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Three Takeaways – Jacob Markstrom shines for Devils, Kraken cooked at halfway point of season

Darren Brown

[Long exasperated sigh.]

At the official halfway point of the season, the Seattle Kraken are unofficially cooked. They showed some promise coming out of the holiday break with a shocking comeback win against the Vancouver Canucks, followed by a solid 60-minute victory over the Utah Hockey Club. But, as has been the case all season, the second some positive momentum starts to build, the wheels fall right back off the wagon, this time resulting in three consecutive losses (0-2-1) to close out a four-game homestand.

The most recent Kraken defeat came Monday at the hands of the New Jersey Devils, who came in on a four-game skid. While Seattle again battled hard to stay with a good (albeit struggling) team, conceding a brutal response goal and encountering some unbelievable saves by Jacob Markstrom ultimately sealed the Kraken’s fate.

Here are Three Takeaways from a 3-2 Kraken loss to the Devils.

Takeaway #1: Jacob Markstrom wanted for grand larceny

Despite facing only 24 Kraken shots, the Devils’ netminder was the story of this game and rightfully earned the No. 1 star honors. This was one of those rare occasions where the question wasn’t “how many?” but rather, “how?” Seriously—how on Earth did he stop those?

The first of his three best saves came late in the first period with the game tied 1-1. The Eeli Tolvanen/Shane Wright/Oliver Bjorkstrand line orchestrated a beautiful 3-on-2 buildup that ended with Bjorkstrand storming down the slot for as good a look as you can get. His snap shot appeared destined for the top corner, but Markstrom sprawled to his left, going full street-hockey mode to get a piece of it with his glove.

The other two highway robberies came in the third period, both with the Kraken pressing to tie the game at 3-3. Wright and Tolvanen connected again for what seemed like a surefire goal for Tolvanen, who was staring at a wide-open net. In desperation, Markstrom lunged with his glove. With Tolvanen’s body positioning and the puck in the air, he had no choice but to direct it back toward Markstrom’s big, open mitt for another sensational save.

Minutes later, Markstrom delivered even more wizardry when Matty Beniers tipped a Kaapo Kakko shot and collected his own rebound, flipping it up and over Markstrom. With the goalie flopping flat onto his back, this floating puck would surely drop into the net, right?

WRONG!

From the depths of Hell (where Devils reside), Markstrom reached up and somehow batted the puck out of the air, preserving the tenuous one-goal lead.

After the game, New Jersey forward Paul Cotter struggled to put into words what he saw from his netminder.

“I was speechless on a couple of [the saves]. He saved me a couple dashes,” Cotter said. “I mean, we’re nowhere near a win without him tonight.” 

Added Markstrom: “It’s a win, two points. I don’t care how we do it. If I make five saves or 12 saves or 40 saves, if we win, I’m happy.”

Takeaway #2: The dreaded response goal

On Monday morning, Kraken coach Dan Bylsma emphasized how critical the second goal of the game is. If you concede the first, can you answer? Or if you score first, can you extend the lead and take control of the game? Unfortunately, the Kraken rarely capitalize on the latter scenario, so when they allow the first goal, they must respond.

Seattle did get the second goal in this game. Adam Larsson, using a Jared McCann screen to his advantage, banked a seeing-eye shot off the far post and in to tie the score at 1-1 at 15:47 of the first period.

But a case could be made that the fifth goal of this game was the most pivotal. The Kraken had just found the elusive equalizer 1:24 into the third period when Shane Wright hammered home a perfect Kakko saucer pass on the power play to make it 2-2.

While scoring that second goal is vital, so too is the next shift after any goal, and the Kraken seemed to forget that detail. Just 37 seconds later, Jack Hughes found Ondrej Palat in a soft spot in the slot, and Palat flicked a shot against the grain past Philipp Grubauer’s glove for the eventual game-winner.

Asked whether the Cotter goal with 24 seconds left in the second and the Palat response goal deflated Seattle, Bylsma said, “Yes, I agree with you.”

Takeaway #3: This feels like the end already

Maybe it’s just hyperbole and an overreaction to getting kicked while down, but this feels like the end of the Kraken’s playoff chances for the season.

…And there are still more than three months left.

Yes, there’s time for a miracle hot streak, but realistically, this team simply isn’t good enough to string together a long series of wins. To beat quality opponents, the Kraken must play near-flawless hockey for 60 minutes. While that’s possible on occasion, it won’t happen consistently enough to re-enter the playoff race.

The Kraken now sit seventh in the Pacific Division. At this rate, a last-place finish—below the Ducks and Sharks—is more plausible than a miraculous playoff berth.

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.

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