by Darren Brown | Nov 23, 2022 | Gameday Coverage, Three takeaways
That’s… *not* Kraken hockey, baby! You don’t often see Seattle in track meets (or swim meets, since both teams were sea creatures?), but that’s what happened Wednesday against San Jose. In the end, the Kraken outran (out-swam?) the Sharks with an 8-5 win to improve to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and close out their six-game homestand 4-1-1.
“It was fun for the fans, but it stunk for the coaches,” coach Dave Hakstol joked about the high-scoring affair. “Sometimes there’s nights like this. It kind of had that feel right from the go.”
With the win, Seattle now officially jumps over Los Angeles in the standings and holds sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division with three games still in hand. That was a big two points.
It’s another new way for the Kraken to win, earning a franchise record eight goals and overcoming a Timo Meier hat trick. And although coach Hakstol couldn’t have been thrilled about his team continuously letting the Sharks back in the game, the boys prevailed in the end.
“You gotta win games all different ways,” Hakstol said. “This isn’t the way that you draw it up, but it’s still a win, and you got to find different ways to win hockey games.”
Here are our Three Takeaways from a wild 8-5 Kraken win over the Sharks.
Takeaway #1: Everyone off the schneid!
It had been a long time since we had seen Jaden Schwartz score a goal. It had been longer since we had seen Ryan Donato pot one. And it had been really really long since Oliver Bjorkstrand had gotten one.
Schwartz, who had two goals, had last scored Oct. 29 against Pittsburgh. Donato, meanwhile, hadn’t scored since Oct. 19 against St. Louis, and Bjorkstrand hadn’t scored since the team’s very first game of the season in Anaheim.
Bjorkstrand getting on the board feels especially important. The key offseason acquisition has scored more than 20 goals in three of his last four seasons, but he has been mired with just one this season thanks to a shockingly low shooting percentage.
He finally got the monkey off his back against the Sharks. With the game tied early in the third period, Brandon Tanev forced a turnover at the San Jose blue line. The puck went right to Yanni Gourde, who found Bjorkstrand all alone with oodles of time. Bjorkstrand waited out Kaapo Kahkonen and tucked a backhander up under the bar.
“He scores that goal, and we all went nuts on the bench,” said Matty Beniers. “He’s so deserving of it. He’s getting so many offensive chances every night, and now one’s going in, and you’re probably going to see they’re all going to start falling for him.”
Andre Burakovsky shared that Bjorkstrand had a secret weapon Wednesday. Bjorkstrand recently switched to a new stick and had been scoring a lot in practice recently. So, when he buried one Wednesday, Burakovsky told him, “It’s the new stick, bud.”
“It’s great for him,” Hakstol added. “That’s a heck of a goal. He’s had some really good opportunities here over the last 10 games. That play is— first of all, it’s off of hard work on a re-load in the offensive zone, and he made no mistake.”
It was a big goal in the game and perhaps an even bigger goal for the player, who Seattle certainly hopes can get going offensively.
Takeaway #2: Jamie Oleksiak is back
Though the Kraken had some success with Jamie Oleksiak out of the lineup, the Big Rig was a sight for sore eyes on the Seattle blue line Wednesday. It is our belief here at Sound Of Hockey that consistent and balanced right-shot/left-shot defensive pairs has been hugely helpful to this team. Without Oleksiak, Seattle had temporarily lost that balance, plus a big, physical presence on the back end was suddenly missing.
In his first game back from his lower-body injury, Oleksiak found his way onto the scoresheet. Midway through the second period, San Jose had a delayed penalty coming. With Martin Jones off for an extra skater, the Kraken maintained possession for an extended period. They worked it around the offensive zone until Justin Schultz found Oleksiak open on the doorstep. Oleksiak redirected it by Kahkonen to make it 4-2 Kraken.
