Have the Seattle Kraken turned a corner? It’s starting to feel like the Seattle Kraken have turned a corner, highlighted by a convincing and impressive 5-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday at Climate Pledge Arena. They’re now over .500 at 15-14-2, and after going 4-1-1 in their last six, those three miserable losses to Anaheim and San Jose a couple weeks ago don’t take up quite as much of the fanbase’s memory space.
On Thursday, the Kraken capitalized on six minutes of early power-play time, putting themselves in the driver’s seat right from the jump. They again defended well and relied on their goaltender to stop a high volume of shots with relatively little danger, and Philipp Grubauer responded with what coach Dan Bylsma called, “Probably his best outing of the year.”
“It was a really solid, really good game from Grubi, and we finally got him some run support to make that pay off,” Bylsma said.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, Jaden Schwartz scored a beautiful goal from a terrible angle, Vince Dunn hit a home run, and Jared McCann hopefully got off the schneid with an empty-netter.
Here are Three Takeaways from the Seattle Kraken’s 5-1 win over the Boston Bruins at Climate Pledge Arena.
Takeaway #1: The power play is clicking
There was a lot of noise earlier in the season about how dreadful Seattle’s power play was, and it was fair criticism; we saw it drop to 29th in the NHL at one point. But since Vince Dunn returned, the Kraken seem to be finding their way with the manpower advantage and have climbed up to 23rd in the league and above an 18 percent success rate. (Coincidentally, the Bruins now have the worst power play in the league at just 12.6 percent for the season.)
“I think [the power play] is connecting well out there,” Bjorkstrand said. “Guys are on the same page, I think we’re moving it around. We’re not really too set in our positions, so we feel like we have a little freedom, and we’re able to read off each other.”
Seattle got plenty of opportunity at 5-on-4 in the early stages of this game, because David Pastrnak clipped Jamie Oleksiak with a high stick 200 feet from his net (coaches love those) and drew blood for a four-minute minor.
The Kraken wasted almost no time, converting eight seconds into the advantage, when Bjorkstrand tipped a Matty Beniers shot while falling to the ice.
BJORK-JAM! 🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) December 13, 2024
Oliver Bjorkstrand stays hot by tipping a Matty Beniers shot through Korpisalo for an EARLY power-play goal.
1-0 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/lTVX7dzk7f
“The power play is not all about scoring goals,” Bylsma said. “The power play is about gaining momentum and doing positive things, and the fact that we were able to strike and get a goal, and how we got the goal was important for our team.”
Seattle could have added two more goals in those first few minutes—once during a net-front scramble in which Andre Burakovsky hit the back of Nikita Zadorov’s skate with a shot that looked to be headed in, and another when Bjorkstrand hit the post on a yawning cage—before Schwartz finally roofed a magical backhander with his feet below the goal line. Schwartz’s tally came just after the power play expired, but it was certainly part of the carryover of the advantage.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE SCHWARTZ! 🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) December 13, 2024
What a cheeky little goal to make it 2-0 #SeaKraken.
This came just AFTER a power play ended. pic.twitter.com/d3jMBCwioC
Takeaway #2: Grubauer was dialed in
It’s been a tough season so far for Philipp Grubauer, no doubt. As a veteran, former Vezina Trophy finalist, and carrier of a big $5.9 million AAV contract, you can bet he hasn’t been thrilled to be pushed into a backup role behind Joey Daccord.
But the fact of the matter is that before these last two outings against the Rangers and Bruins, Grubauer was 1-8-0 on the season with the worst individual stats of his career. He has desperately needed some things to start going his way, and Thursday’s performance should be a big confidence booster for him.
I thought Grubauer looked equally locked in against the Devils last week in New Jersey, but even in that one, he allowed a goal from a sharp angle in the first period and had the weird misplay in the third that Dunn then handed over to Timo Meier for an easy tap-in. In this one, there were no such flubs or misplays, and Grubauer came away with 33 saves, a .971 save percentage, and his third win of the season.
“Great game for [Grubauer],” Bjorkstrand said. “He obviously kept us in it. I mean, he played really well all game, so you build momentum off that when you have times in the game where they’re pushing hard. We relied heavy on him tonight, and he did really well.”
Grubauer credited the team in front of him, who—like in the Florida game on Tuesday—excelled in boxing out the Bruins and cutting off passing lanes.
