by Andy Eide | Apr 13, 2022 | Gameday Coverage
On a night that the Kraken should have celebrated the NHL debut of top prospect Matty Beniers, they fell apart in the third period to blow a two-goal lead on the way to a 5-3 loss to the Calgary Flames Tuesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The loss was disappointing, but Beniers was not.
“I was excited about the way it went,” Beniers said. “I got to play with two great players so they made it pretty easy on me. I thought we did a good job. Getting that [first point] is nice. It’s just a load off your back and like, ‘Alright, I can settle in.’ I thought we could have had a couple more, we were all over them.”
He had an assist for his first NHL point, and his line, with Ryan Donato and Jordan Eberle, were dangerous seemingly every time on the ice. Beniers was dynamic, he pushed the puck, played with poise, and was outstanding at both ends of the ice.
“At the end of the day you play with good players, good things usually happen and Matty’s a good player,” Donato said. “It was a fun game. Obviously not the way we want it to turn at the end, but I was happy for him to see he’s got his first point.”
All the promise Beniers displayed was doused with water by the third period turn of events.
The Flames (45-16-9) had a hat trick from Matthew Tkachuk, a goal and an assist from Noah Hanifin, and two assists from Johnny Gaudreau, which put him across the 100-point mark in a season for the first time in his NHL career. Jacob Markstrom started the game but allowed three goals on 15 shots and was replaced by Dan Vladar at the start of the third period. Vladar stopped all seven shots he faced.
Donato, Victor Rask, and Adam Larsson scored for Seattle (23-44-6), who end the season series against the Flames 0-4-0. The Kraken allowed four unanswered goals in the third period.
With Seattle ahead 3-1, the problems started early in the third when multiple penalties put the Kraken shorthanded.
“I don’t know where to begin, I think [we] took too many penalties obviously,” Donato said. “But I don’t think necessarily that was our own fault. At the same time, I think we were just competing. Emotions ran high, both at the refs and us and unfortunately, they had a very big impact on the game. It is what it is. I think we just get ready and come back for next game.”
Tkachuk cut the lead to 3-2 at 19:17 with a power-play goal, and then Andrew Mangiapane tied it at 5:33 after an extended Flames possession in the Seattle end.
Prior to the Mangiapane goal, he appeared to trip up Vince Dunn behind the net and force a turnover. That turnover led to the Calgary possession that ultimately tied the game. Kraken coach Dave Hakstol called timeout afterward to settle his team.
“Game was being called pretty close tonight,” Hakstol said. “I felt like there was an obvious call that was missed that led directly to the tying goal, and I just didn’t want our guys distracted by that. So wanted to take the time out to settle things down. We did that. We came up with a couple of real good shifts after that and got back to it.”
It would be Calgary who struck next on a goal from Hanifin, who one-timed a shot on another Calgary power play at 14:10 to put the Flames ahead 4-3. Tkachuk would score a late empty-net goal to complete the hat trick and seal the 5-3 final.
Beniers provided first period energy
The first point for Beniers wasn’t cheap, it was an elite play. After the Kraken kept Calgary from breaking out, Beniers had the puck at the top of the zone. He faked a shot and somehow spotted an open Donato in the far circle. He rifled a pass right to Donato’s tape who one-timed home his 15th goal to reach a new career high and give Seattle a 1-0 lead at 14:13 of the first period.
The Flames would answer at 16:51 when a Hanifin shot was tipped past Driedger by Tkachuk to square the game at 1-1. For Hanifin, it was the fifth straight goal that he had an assist on – after setting up all four goals against Seattle on Saturday – four of which were primary helpers.
Rask gave the Kraken a 2-1 lead at 3:06 of the second period. He was the beneficiary of great work along the boards from Kole Lind who got the puck deep to Yanni Gourde below the Flames net. Rask was left alone in front, and Gourde got it to him for the veteran’s second goal with the Kraken.
Moments after killing off a Larsson high-sticking penalty, the Swedish defenseman would come out of the box and score to make it 3-1 at 17:10. Alex Wennberg handed off the puck to Larsson who made one quick move to his right and scored with a wrist shot.
Beniers by the numbers
Beniers logged 17:10 of ice time, which was third among the Kraken forwards, and he had one shot on goal. He went 5-for-12 in the faceoff circle and got 1:30 of power-play time.
“His hockey sense and his ability to know and understand what’s around him on the ice showed to be excellent tonight,” Hakstol said. “He looked comfortable in traffic and that’s a big challenge on night number one. But most importantly is that he just really showed good poise throughout the entire day on the ice and off the ice. He played a good hockey game. He played hard. He made plays.”
His underlying numbers were equally as good. With Beniers on the ice at 5-on-5, the Kraken had 57.89 percent of all unblocked shot attempts and had an impressive 63.68 percent of all shot quality. It’s just one game and he’s still 19 years old, but its hard to imagine a better debut.
by Darren Brown | Apr 7, 2022 | Gameday Coverage
It’s been a while since we’ve been able to get a Three Takeaways story out to the masses. Putting one together after a 2-0 Seattle Kraken road victory over the Chicago Blackhawks—a win that also sealed the season series—sure does feel like a nice way to get back in the groove.