“He was good,” Hakstol said of Oleksiak. “Obviously, we love his defensive game and the hardness that he brings there. He chipped in with a goal in the six-on-five with the delayed penalty. So it’s not really a defensive two-way defenseman’s dream tonight at 8-5, but he contributed in a lot of different ways, and he’s a big part of our group. It’s nice to have him back in the lineup.”
Just like how the Kraken saw immediate results in three-on-three overtime after practicing that scenario, they also practiced six-on-five situations this week. Lo and behold, an extended opportunity came up in the middle of the game, and they took advantage. As we said after last game, practice makes perfect.
Takeaway #3: The Killer B’s come through in a big way
Not only did Bjorkstrand score an important goal Wednesday, the other two of the “Killer B’s” had an enormous night as well.
Burakovsky had Seattle’s first goal of the game on a five-on-three power play, then assisted on Oleksiak’s goal and Schwartz’s first goal.
Beniers had three points of his own, with a beautiful goal off a rush to seal the game at 7-5, and an even better assist on Vince Dunn’s goal in the second period. He made something out of nothing, attacking an offensive zone full of Sharks, despite being completely outnumbered. Beniers flew deep into the zone, then somehow snuck a pass between Jaycob Megna and Luke Kunin. The pass found Dunn driving to the net, and he tied the game at 2-2.
“I loved his game three nights ago,” Hakstol said of Beniers. “If you go back and look at that hockey game, he did so many really good things. High-level, good two-way play, good offensive plays, and he followed it up tonight.”
We’ve quietly had just the smallest inkling of concern that Beniers may have been hitting a bit of a wall. This is, after all, his first full pro season and the first time he’s experienced the grind of an 82-game campaign. After a torrid start to the season, Beniers had gone six games without a point before earning two assists against the Kings on Saturday. Wednesday was a breakout.
It’s a great sign to see Matty back to his contributing ways after a quiet stretch.
by bliesse | Nov 9, 2022 | Gameday Coverage, Photography
All photos taken by Brian Liesse. Photos are property of Sound Of Hockey and cannot be reused.
by Andy Eide | Nov 3, 2022 | Gameday Coverage
Scoring thrice in the second period, the Seattle Kraken won their third straight game for only the second time in franchise history with a 4-0 win over the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday.
“We’re having fun; it’s way more fun to win,” Kraken center Morgan Geekie said. “We’re having a good time, we’re playing solid hockey at both ends of the rink.”
It was about as complete a game as the Kraken have played this season, and it was punctuated by Martin Jones making 22 saves for his first Seattle shutout, plus another good night from Seattle’s fourth line which had a goal from Geekie and two assists from Daniel Sprong.
“We checked well all game,” Jones said. “In the D-zone we took away the middle of the ice. Then we were able to get some exits and get on the forecheck.”
Alex Wennberg scored twice for the Kraken (6-4-2) who move to 4-1-1 on the road this season.
“It was straight up 60 minutes of hockey,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We just wanted to come play a real good road game in a tough building. It’s a building where momentum can get rolling.”
Marc-Andre Fleury made 19 saves for the Wild (5-5-1) who had won their previous two games.
After a low-event first period, the Kraken exploded in the second.
Geekie tipped in a Sprong shot at 5:02 of the second to open the scoring and give the Kraken a 1-0 lead. It was Geekie’s fourth goal in his last five games and third straight game with a goal.
“I just stick to my game for the most part,” Geekie said of his hot streak. “I have a couple of good linemates, which helps. I think we have a lot of chemistry, and I just try to be in the right place at the right time and create offense.”
Jamie Oleksiak scored his third at 11:34 on a back-and-forth passing play with Yanni Gourde. Oleksiak had one goal in 71 games last season.
A little controversy gave Seattle a 3-0 lead at 14:47 during a Kraken power play. Sprong’s shot deflected off a Minnesota stick and up into the air. Wennberg appeared to head butt it past Fleury. That is not allowed, and initially the goal was disallowed. But replay showed that Wennberg did not contact the puck with his head, and it instead bounced off his back; that is allowed. The play was reviewed, and Wennberg was credited with the goal.
