One day after a rough start and an ugly loss in Ottawa, the Seattle Kraken once again appeared unprepared and stumbled to a 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins. For the second straight day, the Kraken failed to register a goal, yet somehow again remained (sort of) in the game until the end despite clearly not having their best.
But both games have been painful to watch, as the Kraken have struggled to generate offense for long stretches.
“The first 20 minutes or so, [we were] just mentally stuck and not finding a play, not making a play,” head coach Dan Bylsma said. “And those turnovers resulted in a lot of momentum for Boston in the first period.”
With their third consecutive loss, the Kraken are now officially on a losing streak for the first time this season. Here are Three Takeaways from another brutal-to-watch 2-0 Kraken loss to the Bruins.
Takeaway #1: Can we blame daylight savings?
I wondered if the slow start of the Kraken might have simply been because they forgot to set their clocks back after the end of this year’s daylight saving period. Maybe they thought the game started an hour later than it did? But this couldn’t have been the case, because in theory, with the clocks going back an hour, Seattle should have technically started earlier if the team was confused about what time it was. Right?
Ultimately, I don’t think we can blame the poor first period on this yearly disruption, when we begin being plunged into darkness at 4:00 p.m. We might be able to blame some of it on the back-to-back games with travel, but at the end of the (already very dark) day, Seattle just stunk in that first period.
It was easily the worst first period the team has played this season, and aside from a few opening frames in which opposing teams filled the net, this was one of the worst periods ever from the Kraken.
How bad was it? Seattle didn’t register a single shot on goal until the 17:01 mark of the first period. 17 MINUTES WITH NO SHOTS?!
Bylsma said the Kraken lacked the confidence to “make a play, to execute, in the start of the game.”
Indeed, the Kraken were penned in their zone for much of the period, compounded by the fact that they kept taking penalties, three times in the opening period and five times total during the game. While the Kraken were managing a measly three shots total in the opening 20 minutes, the Bruins pumped 15 toward Joey Daccord, who played very well in this game.
Boston scored twice, once at 3:23 when Justin Brazeau got a piece of a Nikita Zadorov shot that would have been off the net, and again at 9:57 when the Kraken penalty kill overcommitted to David Pastrnak in the middle of the ice and left Charlie Coyle wide open on the far side. Coyle had all day to wait out and dangle around Daccord to make it 2-0.
Oops! #SeaKraken forget about Charlie Coyle, who has all day to dangle around Daccord and make it 2-0 Bruins. PPG.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 3, 2024
Seattle has 0 shots on goal 10 minutes into the game. pic.twitter.com/m1ufBjhVKO
The Bruins scored a third time in the period, which would have made it 3-0 on a Pavel Zacha deflection, but a challenge for offside showed that Zacha did enter the zone before the puck, negating the marker. That should have been a turning point, but the second period brought more of the same, with the Kraken again getting outshot 15-7 in the middle stanza.
PHEW! 😅
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 3, 2024
Pavel Zacha scores to make it 3-0, but the #SeaKraken successfully challenge for offside.
Huge break. Kraken need to wake up now after a HORRIBLE start. pic.twitter.com/BRPnQqqAX4
Takeaway #2: The Kraken can’t score right now
It’s nice to run up the score against an opponent, like the Kraken did against the Montreal Canadiens with an 8-2 drubbing on Tuesday. But a concern that comes along with those kinds of wins is that bad habits can creep in because the offense is coming a little too easily. Remember, the Kraken were outshot in that game too and had lower shot quality than the Habs.
Since that game, Seattle’s offense has been nearly nonexistent. It’s like they’re expecting things to still come easily, like they did in that game against Montreal, and that simply has not been the case against Toronto, Ottawa, or Boston—three opponents in which the Kraken have scored ZERO goals at 5-on-5. ONE total goal across three games isn’t going to bring success, no matter how well your goalies are playing.
This lack of offense is a major concern. I’m not even thinking about the panic button yet, but seeing all Seattle players go cold at the same time brings echoes of last season and even the inaugural season. And two shutouts in a row is unprecedented.
One thing to encourage some semblance of hope: while the Kraken deserved to lose this game with 100 percent certainty, they also got a bit unlucky, with multiple posts hit and a few timely saves from Jeremy Swayman to keep Seattle from really ever putting Boston on the ropes. Also, Seattle did tilt the ice for most of the third period and ended up with a semi-respectable 23 shots on goal, so there’s that.
Takeaway #3: Both goalies have been good
Aside from the late push, there is one positive Takeaway from this weekend. While the rest of the team has struggled, both goalies have been solid in these last two games, and both deserved better results against the Senators and Bruins than what they got.
Grubauer allowed a goal that I didn’t think should have counted and one that got double deflected. Daccord allowed the tip-in goal and the power-play goal on which he was completely hung out to dry. Both goalies posted save percentages above .900, and both had positive GSAx numbers, with .41 goals saved above expected for Grubi and 2.49 for Joey.
“Throughout the whole game, but especially in the first period, the opportunities we gave them from turnovers were really good chances for their really good players,” Bylsma said. “A mini-breakaway for [David] Pastrnak, Joey came up big there. But their power play is a real dangerous power play as well, and they had five opportunities tonight.”
Here’s hoping the Kraken can find a way to start giving their netminders run support again, and here’s hoping that this positive goaltending trend will outlast this stretch of dismal stretch of nonexistent offense.
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.
OOOOOOF. I was mercifully spared from watching either of these games due to other commitments.
