Say this five times fast: “The Kraken are back in Back Bay.” How did it go? Ok, technically, TD Garden isn’t quite in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, but it is pretty close. And technically, the Kraken have never played in Boston before, so we aren’t sure if that tongue twister really applies here, but it sounded fun, so here we are. Back Bay or not, the Kraken are in Boston to take on the Bruins for the first time on Tuesday.
We are expecting a couple of lineup changes Tuesday for Seattle. Will Borgen has entered COVID protocol, so he joins injured defensemen Jamie Oleksiak and Carson Soucy on the shelf. That means that for the first time this season, the Kraken will officially dip into their AHL defense pool, and Cale Fleury will make his Kraken debut alongside his brother, Haydn. How neat is that?!
The younger of the Fleury brothers, Cale, has one goal in 41 career NHL games. Those games all came during the 2019-20 season with the Montreal Canadiens before Alexander Romanov arrived and took Fleury’s job. In 36 games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers this season, Fleury has five goals and 12 assists.
Get to know Cale with this Sound Of Hockey Podcast interview from August.
Another injury for the Kraken
Karson Kuhlman—acquired recently off waivers from these very same Bruins—has been placed on injured reserve after going hard into the boards Sunday against the Rangers. He appeared to hurt either his left arm or shoulder and immediately left that game.
It’s a bummer for Kuhlman, who seemed to be getting his legs under him with the Kraken and showed well in five games. Here’s hoping it isn’t too lengthy of an absence.
With that additional injury to the already battered forward corps, the Kraken also recalled Kole Lind and Max McCormick. Calle Jarnkrok is a game-time decision, but if he is available, Lind or McCormick would not be used.
Jarnkrok was a last-minute scratch Sunday with an upper-body injury. Coach Dave Hakstol indicated the injury was sustained Thursday against the Penguins. Jarnkrok was trying to play through it but decided he couldn’t go during warm-ups, so Morgan Geekie took Jarnkrok’s spot in the lineup. Now that Kuhlman is out, we expect both Geekie and Jarnkrok will play for the Kraken against the Bruins (again, assuming Jarnkrok can go).
Driedger gets engaged, gets a start
When the Kraken started this road trip, they expected to play back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday. But the winter storm that walloped the east coast caused Saturday’s game against the Islanders to get postponed until Wednesday. So, the Kraken now have back-to-backs in Boston and Long Island on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In Tuesday’s game, Chris Driedger will get his first start since a Jan. 15 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He had started to play very consistently before landing on COVID protocol for a lengthy stretch, so after this long of a layoff, it will be interesting to see if he can pick up where he left off.
It’s been a tough season for Driedger, who has been injured multiple times, then had to miss more games with COVID. But hey! He got engaged on Monday!
Projected lineup
First period highlights
Apparently Driedger was ready to play after the long layoff, and looked very… engaged (get it?!)… in the early stages of the game. He made three outstanding saves in a span of less than a minute, with the last of the three, a sprawling split save, being the most impressive.
Those stops by Driedger were the most exciting plays of the first period, which ended 0-0 with Seattle leading 9-7 in shots on goal.
The power play had two opportunities but continued its unimpressive run. In the last eight games, the only times Seattle has scored with the man advantage came during a five-on-three against Nashville and a six-on-four against the Rangers. Everything has been on the perimeter with the power play of late.
Second period highlights
The game took a feisty turn when Yanni Gourde crushed Urho Vaakaneinen behind the Boston net. Vaakanainen was twisted around in an awkward position and hit his face on the glass. The official called a five-minute major on the ice, but reviewed it and reduced the penalty to a two-minute minor for boarding.
Brandon Carlo blew a tire trying to escape Marcus Johansson at 8:49 of the second. Johansson was right on him, and in real time, it looked like he had tripped Carlo. Replay showed that Carlo had clearly fallen on his own, but a tripping call had already been made.
Predictably, just 17 seconds into the power play, David Pastrnak blasted a one-timer from the left circle that glanced off Joonas Donskoi and beat Driedger to make it 1-0 Bruins.