“I saw the puck right away, so I had plenty of time [to think],” Wennberg said. “The first thought was to try to hit it sideways because [Shane Wright] was there, but you’re not allowed to score with your head. So, I feel like I ducked last second. It’s hard to say that’s what I wanted to do, but I’ll keep it that way.”
Wennberg scored in a more conventional manner at 10:35 of the third period when he tipped a shot from Will Borgen in for his second of the night to make it 4-0.
The Jones file
Playing his first game since leaving the team briefly in Calgary to take care of a personal issue Jones, showed no ill effect of missing time.
His best period was the second period. While his teammates were scoring three times, Jones had to make 12 saves. With the lead in the third, he was sharp and didn’t allow a momentum-changing goal.
“He picked up right where he left off from the Pittsburgh game,” Hakstol said. “He obviosuly had a couple days in between, but he did a really good job of being mentally and physically ready to go… Jonesy had a couple saves from in tight [in the second]… I thought in the third period we closed it out really well.”
Jones had great help from the guys in front of him, who mostly kept the Wild to the outside and limited dangerous shots against. It was the first shutout for Jones as a Kraken and his 26th career blanking. Jones had previously shut out the Wild three times in his career.
Overall, he’s stopped 55 of his last 56 shots faced, going back to a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh this past Saturday.
Tentacle Tales
- Jared McCann did not play Thursday, and Hakstol said the forward was out day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
- Shane Wright played in McCann’s place, centering a line with Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev. He established a career high with 13:45 of ice time, including 1:55 on the Kraken’s power play. “I thought Wrighter and his line played a solid game,” Hakstol said. “Five-on-five, they were reliable in a 200-foot sense. I thought Shane’s confidence grew throughout the game.”
- With Jones’s return to the lineup, the Kraken sent goalie Christopher Gibson back to the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds.
- Seattle enjoyed its second straight game with a blank sheet on the penalty kill, killing off both of the Wild attempts. The Kraken were 1-for-2 with their own power play.
by Andy Eide | Nov 1, 2022 | Gameday Coverage
They gave up two goals in 17 seconds early in the third period in a tie game, and it looked like a frustrating loss was in order for the Seattle Kraken. But not this night. Not this season. Instead of folding the cards, the Kraken stormed back to score the next three goals and beat the Calgary Flames 5-4 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.
The heroes were aplenty, starting with goalie Joey Daccord, who was making a last-minute start and kicked out 36 shots. It was his second NHL win, first for the Kraken, and came in his first start of the season.
“Hockey’s a crazy game, it was a nuts game,” Daccord said. “You give up two quick in the third and its 4-2 you think ‘that’s probably it.’ Just an amazing effort out of our team and I think it shows the character we have in this room to battle back like that. Our PK was awesome all night, blocking shots and making my life easy… a huge character win for us and I’m just happy to be part of it.”
Yanni Gourde scored his first of the year, a short-handed goal, to tie the game, and Matty Beniers scored his fifth to win the game for the Kraken (5-4-2) who have won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
It was looking bleak
After surviving a second period where they were outshot 20-8, the Kraken left tied 2-2, but the Flames (5-3-0) struck early in the third.
“We were able to right the ship a little bit in the second, the last eight minutes,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “To start the third, we give up a quick face-off goal and then a little miscue coming out of the zone up the wall. Those are the kinds of plays that will get you beat… we showed really good resiliency to find a way back in the game.”
Calgary took a 4-2 lead in a matter of 16 seconds on goals from Tyler Toffoli and Trevor Lewis starting at 1:51 of the period. It was a script that played out numerous times a season ago. Seattle would give up goals to fall behind and lacked any firepower to come back.
The comeback started at 8:31 when the Kraken were on the power play, and Daniel Sprong scored after Alex Wennberg found him down low with a cross-crease pass. It cut the lead to 4-3 and was Sprong’s second of the season.