In the last 5 games, they have an xGf% of <40%. Yowzah. I know there are a lot of problems with the stat, but they are being consistently and thoroughly outplayed, and it won’t get any easier against COL on Tuesday. And I agree Darren, both goalies have been fine, but it doesn’t matter when this forward corps looks like they all got old, bored, and/or tired at the same time.
What happened to Wright? He’s been completely invisible this season. I had high hopes for him but he honestly looks like an AHL demotion candidate.
Well Boist, all players are invisible if you don’t watch the game!
Not sure what peoples expectations of Shane were this year but he’s has been very noticeable at times and quiet at other times which is exactly what a rookie season looks like for 99% of players, if you were expecting Bedard-esque points in his first season then that’s just not realistic. You expect a player in his situation to go through lulls as they adapt to the speed of the NHL game. Demoting him to the AHL would be maybe the worst possible thing you could do.
I’ve watched pretty much every other game, and I’ve barely noticed him. When his line scores, it seems to be Bjork or Schwartz assisting each other with him barely or not involved. It’s not unheard of for young players to be demoted for confidence/development reasons.
Expectations were set way too high from most people including the SOH team. He will take time he’s not the first overall selection that was projected and we can see he slipped for good reasons. He is a good player and I’m happy we drafted him, just will take a little time.
Bedard-level, maybe not, but he’s got TWO points on the season, despite getting lots of PP time.
Tough schedule but are there any (potential) positives? If this continues, a top draft pick, again, and the end of the Francis regime.
I’m starting to think maybe Hakstol wasn’t the problem.
The problem was definitely Hak last year the team didn’t want to play for him and they said as much. A problem exists above the coaching staff and hopefully it gets sorted out after this season if things continue down this path.
The problem with a GM that has built a team is they are often hesitant to make changes that admit mistakes… good things have come from Frances but he’s very loyal to his bad choices as well.
We just simply can’t be this bad, have how many players with extended contracts and be up against the cap without pointing fingers at RF.
Get a new GM in that’s willing to clean up his mistakes and we could be ok.
I’m replying to myself… think for a second about all the teams in the league that are lower in cap that are just miles above our level. The choices RF has made are just horrible other than some good draft choices.
After Colorado the Kraken start their longest homestand of the season and it wraps up at the 20 game mark. I’m gonna wait until then before I even begin to start drawing conclusions.
I wish I could be optimistic about a homestand but they’ve never been any better at home. Usually worse.
Just trying to remember that at least we get to watch live NHL hockey and not just hit refresh on John’s blog wondering when we might get a team. The team is bad, and has seemingly no plan to get good, but at least we have one, right?
It’s more about the 20 games than the homestand.
It feels like it’s time for Disco Dan to don his dancin’ shoes and give this club a stemwinder of a talkin’ to. I napped during stretches of the Sens game and skipped watching the Bruins tilt with no belief the team could win after the Ottawa blanking. It’s year four and the boys are backsliding. Beniers, Wright and Ty are hardly scoring threats. Where the hell is Wright in this mix? I don’t notice him at all yet on the ice.
I’m amazed Joey and Grubi aren’t leakier with what’s not happening in front of them by their mates.
For whatever reason , this team doesn’t feel or look hungry enough for pucks. This road trip soured big time after the Montreal game. It’s startling and maddening, really. I’m waiting and hoping that Bylsma puts his foot down with some of these skaters.
If he can’t win this team’s respect and fear, I doubt he’ll coach here even as long as Hak. Urgency just knocked on the door.
The lack of elite/star players seems to really show in games like the past two. No one on the team can generate that moment to turn the tide of a game. I feel the future as a perennial playoff team rides a lot on both Beniers and Wright developing into at least star players if not superstars that the roster can be built around. They are obviously not that yet as both players are still very young and developing. My worry is both players end up being solid but avg two way middle six forwards which means many many years as a playoff bubble team or worse and there are some troubling signs that is the case. Did not love the Stephenson signing but wonder if that signing had a lot to do with protecting Beniers and Wright to allow them time to develop while Stephenson takes the tough minutes and matchups in games. I think in a couple years will have a good idea of what Beniers and Wright will be as NHL players.
That makes sense if it was a three or four year contract but it wasn’t… bad contract but decent 2/3 line player. That’s really the problem we’re paying him for six seasons as a first line player and he’s not even that now.
Obi-Wan: “That boy is our only hope.”
Yoda: “No, there is another.”
Don’t look now, but Eduard Sale is a point-per-game player in the AHL so far.
My three takeaways.
1. Starting to play when down 2-0 and with 5 minutes left in the game is not a good recipe for winning.
2. In the NHL, you can make a perfectly clean body check, get attacked by an opposing player who continues to punch you while you have your back turned to them, and you are “fighting”.
3. Kraken players are obviously taking turns being terrible, and lately it seems to mostly be the Euro players. This time it was Larsson. He looks like maybe he has a flu? Bjorkstrand has seemed invisible the last couple games, and Burakovsky seems to be trying to be less terrible, but he can’t help it. Tolvanen also seems to be struggling with getting to pucks fast enough, winning battles, and just generally keeping up with the play so he’s in a position to score. When he does shoot, he’s completely missing net, though he has hit a post or two. Unfortunately those don’t count.
It’s interesting to me that a small streak of bad games gives everyone amnesia about how they’ve played previously. I agree that what’s happening now is not good but 2 weeks ago we were starting to get excited about the way the team was developing under Bylsma.
We bitched about the goalies and now that they’re both playing well we say it doesn’t matter if they can’t score. This is mostly true but don’t you feel better about losing 0-2 than 0-10? Gotta breathe and ride out this rough patch.