The Bruins extended their lead to 2-0 at 16:09 when a loose puck wobbled onto Riley Sheahan’s stick in the slot right in front of Driedger. It looked like Sheahan had a chance to clear, but the slightly bouncing puck eluded him. Taylor Hall jumped on it and in one motion put the puck in the back of the net.
In Seattle’s 45th game of the season, Donskoi finally got his first goal 42 seconds into the third period. On a broken play, Donskoi picked up a loose puck in the slot and rifled it through traffic.
Donskoi has been doing all the right things in his play and finally gets on the scoresheet.
— Did Joonas Donskoi Score Today? (@DidDonskoi) February 2, 2022
Goodness, did he ever deserve that.
Mason Appleton drew a Brad Marchand penalty at 4:47. With the Kraken PP continuing to stink as if it had just eaten a whole boatload of asparagus (get it?), Boston quickly killed that off. But soon after it ended, Appleton deflected an Adam Larsson shot past Linus Ullmark and tied the game at 2-2.
The tie was short-lived, however. With Mark Giordano off serving a tripping penalty, the Bruins got back on top with another power-play goal by Pastrnak. It was a weird one. The shot came from just outside the face-off dot and may have missed the net, but Driedger got his glove on it and somehow redirected it into the net behind him.
With Driedger off for an extra skater, Jared McCann had a look at a wide-open net in the closing minutes of the game. He shanked the shot and missed the net completely for what should have been his fourth goal in as many games.
Incredible late chances for #SeaKraken but they fall 2-3 to Boston after a hard fought 60 minutes.
Sunday is one of those days when sports watching on the west coast proves to be far superior to other timezones. Yes, there are two championship NFL games on, but for those of us in Seattle, we get the rare pleasure of rolling out of bed and jumping right into a Seattle Kraken game, as they take on the New York Rangers at 10 a.m. Pacific.
In an already bizarre season that has had starts and stops and an ever-changing schedule, another surprise was thrown at the Kraken this weekend. Their game against the New York Islanders, which was scheduled for Saturday, got pushed back to Wednesday due to the snowstorm battering the east coast.
The latest shift in the calendar means the Kraken come into this game against the Rangers rested, as opposed to being on the second of back-to-backs, as was previously planned. It also means Philipp Grubauer will get the nod again, coming off an outstanding performance to help steal an overtime win from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
New York Rangers have rebuilt quickly
The expedited rebuild in Manhattan is apparently done. The process for the Rangers was sped up dramatically with the uncovering of a young defenseman primed to be a perennial Norris Trophy candidate in Adam Fox (he did win the prestigious award last season). Fox was traded to the Rangers by the Carolina Hurricanes when he was still in college, a small deal at the time that has paid off in spades for New York. Fortunately for the Kraken, Fox is out Sunday with an injury.
Perhaps even more impactful, the Blueshirts appear to have found their long-term replacement for the legendary Henrik Lundqvist. Igor Shesterkin, a 26-year-old Russian in his third NHL season, very well could end up the Vezina winner this year. Shesterkin has been dominant all season long, posting a 20-5-2 record with a 2.10 goals against average and .936 save percentage.
His skills were on full display when the Rangers visited the Kraken on Halloween. That night, Shesterkin stopped 31 of 32 shots and earned a 3-1 win.
Also on display that night at Climate Pledge Arena was Chris Kreider, who scored in the first four minutes of the game with a top-shelf snipe on Grubauer. That goal was one of a whopping 31 (!!!) on the season for Kreider, which ties him for the NHL goal-scoring lead with Leon Draisaitl. It would be an understatement to say that this has been a career year for the 30-year-old Kreider. His previous high in goals for an entire season is 28, so he has already eclipsed that mark just halfway through the season.
With the rebuild happening so quickly, the Rangers are back in contention this season, currently holding down the third spot in the Metropolitan Division with a 28-13-4 record. They trail Carolina for the top spot by just two points, though the Hurricanes have four games in hand.
Lundqvist’s jersey retirement was spoiled by the Minnesota Wild on Friday. New York jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, then gave up three unanswered goals. The Rangers appeared to tie the game with :01 left on the clock, but it was waived off due to Cam Talbot’s pad being pushed into the net. That was New York’s second loss in a row, so the Blueshirts will be hungry on Sunday.