Gourde tied it up while killing a penalty at 11:26. He stripped the puck in the neutral zone, picked it up, and snapped a quick shot that Flames goalie Dan Vladar, who made 21 saves, couldn’t stop.
“I don’t read anything,” Gourde said when asked what he saw on the play. “ I close my eyes, honestly. I saw low blocker, that’s usually my shot, I just took it and it worked.”
The game was tied at 4-4. Exactly two minutes later, Jordan Eberle led a jailbreak Seattle rush and found Beniers across the ice and buried it, top shelf for what would be his first NHL game-winning goal.
“I was fired up” Beniers said about seeing Eberle with the puck. “I was smiling skating down the ice because he’s dangerous with the puck no matter what he’s going to do. He ended up making a perfect play, gave me the open net on the back side.”
How it got there
Carson Soucy opened the scoring at 14:58 of the first period when he jumped into the zone and swept a wrister from the face-off circle for his first goal of the year.
The Flames started the second period pushing the pace and tied the game, 1-1, when defenseman Nikita Zadorov crashed the net and Toffoli fed him with a cross-ice pass for a tap-in goal at 6:28 of the period.
Nazem Kadri gave the Flames the lead moments later at 8:14 when he attacked the net and was initially stopped by Daccord. However, the puck rebounded right back to Kadri who flung it over Daccord for his fifth goal of the season. Seattle challenged the play for goalie interference. The replay did show that Kadri’s skate brushed Daccord’s pads when he skated through the crease, but it was deemed not to have interfered with Daccord’s ability to make the save. The goal made it 2-1.
Morgan Geekie continued to stay hot and scored for the second game in a row to tie it 2-2 at 13:10. The puck was stolen by Jamie Oleksiak at neutral ice, which developed a mini two-on-one rush. He slid the puck to Geekie for the score.
Seattle special teams were mostly good
Coming into Tuesday’s contest, the Kraken penalty kill was a mess. They were third worst in the league, but against the Flames, Seattle killed off all four power plays they faced and were one for four themselves. Gourde’s short-handed goal was a boost as well.
“The PK was good all night. They were moving together, we did a better job holding the line, maybe than we’ve done all year,” Hakstol said. “On the power play, we weren’t sharp tonight. Weren’t getting in the zone clean… but the bottom line with the power play is that if you stick with it and get one at a critical time, you’ve done a great job, and we did that.”
Soucy and Gourde scored for the first time this year meaning the Kraken have had 19 different players score a goal this season. That’s the most in the NHL. Seattle is getting widespread scoring, but with Soucy’s goal, every defenseman who has played a game for the Kraken this season has scored. That’s also the best in the league so far.
Tentacle Tales
- Beniers’ goal gives him a five-game point streak which ties his career best. It is the most by a rookie in the NHL this season.
- Tuesday’s win was the second in franchise history for the Kraken where they came back from a third-period multi-goal deficit. The first was March 19 when Seattle came back to score four goals in the third period against the Detroit Red Wings to win 4-2.
- 36 saves are a career high for Daccord.
- Daccord was starting for Martin Jones who left the team to deal with a personal matter. Christopher Gibson was called up earlier in the day from AHL Coachella Valley to back up.
- The Kraken’s road trip continues Thursday when they play the Minnesota Wild and ends Saturday in Pittsburgh with a rematch with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
by Darren Brown | Apr 30, 2022 | Gameday Coverage
After Seattle’s morning skate on Friday, Yanni Gourde addressed the media. He indicated that against the San Jose Sharks, the Kraken had a desire to put it all out there for the fans that have been supporting them so feverishly all season long.
“It’s very important that we show up for them,” Gourde said. “It’s very important that we bring our energy level to the highest level we can tonight.”
The Kraken delivered, and so too did the especially boisterous fans, just as they have for every home game in this inaugural season. On the first ever Fan Appreciation Night at Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle’s players made the best gesture they could to show their thanks, sending the crowd home happy with a 3-0 win.
