower than the 2.63 Gru has faced. To be a little more specifc, only Cam Talbot has faced fewer high-danger shots per 60, but only Vitek Vanecek has a lower high-danger save percentage. His overall save percentage among the group is dead last at .893. If you lower the bar to 3000 minutes, he’s 59th out of 61 netminders.
Save percentage, expected goals… blah, blah, blah. “These numbers don’t tell the real story”. I agree with that, but were not talking about marginal differences here or a small sample size. They may not tell the “real story”, but I think they’re definitely the Cliff Notes.
In the NHL, I don’t think you can be a No.1 goalie if you stop most every shot you’re supposed to and just let the mistakes in. You need to stop EVERY shot you’re supposed to…and a good share of the mistakes too.
Grubauer has three seasons and 130 games in Seattle… he is what he is. He’s not nearly as bad as some folks think… he’s not nearly as good as his contract. Yes, there were a lot of odd-man rushes in season one and yes, his numbers have improved every season. I think he was better when he first came back last season, but I’m not getting my hopes up again.
For me, it’s time to move on from this…
Go Kraken!!!
That’s a lot of words to say you have your head too far up stats ads to see reality. C’est la vie
@Gru What… Thanks for reading.
No problem. You’re welcome for calling you out and challenging you. I highly suggest some reading on statistics and logical reasoning. Still waiting on anyone to call out actual gaffes Gru made beyond the last goal. I’ll wait.
Absolutely fantastic quality comment, thanks for taking the time to dig those stats up. Don’t sweat the trolls. Not worth replying to anyone who isn’t speaking to you in good faith.
Thanks Sean… I really have no idea what the truth is here.
Oddly, I actually agreed with “Gru What” that in five periods Grubauer only really made one obvious “mistake” and the other eight goals weren’t his fault… but he didn’t seem to get the larger point.
As far as diving into the numbers… the oft attributed Mark Twain quote about lies seems to fit nicely with this conversation… “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Maybe the analytics are all wrong and maybe Gru is actually a No.1 NHL goalie… but if he is, I can’t think of another one who has “you can’t blame that one on the goalie” more pinned to his results.
When I say “For me, it’s time to move on from this”… after three seasons, I just don’t card about the Grubauer conversation any longer.
He’s here… he is what he is.
Blame him, blame the players in front of him, blame the puck… I just don’t care anymore.
I am excited for this season…
Go Kraken!!!
We’re beating a dead horse but I’ll jump on.
Gru had some very good moments in the game but also some very bad reads and even on some of his bigger saves he overcommitted and put himself completely out of the net or just down and out. Joey tends to send a lot of rebounds to the corners and Gru kicks them most often into the slot. Our D did a very good job of bailing him out last night during and number of times he was completely out of the net.
Yes this is just preseason but we are nervous because he’s looking a lot like the same gru as the past three seasons.
I picked up the season ticket meet and greet tickets for the skills competition and the ONLY tickets left we the Gru meet and greet…. He’s becoming very unpopular in Seattle and I can tell you one thing it’s not fans like Danny Thomas that have a lot to learn about hockey.
I think you swapped Joey and Gru. Joey is constantly out of position, freezes and doesn’t recover and gets bailed out by the D. The meet and greet says more about the pairing. I get you have a weird blind hate boner but objectively look at the other stacks. You have a guy no one really knows and Gru in one stack and then Matty and Larsson. Come on man. It’s embarassing
😂 what really, have you watched the train wreck of the last three seasons?
If you think goaltending was a train wreck the last three seasons, you’ve proven my point. This fanbase has a lot to learn.
Instead of just calling all Kraken fans ignorant, can you actually contribute to the conversation? Can you enlighten us oh genius one on the state of Grubauer and our goaltending?
I’m referencing Gru’s goaltending directly… so yes that’s exactly what it was. Yes the team had issues year one and three but Gru was consistent.
Gru
Gru needs to play more to get in game form. I think he is a #2 at best. Those response goals are killers but defense is to blame too. It will be interesting to see who they keep. Hayden type is very much needed.
Is Ryker’s position secured? Mahura has looked much more polished.
Stop. They wasted a half a season of Evans’ development leaving him in CV last year. He’s young, he’s going to make mistakes. But he moves the puck, makes things happen going forward.
This team needs to generate offense and it looks like it’s going to come from the Dmen this year
You must have missed the game where Mahura was -4 and looked lost.