Lineup
Calle Jarnkrok was a very late scratch and was replaced in the lineup by Morgan Geekie. Here’s how the lines shaped up after that change.
First period highlights
The Rangers drew first blood with a beautiful power-play goal. Alex Wennberg was in the penalty box after a very soft tripping call. Artemi Panarin made a perfect pass through the seam to Mika Zibanejad, who fired it past Grubauer for his 17th of the season.
Karson Kuhlman laid a big hit on Libor Hajek at center ice, but went hard into the boards and came up in a lot of pain. He sprinted to the bench with his left arm pinned to his side and quickly left the game.
Forward Calle Jarnkrok missed today’s game with an upper-body injury.
Karson Kuhlman will not return to today’s game due to an upper-body injury.
Seattle had the better of the possession and outshot New York 13-5 in the opening frame, but the power-play goal by Zibanejad was the lone tally.
Second period highlights
The Rangers extended their lead to 2-0 4:23 into the second period. Zibanejad blasted from the left hash and hit the post. The puck dropped right into the crease behind Grubauer and onto the stick of Alexis Lafreniere who scored one of the easiest goals of his young career.
The Kraken answered three minutes later when Jared McCann got his third goal in three games and brought Seattle back within one of the Rangers. On a pretty passing play off a three-on-two rush, Marcus Johansson dropped to McCann, who passed outside to Jordan Eberle. Eberle went right back to McCann in the slot, who buried it.
Seattle continued to dominate most possession metrics through two periods and had registered 25 shots against Shesterkin by the time the second horn sounded. But we saw in the Kraken game against the Predators recently that Seattle can outshoot a team while not really testing the opposing goalie. That was how it felt through 40 minutes, as Shesterkin didn’t seam to be under much duress.
Third period highlights
The third period escalated quickly. It went from not much happening to a LOT happening in the closing minutes. With a late Kraken power play winding down and Grubauer off for an extra skater, Mark Giordano walked across the blue line to drag some Rangers defenders with him. He dished the other way to Yanni Gourde, who fired a rocket into the top corner, tying the game at 2-2 with just 1:07 left.
Riley Sheahan was the victim of a missed interference penalty just before Miller’s shot, but with 33 seconds left in the game, we weren’t surprised it didn’t get called.
It was a hard-luck loss for the Kraken, who probably deserved better. In all, they put 42 shots on Shesterkin, but he showed why he’s been such a star this season and got the win for New York.
Welcome to the SOH Liveblog for Kraken at Penguins. We will update this article throughout the game day, so check back often.
The Kraken begin a tough four-game road trip on the east coast Thursday against a Pittsburgh Penguins team that took them to the woodshed the first time these teams met.
The setup for this trip is odd. Seattle plays Thursday, then has back-to-back early matinee games against the two New York teams on Saturday and Sunday and closes it out with a night game on Tuesday in Boston. These four games in six days will lead right into the All-Star break.
This first game of the trip is daunting, especially considering the very brief history between these two clubs. When the Penguins visited the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Dec. 7, Pittsburgh scored three goals in the first 5:07 of the game and sent Philipp Grubauer to the bench after just four shots. It was one of those nights where Grubauer couldn’t seem to stop anything thrown his way.
When the dust settled, Jake Guentzel had two goals, an assist, and an injury, and the Penguins had marched to an easy 6-1 win.
Morgan Geekie scratched again, Chris Driedger officially cleared
Dave Hakstol confirmed in his morning press availability on Thursday that he would deploy the same lineup as Tuesday when the Kraken lost 4-2 to the Nashville Predators. That night, Morgan Geekie was the healthy scratch from the forward group, so this will be the second consecutive time the young forward will be held out.
Chris Driedger officially exited COVID protocol after a long stint there and will back up Grubauer on Thursday. Driedger participated in morning skate before Thursday’s game but was not officially cleared yet, so Joey Daccord was still on the bench for the game against the Preds.
Can Jordan Eberle get the monkey off his back?
Jared McCann scored Tuesday for the first time since Jan. 12 with a howitzer during a five-on-three power play. His linemate, Jordan Eberle, has been in an even deeper rut and has not found the back of the net since Dec. 6, which was ironically that 6-1 loss to these very same Pittsburgh Penguins.
