There was a lot to like from the Seattle Kraken’s 6-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers in their preseason finale at Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday—but also some reason for concern. While players like Shane Wright, Brandon Montour, and Philipp Grubauer indicated they were ready for the regular season, Jared McCann was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury, replaced in the lineup by John Hayden.
After Seattle jumped out to a two-goal lead by the 8:00 mark of the second period, things started to go sideways when Leon Draisaitl scored on the power play at 11:15, and Travis Dermott was left alone in the slot at 13:06 to make it 2-2. But the Kraken put the wheels back on with a Montour missile off a rush and a Wright snipe from the top of the circle.
“They had a few power plays and a 5-on-3 as well,” Wright said. “They scored one, and then they got the second one as well, but we stuck with it, didn’t let it bother us. And it was nice to… obviously, Monty’s goal was great… there was a little momentum, and then to be able to get a little insurance there myself is always nice too.”
Here are our Three Takeaways from Seattle’s 6-2 win over the Oilers to close the preseason.
Takeaway #1: McCann’s injury cause for (some) concern
Walking into the arena Wednesday, I was just hoping for good health for both teams. There has been a rash of nasty preseason injuries to key players around the league in the last week, and both Edmonton and Seattle had close to their full regular-season lineups going. The last thing I wanted to see was anybody getting hurt and missing real games because of something that happens in a meaningless one.
Technically, every player who started the game for the Kraken also finished it, though Jordan Eberle and Brandon Tanev each picked up bruises from pucks finding unprotected areas around their ankles and legs. But McCann, who was slated to participate, disappeared from warmups before line rushes and did not play.
All Dan Bylsma said after the game was, “Just a lower-body injury, as reported before the game, and it’s day-to-day at this point.”
That doesn’t sound too bad, and we don’t get the sense that the injury is particularly serious, but this is the first time we’ve heard Bylsma say anything other than “maintenance” in reference to a player missing time. So, it’s at least worth monitoring when the Kraken return to practice on Saturday.
Takeaway #2: Shane Wright is ready for the NHL
I also wrote about Wright’s performance in Three Takeaways after Seattle’s 4-3 overtime loss to Calgary on Monday. I thought he was one of Seattle’s better players that night, but he one-upped himself on Wednesday against Edmonton.
For his efforts against the Oilers, Wright was rewarded with two pretty-looking goals. The first came after Montour broke up a play at the defensive-zone blue line and sent Oliver Bjorkstrand on a footrace. Bjorkstrand won the race, and Wright created some spin-o-rama magic.
“Borky made a great play, just made kind of a chip to the area, and then I was able to find a little spot in the middle,” Wright said. “I just kind of tried to spin around and get it on net, and was able to go five-hole.”
Wright wasn’t done there, following up Montour’s rocket of a shot that made it 3-2 at 18:34 of the second period with a snipe of his own from the top of the right circle.
“It was great patience from Rig [Jamie Oleksiak] in the neutral zone, and a good spot from Tolvy to find me in the middle,” Wright said. “Tolvy did a great job taking the D, and I had a lot of space to walk in and was able to finish it off.”
After seeing how Wright has performed in these last couple of games, especially now that the competition has ramped up to NHL-caliber, Kraken fans should be excited about what the youngster might bring this season.
“I like his game,” Montour said of Wright. “He’s a solid boy. Obviously, he’s growing still, but he skates like the wind and gets to the hard areas. You saw that today. He had a nice one in front and a nice shot as well. So he has it all, and for a young guy coming in with confidence after a good camp, that’s going to be good for us moving forward.”
And it’s not just the goals. I’ve watched Wright closely and have seen him making little dangles and passes through defenders’ legs and under their sticks—moves a player only pulls off if he’s feeling confident. Wright is exuding confidence right now.
Bylsma has been careful to remind us that Wright is still just 20 years old, but he too is encouraged by what he’s seeing. “I just think it speaks to the maturity of his game,” Bylsma said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt or question about his skill, skating ability, or shot. But he’s gaining the confidence to show and use it more often.”
Takeaway #3: An important night for Philipp Grubauer
Speaking from experience, it’s really important for a goaltender to get a game under the belt where your performance feels solid. You’re tracking pucks well, making some saves you perhaps shouldn’t, and helping your team to a victory.
While both goalies have shown flashes of strong play at times during the preseason, neither Joey Daccord nor Philipp Grubauer had been stellar coming into Wednesday’s contest. But Grubauer showed he’s ready for the regular season, stopping 28 of 30 Oilers shots, including plenty of dangerous looks from Edmonton’s lethal power play, which had five opportunities on the night.
Grubauer said he was happy to see plenty of action in this one as he continues building toward the regular season. “The more chances they have, the better it is for us goalies to get into the game,” Grubauer said. “They have a couple of boys back there who can make plays and find some seams, and I think today was a really realistic game.”
Bylsma called it “very important” for Grubauer to have this game to close out the preseason. “I thought he was outstanding throughout the game,” Bylsma said. “The PK there at 5-on-3, and then a couple of big stops in the third. He was real solid back there for us, and it was great to see.”
Bonus Takeaway: Montour continues to impress
I promise I won’t write about Montour after every game… Unless he’s impressive in every game, which he was again on Wednesday. His goal was a thing of beauty, flying into the offensive zone and leaning into a slap shot that overpowered Olivier Rodrigue. Montour does everything well—from skating to decision-making to shooting—and he is so fun to watch.
Montour closed out the game with a goal and an assist and led all players with 23:31 of ice time.
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The Kraken have the next two days off and will go on a bonding trip during that time. They will return to practice Saturday morning.
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.