The Kraken came out flying on Thursday and dominated the first period, but predictably failed to register a goal in the opening frame. Things evened out as the game went on, but thankfully Alex Wennberg scored a stunning goal, Jordan Eberle added some late insurance, and that was all Philipp Grubauer and his thieving posts would need to sneak past the bumbling Blackhawks.
Coach Dave Hakstol summed up the win pretty well: “Grubi was good tonight, our penalty kill was good tonight, and that’s the difference in the hockey game.”
Here are our Three Takeaways.
Takeaway #1: Grubauer earned his shutout, got some help from his posts
Grubauer got the 20th shutout of his career and second of the season, stopping 29 shots along the way. He only faced three shots in the first period, as the Kraken did everything right (other than score), but the play really ramped up in his end in the second and third.
He came up large on several occasions, including in the first shift of the game, during some tough penalty kills, and in the closing minutes when he was without a stick and facing six Chicago skaters.
“We dominated the first period, but first shift of the game, he’s gotta face [Patrick] Kane in a point-blank situation. That’s a great save,” Hakstol said. “We get through the kill and the situation at the end of the second period, and right at the start of the third, as [Carson Soucy] comes out of the box, now he’s gotta face [Alex] DeBrincat coming down the right side. So those are a couple of saves that were really important. He looked real confident tonight.”
Grubauer also got a bit lucky late in the game when Kane and Seth Jones rang back-to-back shots off the right post. He calmly and quietly thanked the iron for its service by giving it a soothing pat with his catch glove.
Takeaway #2: The second period penalty kill was an obvious turning point
As the end of the second period started coming into focus, Ryan Donato took the game’s first penalty after he interfered with Taylor Raddysh right off an offensive-zone face-off. Then, just off the ensuing face-off at the other end, Soucy caught Raddysh with a high stick and drew blood, meaning Soucy would sit for four minutes. It was an interesting four seconds for Raddysh (ironic, since radishes are inherently boring) but a bad situation for the Kraken.
Seattle’s PK unit came up huge in killing 1:56 of five-on-three time, thanks to some textbook positioning and shot blocking. It then followed that up with an aggressive five-on-four kill that almost resulted in a short-handed goal for Jared McCann.
“We got a clear off the initial draw,” Hakstol explained. “That builds momentum for the penalty kill, and the five-on-three really stands out. The guys did an outstanding job there.”
Grubauer thought the PK effort carried over from Wednesday night in St. Louis, when the Kraken spent way too much time in the penalty box. “Even yesterday, I think we gave up one [goal], but we killed off eight minutes,” he said. “Today too, five-on-three, huge part of the game. We did the right things, we pressured at the right times, we blocked some shots, we were in the lanes… PK, hell of a job today.”
Takeaway #3: Wennberg’s eventual game winner was a stunner
Feast your eyes on this dazzling dangle from Alex Wennberg.
The eventual winning goal broke a 0-0 tie early in the second period. Wennberg picked up a loose puck at the blue line and faked a shot. Jake McCabe bit on the fake, hook, line, and sinker, and looked like his feet had frozen into the ice. Then, with a head of steam built up, Wennberg swung around the temporarily frozen McCabe and made goalie Kevin Lankinen look equally silly before calmly depositing the puck into a yawning cage.
“Little mini-breakaway, good fake,” Grubauer said. “As a goalie, you gotta stay patient. [Wennberg] cut across and did a really great job faking out the goalie and put it in the net. Great goal, made us win the game.”
Said Wennberg, “I got a little speed, so I was going to fake the shot, and just see if I could get the space, and I feel like I really found a way to beat him around. And then after that, it goes fast. You just trust your instincts.”
Ok, well, then it’s safe to say that Wennberg’s instincts are pretty good, because that was certifiable filth.
It’s fun to see a goal like that from a team that generally has trouble scoring, and it’s fun to see a win like that from a team that generally has trouble winning.
Will we see Matty Beniers on Saturday when the Kraken welcome the Calgary Flames? We shall see…
by bliesse | Mar 31, 2022 | Gameday Coverage
Here’s our latest photo gallery from Kraken versus Golden Knights on March 30. All photos taken by Brian Liesse. Photos are property of Sound Of Hockey and cannot be reused.
by Andy Eide | Mar 27, 2022 | Gameday Coverage
When a top defensive team hosts one that struggles to score, the outcome can be predictable. That was certainly the case Saturday as the Seattle Kraken struggled to generate against the Los Angeles Kings, falling 4-2 at Crypto.com Arena.
The Kraken fell behind in the first period. They briefly picked up some momentum in the second period to cut the lead, but the Kings scored twice more to seal the victory.
“I thought we worked our butts off for most of this hockey game,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “I feel like we gave up too much tonight off the rush. They got inside on us, like the first goal, a couple of inside tips and we weren’t able to capitalize on some of the opportunities that we had from the inside. And we didn’t get much off the rush which for us is important. We got to get a little bit more off the rush if we want to capitalize offensively. They were pretty good there tonight; they didn’t give us much.”