Eberle had some great chances on Tuesday, but seemed to be trying to make one last move before pulling the trigger against Juuse Saros.
“That’ll turn around for him,” Hakstol said of Eberle’s scoring drought on Thursday. “When you look at the number of opportunities that he’s continuing to get, he’ll find the back of the net again. We’re confident in that, but for us, it’s not about one guy, one line or two lines. It’s not a luxury to have contributions from throughout the lineup, it’s an absolute necessity.”
March of the Penguins
The Penguins have won six games in a row, so… they’re due for a loss, right?!
They are currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division with a 27-10-5 record. Tristan Jarry is expected to start in net for the Penguins against the Kraken. He is having an outstanding season and has posted a 23-7-4 record with a 2.12 goals against average and .926 save percentage.
Projected lineup
The latest
With Driedger cleared from COVID protocol, Joey Daccord has officially been assigned to the taxi squad.
First period highlights
It was a good road period for the Kraken, who didn’t give up much to an outstanding offensive team. Chances were officially pretty even, and Grubauer made a few solid stops, especially during a Karson Kuhlman penalty.
Ok, but seriously, holding the Penguins off the board for the first 20 minutes is a win for Seattle.
Second period highlights
The tight-checking feel of this game continued well into the second period. Grubauer kept it scoreless thanks to a massive sprawling save on Jeff Carter off a two-on-one just beyond the nine-minute mark.
The Kraken got penned in for what felt like an eternity, as Pittsburgh took advantage of the long change and Marcus Johansson playing without a stick. Grubauer made four or five big stops to keep the score 0-0 on what felt and looked like the Penguins were on a power play (to be clear, they were not).
In all, the Kraken were outshot 9-2 in the frame, but Grubauer kept the boys level through two periods.
Third period highlights
The Kraken got one of their best chances of the game when Eberle passed to Johansson on a two-on-one, and Johansson went hard to the net. He missed the net with his shot and ran Jarry over in the process, earning himself an unfortunate penalty.
On the power play, Evgeni Malkin showed why he’s Evgeni Malkin and finally broke the scoreless tie.
Jarry made a couple fabulous saves on Donato and Eberle before Jared McCann finally broke through against his old team, deflecting a Vince Dunn shot to tie the game 1-1.
In the final minute, Grubauer made a big save at one end, then Joonas Donskoi hit the outside of the net at the other end after finding a loose puck in the slot.
To overtime we went.
Overtime highlights
Alex Wennberg has taken plenty of heat from fans this season for passing up opportunities to shoot. In a lot of cases, the frustration has been justified, but in Thursday’s overtime period, he pulled up off a rush and dished to Adam Larsson. Larsson buried it and gave Seattle its first ever win in three-on-three overtime.
…And that, folks, is how you beat an elite team on the road. Great defensive structure, great goaltending, opportunistic goaltending. Boom. Kraken win.
Kraken game ops pulled out all the stops Tuesday, but it still wasn’t enough to take down the Nashville Predators. Not only did team dog Davy Jones bring a couple of his cutest puppy friends to the game, there was also a team-sponsored wave during a TV timeout (not sure how we felt about that), and—perhaps most importantly—Brandon Tanev “released the Kraken” as part of the pre-game show.
To Seattle’s credit, the team did come out looking good in the first period and even scored the opening tally, a rarity for this group, but the Predators took advantage of more of their chances than the Kraken did.
The 4-2 defeat is a disappointing outcome, as that’s the end of what could have been a very positive six-game homestand. Instead it ends with Seattle posting a mediocre 3-3-0 record. It is also the last time the Kraken will play at Climate Pledge Arena until Feb. 9, so a victory would have been a nice way to close out this stretch.
Anyway, here are our Three Takeaways from Tuesday’s Kraken loss to the Predators.
Takeaway #1: Hakstol didn’t love Grubauer’s game
Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer entered Tuesday’s game riding high after three consecutive wins. He looked dialed in early, confidently kicking out several shots off good chances from the Predators. But things turned for him a bit with 21 seconds left in the first period when Luke Kunin beat him with a slapshot from the top of the left circle.
You never want to give up goals in the first or last minute of a period, as those just seem to have more of an impact on the team’s psyche than goals against in the middle of a frame. That particular marker was extra tough because Seattle was about to close out a good first period with a 1-0 lead.