Here are our Three Takeaways from the last Kraken home game of the 2021-22 season.
Takeaway #1: The Kraken can protect a 2-0 lead
In three of the four games prior to Friday’s victory, the Kraken had 2-0 leads but ultimately came out on the losing end in all three. So after Adam Larsson scored at 18:31 of the first period to extend the Kraken lead to 2-0, we had flashbacks to those recent collapses.
Things got a little hairy in the second period when Jamie Oleksiak and Larsson took back-to-back penalties and gave San Jose 1:12 of five-on-three time. But Seattle’s penalty killers were equal to the task and actually gave the team a big momentum boost.
“That’s what a good kill can do for you,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “[Will Borgen], [Carson Soucy], and [Riley Sheahan] were out there for really the whole five-on-three… They did a great job, they kept everything to the outside.”
“The guys were patient, a couple shot blocks, and just let me see the puck, too, so things were just kind of clicking,” said goalie Chris Driedger. “They kind of had us in zone the whole time, but we kind of kept everything to the outside and didn’t let anything through us. So when the guys put up effort like that, it’s pretty easy for me to do my job.”
After Larsson’s penalty ended, the Kraken went the other way, and Jared McCann rang a heavy shot off the post. It was LOUD in the building at that point, and had Seattle scored in that moment, the structural integrity of the new arena would have been tested. Even so, play swung back in Seattle’s direction after that, and the Kraken never looked back.
Takeaway #2: Driedger gets his first shutout
Driedger ending his home campaign with his first shutout of the season and the first ever shutout by any Kraken goalie at Climate Pledge Arena was a nice cherry on top of an already tasty sundae.
Though he has never said it, this has surely been a tough season for Driedger, who signed with Seattle at the Expansion Draft expecting to be the team’s starter. Then the Kraken signed Philipp Grubauer and made Driedger the backup. He got hurt multiple times in the early going, and when he was healthy, he didn’t get to play enough to get into a rhythm.
The second half of the season has been much better for Driedger, and it was fitting that he would earn his first shutout on this particular night.
“Coming out for this building, going crazy like it was, was pretty special,” Driedger said. “To send it off at home to finish off the year is pretty cool too. So, I’ll remember this one for a long time.”
“I was so happy for him,” added Gourde. “Last game in this building this year and for him to get the shutout— he worked so hard all year. Super happy for him, and he made some tremendous saves tonight again. He was big in net and killing that five-on-three and all that stuff, he did an amazing job.”
Takeaway #3: Pomp and circumstance
Following Friday’s game, the Kraken held a brief ceremony, in which all of the players returned to the ice to throw plush fish and t-shirts into the crowd, and then awards were handed out to McCann, Gourde, and Grubauer.
McCann won the Pete Muldoon MVP Award, Gourde won both the Fan Favorite Award and the Guyle Fielder Award for “perseverance, hustle, and dedication,” and Grubauer won the Three Stars of the Year Award.
“I’m super appreciative,” said Gourde about being chosen as the Fan Favorite. “I mean, I’m not trying to do that. I guess the way I play probably— I probably smile at the opponent more times than not. All those things probably add up to me. But I really appreciate that. It means a lot. I’ll keep doing that for next year as well. This is how I play, and hopefully we can keep going and keep building this relationship that we have.”
It was a nice way to cap off a night in which the atmosphere in Climate Pledge Arena—which was so good all year—was especially electric.
“You look at the atmosphere out there, before the game, throughout the game, and then even after; I don’t know that anybody left before the before the team came back out for the presentations and the jerseys and the awards, so that’s pretty special,” said Hakstol. “It’s awesome to be able to finish with a good win in front of a great crowd like that. And they’ve been there through thick and thin all the way through the year.”
We’ve heard players talk often this season about how great the fans have been. We believe they have been genuine when they’ve said things about this being the best and loudest fanbase they’ve encountered in their respective careers.
Friday was a perfect night for the Kraken faithful to show one last time just how loud they can get, and the team rewarded them with a stylish sendoff.
