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Monday Musings: The best week yet for the Kraken?

John Barr

The Seattle Kraken just had their best week of the season, grabbing five out of a possible six points without their starting goalie and best goal scorer in the lineup.

The imperfect game

Coming into Thursday night’s game against Winnipeg with Connor Hellebuyck in net, it felt like the Kraken needed to play a perfect game to beat the Jets. Winnipeg got on the board first with a rush chance that looked a little too easy and not characteristic of the type of play we have seen from this team this season. The Kraken answered that mistake with a nice Kaapo Kakko deflection that floated over Hellebuyck’s shoulder.

Winnipeg took the lead back when Neal Pionk found Mark Scheifele behind a Kraken line change in the second period for a breakaway goal. It was another consequential mistake by the Kraken that we haven’t seen often this season. The Jets had just a one-goal lead going into the third, but it felt like a big hill to climb against a formidable opponent, especially with Hellebuyck in net.

Seattle scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the third and then added an empty-netter in the dying minutes to seal the win. It was a signature victory where they found a way to win without being perfect.

Shot attempt volume

The Kraken are 26th in the league in shot attempts per game. There’s been a lot of fan chatter about the lack of shots and attempts lately, but those numbers can be misleading. Dallas is dead last in shot attempts per game, yet the Stars have the third-best record in the league.

Because the Kraken have been playing from ahead rather than tied or trailing, they’ve naturally taken fewer attempts. They average almost six fewer shot attempts in regulation in wins than they do in regulation losses.

Penalty kill

The penalty kill remains a sore spot. San Jose’s power-play tally marked the sixth straight game in which Seattle allowed a goal while shorthanded. The unit has struggled all season, but discipline had been a saving grace, until this week.

Seattle was shorthanded 13 times over three games, their highest such stretch of the season. Early-season issues stemmed from extended defensive-zone time, whether from failed clears or uncontested entries. I chalk this up more to rough execution than systemic failure, and improvement should come as the season progresses.

Freddy Gaudreau returns to the lineup

Usually the return of a fourth-line center isn’t something that gets fans buzzing, but Freddy Gaudreau’s return should give this team a real boost. Gaudreau does a lot of little things that don’t always show up. He’s a bit of a Swiss Army knife: kills penalties, provides a right-shot center option, is very good in the shootout, and has enough sneaky skill to move up and down the lineup when needed.

On Saturday, he took 40 percent of the defensive-zone draws, was on the ice for 35 percent of the penalty-kill time, and even generated a high-quality shorthanded chance. His return should ease some of the burden the team has placed on Chandler Stephenson while Freddy was out. He’s a sneaky addition who strengthens the lineup in subtle ways that not everyone may notice.

Other musings

Goal of the week

The interruption goal…

Player performance

Philipp Grubauer – Two wins in two games, including a shutout in relief for two periods against San Jose. He saved 2.39 goals above expected, per evolving-hockey.com.

Jacob Melanson – The 22-year-old notched his first AHL hat trick Sunday for Coachella Valley, giving him six goals in 14 games (he had just eight all last season).
Jagger Firkus – Another Firebird hat trick over the weekend, but Jagger’s came Saturday. He leads the AHL in points and has a six-game point streak.

The week ahead

If you had looked at this stretch before the season started, you probably would’ve circled it as a chance to bank some points, with four games against teams that missed the playoffs last year. However… as of Monday morning, all four of those teams are in playoff spots and look a lot tougher than previously expected.

It’s a four-game road trip starting Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings. I still wake up in cold sweats thinking about that game in Detroit last year. On Thursday, the Kraken face the Chicago Blackhawks for the second time this season. Seattle won the first meeting 3–1, but they saw backup Arvid Söderblom in that one, so the boys might see Spencer Knight this time.

Then it’s another shot at fixing the back-to-back demons with the Penguins on Saturday, followed by the Islanders on Sunday to wrap things up.

Given the quality of opponents, four out of eight points would be fine, five would be good, and six would be great.

And finally

It usually takes 20 games to really assess a team, and the Kraken just crossed the 18-game mark. I’m calling it now: the Seattle Kraken are going to be in the mix for a playoff spot. Their success isn’t driven by luck or a soft schedule—in fact, it’s pretty much the opposite. Considering the injuries that have chipped away at the roster and the absolutely brutal October schedule, this start is nothing short of incredible.

I was one of the few people who expected the Kraken to be much better this season, but even I’m impressed. With Freddy Gaudreau back and Jared McCann and Joey Daccord seemingly close, this team might have another level to hit. How are we feeling out there?

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