“We had a great period,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “We put ourselves in position to win the first period, and it’s a nothing play.”
Then in the second, with the Kraken back in front after an Adam Larsson goal, Filip Forsberg showed why he’s an elite scorer. After skating the puck almost the length of the ice, he let a shot go from outside. It beat Grubauer clean, though there was no traffic in front of him.
Now, there are two schools of thought here. One is that Grubauer probably should have had it, being that it’s one guy with no option to pass, there’s no screen, and the shot comes from distance and an angle. The other way to look at it is that Forsberg is an awesome player and made a perfect shot.
We’re somewhere in the middle on this one. Yes, the situation would indicate the goalie should make the save, but holy cats that’s a laser.
Hakstol was a bit harder on Grubauer in his post-game presser than we expected, being that Grubauer had just played three outstanding games in a row before this one, and even Tuesday wasn’t a *bad* game, per se. He really did make some excellent saves against Nashville, especially in the first period.
Hakstol is apparently on team “he should have had it,” though. Here’s what he said about Grubauer’s performance:
“He had some good saves early in the hockey game. There was one more in the third that was from a rebound from the slot. But the first goal, it’s a tough time and it’s a tough one— you know, he’s got to stop that. Second one as well. He’s facing a good shooter, but it’s from the outside there, so those are things that can push a team back on their heels. So, not his best. He’ll need to be better in Pittsburgh a couple nights from now.”
So, that was interesting.
Hakstol did later add, “I’m not mincing words. I mean, Phil’s played really well the last… three or four games, and tonight—like I said—he’ll do better in Pittsburgh.”
Takeaway #2: Jared McCann back to scoring, but Jordan Eberle is squeezing his stick
The Kraken got the luxury of an early five-on-three advantage when the Predators took two penalties within three seconds of each other. Seattle strung together several good looks in a row before Jared McCann one-timed a Mark Giordano pass by Juuse Saros. That shot was so hard, we could have sworn we heard the puck make contact with the net all the way up in the press bridge.
It was McCann’s first goal in seven games, despite getting oodles of chances to score over that stretch.
Meanwhile, his linemate, Jordan Eberle, has not found the back of the net since Dec. 6. Those two are the top scorers on the team, so having them both in a slump at the same time has been damaging for Seattle.
Getting the proverbial monkey off McCann’s back should hopefully open the floodgates again for him. As for Eberle, he was getting some great looks Tuesday, including a partial breakaway early where he caught a pass, stickhandled between his legs, and shot. Saros made a nice save on that one, but for the most part, it felt like Eberle was trying to make one last move, rather than quickly pulling the trigger when he had chances.
These are things that players do when they’re pressing. They try to make the perfect move to put themselves in the perfect position to score, rather than simply shooting when they have the chance.
“Hockey’s a weird game,” McCann said. “Sometimes you’re hot, sometimes you’re cold. I’ve gone through in my career just trying to figure out what works for me. I’ve had guys talk to me that have scored a lot of goals in this league and they don’t change a thing. They just keep going, and eventually they’re going to break through and go in for you.”
Takeaway #3: That was a weird game
This was a hard game to reconcile because the Kraken statistically outshot and out-chanced the Predators, but it just didn’t *feel* like Saros was under all that much duress during the course of the contest, especially beyond the first period. Perhaps that is a sign of a goalie that has things really locked down, but it was a bit surprising to see the stats from that game, based on what we had watched.
The Kraken now embark on a four-game road trip, then go right into the All-Star break.
Savor Tuesday’s Kraken game, because it will be the last time we see the boys play in Seattle until Feb. 9. After this Kraken game against the Nashville Predators, Seattle will embark on a four-game road trip to the east coast, then go right into the NHL All-Star break. The Kraken have been playing well, but so too have these Predators, who have been one of the top teams in the Western Conference this season.
Remember, Seattle got its first win in franchise history on Oct. 14 against the Preds on a night when Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots and the Kraken were outshot 13-1 in the third period. The one shot for Seattle was an empty-net goal for Brandon Tanev that ended up being the game winner after Nashville got one back in garbage time.