Bonus takeaway: What a ride
On behalf of our whole team here at Sound Of Hockey, I just want to give my very sincere thanks to all who have read, listened, and followed along all throughout this first season of Kraken hockey.
Five years ago, it didn’t even feel like a possibility that in 2021-22 I would have the opportunity to cover an expansion NHL team, attend press conferences, talk to players and coaches, go to (almost) every home game, and have an incredibly supportive fanbase consuming the work I was doing. We think we’re on track for building something special in this exploding hockey community, and without your support along the way, we would not be where we are today. Thank you.
Oh, and I’m also happy to say that we’re just getting started. Lots more to come!
by Andy Eide | Apr 23, 2022 | Gameday Coverage
It only felt like a replay of Friday night, but the Seattle Kraken gave up a two-goal lead during the second period for the second night in a row. Saturday it was the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center who handed the Kraken their second loss in a row, 3-2.
Seattle scored twice in the first period, but as they did in Minnesota, they relinquished that lead by allowing Dallas to score three unanswered in the second to win the game.
After a franchise-best three-game winning streak was snapped Friday night, Seattle has lost two in a row.
“It was five minutes that got us,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We gave up to three in a short span. We had a really good start to the second and regained our composure after that and had a hell of a third period but couldn’t overcome that, that five-minute span.”
A night after allowing three power-play goals against, Dallas was 1-for-2 with the man advantage.
Roope Hintz scored twice for the Stars (44-30-5), who are in a fight for the last wild card spot in the Western Conference. Jake Oettinger made 25 saves for his 28th win of the season.
Yanni Gourde scored for the third straight game for the Kraken (26-46-6), who lost both ends of back-to-back games. Chris Driedger played well in defeat with 28 saves, 12 of which came in the first period. Rookie Matty Beniers was held off the scoresheet, ending his streak of five games with a point to start his NHL career.
“We settled our game down and righted the ship and got pushed back the other direction during the second period,” Hakstol said. “In the third we deserved a better fate for sure. I thought we earned a couple of power plays in there. We earned some zone time. They did a good job of keeping us to the outside on a lot of those plays, but we had some good looks.”
The Kraken outshot Dallas 14-5 in the third period.
Those five minutes
“They put some pressure on us and we were getting hemmed in,” Riley Sheahan said. “They did a good job of coming at us and pressuring us and we weren’t able to really break it. So, it allowed them to get some momentum and kind of give us a tough time for that second. Overall, it wasn’t a terrible game we just kind of had some lapses or took the foot off the gas and they capitalized.”
Down 2-0, Hintz cut the lead to 2-1 at 6:53 after a cross-ice pass from Joe Pavelski, and then Hintz tied the game two minutes later after he split the defense and flipped the puck past Driedger.
What would turn out to be the game-winner came at 11:34 after Ryan Donato turned the puck over behind the Kraken net. Denis Gurianov picked it up and flung it in front to Vladislav Namestnikov who scored his 15th to make the score 3-2.
“We had, obviously, the turnover by Donnie, but we had a couple of tired players on the ice that extended his shift,” Hakstol said. “Those things get you in the second period and on the winning goal, the third goal, that was the case.”
Kraken good early
After an early Dallas goal was overturned on review because Hintz cleared Driedger out of the crease, the Kraken responded with a goal that counted.
Adam Larsson’s point shot was stopped, but the rebound fell to Sheahan, and he made it 1-0 at 6:50 of the first period. Gourde then tipped in a Derrick Pouliot bid from the point at 18:38 to give Seattle its second 2-0 lead in as many nights.
Tentacle Tales
+ Gourde has scored 20 goals for the third time in his career and is the second Kraken to hit the mark, joining Jared McCann.
+ Gourde’s goal in the first period was the 100th in his NHL career. He is the ninth active undrafted player to reach the mark.
+ Stars forward Joe Pavelski recorded his 500th career assist.