“I think they only had like two or three chances there in the slot,” Grubauer said. “We played tight, kept them to the outside, and they had a high volume of shots, but I don’t think they had that many high-quality shots.”
Even so, Grubauer faced plenty of pucks that we’ve seen beat him at different times throughout his Seattle tenure, so for him to stand tall throughout a full contest was encouraging.
Worth noting, the lone goal Grubauer allowed was on a Brad Marchand penalty shot after Brandon Montour dove on the puck like it was a grenade to save a goal.
“I just turned around and saw Monty Superman dive behind the goal line,” Grubauer said. “He saved my ass, and then, yeah, I didn’t make the stop on the Marchand [penalty shot]. Really nice move from him.”
2-1 #SeaKraken.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) December 13, 2024
Montour saved a goal by diving on a loose puck, but BOS got a penalty shot out of it.
Brad Marchand converted. pic.twitter.com/ahahdq7mdj
Takeaway #3: Shane Wright is flying high
It is wild to think that the Shane Wright we saw a month ago is the same player we’re seeing today. After two more assists on Thursday to bring him to 11 points in 10 games since his “reset” in Healthy Scratch Land™️, Wright is not playing like a wide-eyed 20-year-old. He’s playing like a core veteran that is being relied upon to help his NHL team win.
“It’s just going out and playing and showing your speed and skill,” Bylsma said. “Not worrying about all the eyes on you, not worrying about too much in your brain, just going out and playing. I think since he’s come back, there’s still chances to improve in the game he’s showing, but he’s playing with speed, he’s playing with skill, he’s playing with aggression, he’s on the forecheck, he’s winning pucks, he’s skating with speed in the neutral zone.
“I’m not going to say this too loud, but I think we’re seeing the improving version of Shane Wright.”
While Bylsma said that last part in a hushed tone, Wright said loudly and proudly after the game that he is playing with way more confidence than he was earlier in the season.
“Obviously, it’s pretty high right now, and I’m just trying to get better every day,” Wright said. “I’m just trying to really learn as much as I can and just do whatever I can to help the team win, really. And, yeah, just try to grow every day, and really enjoy it as well and have fun.”
Wright added that it means a lot to him as a young player to not just be surviving in the NHL, but thriving.
“Being able to be put out there and play meaningful minutes, play a lot of minutes, and be able to contribute offensively is always something that feels good, for sure.”
Bonus Takeaway: Touching tributes to Mr. Bonderman
As you likely already know, David Bonderman, the founding owner of the Kraken, passed away on Wednesday. Seattle donned patches on the jerseys and helmets Thursday that said “Bondo” in front of the red eye portion of Seattle’s logo that Bonderman came up with himself.
Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke gave the following tribute during the game:
Nice tribute from Tod Leiweke and the #SeaKraken for David Bonderman. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8TeUGrY2or
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) December 13, 2024
And Philipp Grubauer said this: “I’m going to dedicate that win to Mr. Bonderman because without him, I don’t think we’d be here… Sam [Holloway], the whole Bonderman family, what they’ve done for the city and for us is incredible.”
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.
“Chuck Holmes on December 9, 2024 at 7:43 am
Shane Wright … When does he start getting more than 12 minutes a night?”
vs. Fla 15:26
vs. Bos 15:17
Does Disco Dan read this forum?
Who was that new goalie the Kraken played against the Bruins?
Great Read Darren and nice touch adding the tribute to Bonderman. Even though he didn’t score, I Burokovsky looked dangerous out there. With key players missing, this was a step in the right direction for others who just haven’t fully stepped up.
Interesting I was thinking that Burokovsky looked off and was making poor decisions with the puck, was actually thinking he’s probably going to see some more “Scratch Land™️”. He seems very disconnected with his line mates during most plays but sometimes clicks for a few plays here and there. I think he falls in a rhythm of playing with his head down much like Sprong, they both can be decent players if they are looking around.
Speaking of looking around, I was watching Wright very closely at the game last night. You can see him constantly monitoring exactly where his line mates are and hole in coverage. When you watch him closely you can see how well he thinks the game, he isn’t the most talented player or the fastest but can make those quick decisions easily because he’s thinking one step ahead. He’s also very good at using body positioning to fend off defenders not only along the boards but also in open areas. Really happy with his progress.
Grubauer played a very solid game, he was a big factor in the win. Goalies win hockey games.