Grubauer, by the way, has been playing some of his best hockey of the season lately. He looks confident in his crease and seems to be brushing goals off quickly, rather than letting things snowball, as they had been earlier in the season. He has three consecutive wins, and the Kraken as a team have won three of their last four.
The German Gentleman will get the nod against the Preds and will be backed up by Joey Daccord. Chris Driedger was on the ice at morning skate Tuesday, but coach Dave Hakstol indicated he is not fully back from a relatively long stint in COVID protocol.
Joonas Donskoi in, Morgan Geekie out
Hakstol raised eyebrows before Sunday’s thrilling 5-3 Kraken win over the Florida Panthers by scratching veteran forward Joonas Donskoi from the lineup for the first time. Donskoi, a $3.9-million-per-year player, has had a tough go offensively. We’ve generally really liked his game, but he has yet to find the back of the net this season. Hakstol called Sunday a “reset” for Donskoi and confirmed Tuesday that he would draw back in for the Kraken against the Predators.
With Donskoi back in, somebody has to come out for Seattle. That somebody is Morgan Geekie. With new friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Karson Kuhlman, now on the Kraken roster, there’s more competition among the forward corps. Hakstol shared Tuesday that he really liked how the fourth line of Kuhlman, Riley Sheahan, and Colin Blackwell played against the Panthers and didn’t want to split them up. So, that means somebody from the top nine has to come out. Geekie has one point in his last six games.
Jamie Oleksiak and Carson Soucy out
There’s been a carousel spinning on the Kraken blue line all season long, consisting of Haydn Fleury, Jeremy Lauzon, Will Borgen, and—in the early part of the season—Carson Soucy. Each of those guys has taken turns riding said carousel and popping in and out of the lineup.
Hakstol’s decision on who to scratch has become a bit easier with Jamie Oleksiak and Soucy out.
Oleksiak remains day to day with a lower-body injury. Soucy had an awkward collision with Frank Vatrano on Sunday and was having a hard time putting weight on his left leg when he left the game. Hakstol called him week to week.
In response to the two injuries, the Kraken recalled Cale Fleury, Haydn’s brother, to serve on the taxi squad in case he’s needed.
Haydn talked about his brother in morning press availability and generally had some interesting comments, so this video is worth your time.
Kraken lineup
The Latest
Kraken Twitter was abuzz before the game, trying to figure out who the mysterious special guest was.
Brandon Tanev is definitely in the building, but would his arrival require that much of a buffer before game time? Perhaps he’ll repel down from the rafters?
With two penalties called on the Predators three seconds apart, the Kraken got an early chance on a five-on-three and converted. After coming up empty for the first minute or so, Mark Giordano laid a pass into Jared McCann’s wheelhouse at the top of the right circle. McCann unloaded and blasted it past Juuse Saros, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead.
Seattle really did play a good first frame, and it looked like they were headed to the room with a 1-0 lead. But with just 21 seconds left, Luke Kunin ripped a one-timer through Will Borgen and through Philipp Grubauer to tie the game.
A mostly sleepy second period finally got some life injected into it when Yanni Gourde chipped a sneaky little pass through the legs of Roman Josi and onto the tape of Adam Larsson, who was pinching in from the point. Larsson let ‘er rip, and put it through the five hole of Saros at 12:21.
Filip Forsberg answered for the Predators three minutes later. Streaking up the ice on a nothing-looking play, he let a snapshot go from the top of the right circle. It was perfectly placed and beat Grubauer on the blocker side. Just an elite shot for his 21st goal of the season.
Mattias Ekholm followed up Forsberg’s goal with a lucky-bounce goal at 16:31. Ekholm tried a wrap-around. The puck rolled off his stick and into the crease, then caromed off the skate of Vince Dunn and into an empty net. The goal gave Nashville its first lead of the game.
Third period highlights
A tight-checking third period didn’t allow for much offense at either end. The Predators did extend their lead to 4-2 on the power play, after Seattle had taken a too-many-men penalty. Mikael Granlund shot from the point. He missed, but it bounced off the endboards to Matt Duchene, who snuck it under Grubauer’s arm before he could seal off the post.
That would prove to be enough for the Predators.
We will continue to update this article throughout the evening, so check back often!