Spot on on all points. I thought the same exact thing re:Burky — he made a nice play on that Dunn goal but had a few really boneheaded turnovers. Ditto Sprong who had a very poor game outside of a few shifts — he seems to be totally unaware of his linemates. Wright, otoh, was finding holes in the D and getting good shots off, making good passes, playing great D. Seems like he may surpass Beniers by the end of the year, or sooner. Beniers looks scrawny, weak, and is overpassing yet again. So frustrating. He looks a lot more like the 3C from last year than the 1/2C from 2 years ago.
Dunn and Montour were both AWESOME. Schwartz continues to defy his age and play with his pants on fire. Grubauer was nails! Let’s hope it continues so Daccord can get some rest without taking an almost automatic L.
Agreed. He was really busting his butt. I think he at least got an assist.
Great game by Grubauer.
The team is starting to click. Shhh… don’t tell the rest of the league.
Go Kraken!!!
That was easily Grubauer’s best game of the year, and possibly the best I’ve ever seen him play.
It was just an overall exciting game — it was 17-15 in high danger chances, more total HDC than all games except 1, and more for the Kraken than every game except 2 others.
Off topic, but former Kraken Justin Schultz has announced his retirement.
https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/12/justin-schultz-announces-retirement.html
Really great game to see live. Of course we were surrounded by Bruins fans (so obnoxious) and we were happy to see them quieted in the 3rd. The boys looked great, a full push for 60 minutes. Grubauer was outstanding, I hope that continues for him. I’m glad they played Sprong, he looked like he was eager to make an impact. It’s so good to beat the Bruins.
Those same fans were there last season… I remember them well.
Great win and great game by Grubauer! Maybe I’m not seeing things correctly but I thought it was a pretty poor game overall by the Kraken. At 5 on 5 they seemed almost unable to move through the neutral zone and get setup. Sooo much overpassing. How many shots did players pass up only to turn the puck over. The Kraken were up on shots 7-1 after 6 minutes and then got outshot 33-13 the rest of the way.
The issues with possession, shot volume, and shot quality have been the same over the last 3 games.
I know we picked up 5 points over those games but things don’t look good to me.
Somebody point out what I’m missing so I can enjoy this win more. 🙂
The style looks a little different right now than it did a couple weeks ago, but there’s a reason they’re not hanging their goalies out to dry. They’re staying above the puck and trying not to overcommit offensively, so they’re a little less aggressive but also keeping other teams on the perimeter.
I do feel like the work they did on the power play last night – basically an instant goal and another that came seconds after expiration – went a long ways. I don’t know that you’re missing something, but I think I see the recent trend a little differently.
Since that horrible three game embarrassment against the California teams, the Kraken have played six games. To me, in those games, they’ve looked a lot more like the team from season-before-last than the team from last season. One thing in the numbers that jumps out to me is the shots for. They haven’t topped 28 in a any of those six games. In the three dreadful losses, they took 44, 31 and 38. More importantly though, to me, is the shot quality. In last night’s tilt against Boston and the first of the six against Carolina, the Kraken lost the high-danger shots tally 32 to 26. They were -4 against the Canes and -2 against the Bruins. In the other four they’ve outshot the opponents in high-danger 55 to 30… an almost two-to-one positive differential.
I know there was a lot of talk about needing to “shoot the puck” last season, and lately there’s been mention of a shooters mentality, but I think creating quality chances – and limiting quality chances against – is way more important than volume and it seems to me they’re doing more of that. I know this seems obvious, but again and again there seems to be a continued focus shot volume by fans and the media. I say fans and the media because volume is actually down in the league and, I believe, teams are ahead of the popular thinking on this.
By the way, they won those two games where they lost the high-danger battle because those teams scored a combined three goals. Sometimes you need your goalies too.
Go Kraken!!!
Thanks both Darren and Daryl!!! Good takes! Go Kraken!!!!
Another thing is it was a real nice tribute to Bonderman. Just happens on the same day respects and thanks he so very much deserves, the Kraken reach 32 points so far this season.
As someone who has often criticized Grubauer,I just wanted to come here and say “Great game!”. Even aside from the stats, his movement around the goal was the best I’ve seen all year, and maybe during his whole time here other than the Avalanche series. Hopefully it’s the start of something bigger, because I really like the guy as a person. Happy for him!