Anze Kopitar scored, and rookie Jordan Spence potted his first NHL goal for the Kings (36-22-9), who maintained their hold on second place in the Pacific Division. Cal Petersen made 23 saves for his second win against the Kraken this season.
Daniel Sprong scored a goal for the second straight game with the Kraken (20-39-6), who were trying for their first three-game win streak in franchise history. Philipp Grubauer made 23 saves for Seattle.
The Kings played their game
The Kings and their suffocating defense set the tone in the first period. Los Angeles’ forecheck gave Seattle trouble breaking out of the zone and when the Kraken did get into the Kings end, they were unable to maintain any sustained zone time.
“I think we tried to come in here and establish our game early,” Morgan Geekie said. “Tonight, we just kind of struggled doing that. We did some good things for sure, we always do good things but definitely things you can take away from here and learn from in the future.”
It would be a failure to breakout that would lead to the game’s first goal. Gabriel Vilardi tipped a pass from Oli Maatta past Grubauer at 15:05 to make it 1-0.
Seattle was outshot 10-5 in the first period while the Kings enjoyed 71 percent of all shot quality.
“I think it was a hard working first period that we battled our tails off,” Hakstol said. “There were things that we want to be cleaner on and areas we want to be cleaner in, no question. But you’re not just gonna come out and tilt the ice in this building. You’re gonna have to work really hard to do that.”
Los Angeles would grab a 2-0 lead at 4:17 of the second period on Kopitar’s 17th of the season and it felt like the Kraken were already in trouble.
Sprong gave Seattle some hope, and momentum, two minutes later at 6:19 when he raced up the ice and scored on another heavy wrist shot to cut the lead to 2-1. But that’s as close as the Kraken would get.
“Obviously the first goal gave us life and put us into a good spot in the second period,” Hakstol said. “Was a good slash play by [Joonas] Donskoi that allowed Spronger to take advantage of that outside ice. You know, he’s worked hard, he shoots the puck a ton and when he gets opportunities, he makes them count.”
Spence made it 3-1 with a point shot at 15:47 and Sean Durzi made it 4-1 at 3:35 of the third on a 4-on-3 power play goal.
The Kraken got a cosmetic goal with four seconds left in the game when Geekie scored on a rebound from a Will Borgen shot to make the final 4-2. It was Geekie’s second goal in as many games.
Seattle will stay in Los Angeles to prepare for a rematch with the Kings on Monday before heading home to play the Vegas Golden Knights twice next week.
Tentacle Tales
+ Jaden Schwartz and Haydn Fleury did not play Saturday. Each is listed as day to day with an undisclosed injury.
+ With the injuries, defenseman Derrik Pouliot made his Seattle debut. He ended up logging 15:58 of ice time and had one shot on goal.
+ Forward Victor Rask was recalled from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers to step in for Schwartz. The former Minnesota Wild was on the ice for 14:31, took one shot, and won his only faceoff.
by Andy Eide | Mar 22, 2022 | Gameday Coverage
It took them three tries and three quarters of the season, but the Seattle Kraken have finally beaten the Arizona Coyotes with a 4-2 win at Gila River Arena on Tuesday. The Kraken broke a 2-2 tie in the second period and added an insurance goal in the third period to win for the second straight game.
Carson Soucy continued his career season with a banner night scoring two goals. Daniel Sprong, playing in his first game since being traded Monday to the Kraken from the Washington Capitals, chipped in with a power-play goal and Morgan Geekie had a goal and an assist as Seattle (20-38-6) avoided a season sweep at the hands of the Coyotes to escape the Western Conference cellar.
“The group worked hard, it was a hard-working game for us,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “Pretty consistent effort throughout. We got a little bit sloppy with the puck during the second period and that cost us a couple chances against. But guys did a really good job of regaining that composure and did a good job in the third period playing with the lead by playing hard, playing smart.”
Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves and the Kraken shut down any Coyotes comeback ideas in the third period by holding them to 5 shots. Seattle outshot Arizona 39-26 on the night.
The Coyotes (20-39-4) were led by Nick Schmalz and Nick Ritchie, each of whom scored a goal, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 35 shots. It was the 16th time this season, in 35 starts, that he’s faced 35-plus shots.
It was a good team win for the Kraken one day after the NHL Trade Deadline brought a major roster shakeup, but the night belonged to Soucy.
“I just tried to get it there when I see numbers in front,” Soucy said. “On that first goal, I don’t know if we had two guys and one of their guys in front, but their goalie obviously didn’t see it. I just think that’s a good job by our forwards for getting to the net.”
His second goal, at 17:18 of the second period, put the Kraken ahead for good. It came after Geekie pried the puck free on a forecheck and Ryan Donato got it to Soucy up high where he scored on a wrist shot to make it 3-2.
“[Soucy] just doesn’t try to do too much,” Hakstol said. “He’s a real solid presence there. Tonight, he did a nice job up top, and there’s a lot of responsibility that comes with that. And, you know, he’s got a good calming effect up there.”
Geekie added an insurance marker at 12:38 of the third period to put the Kraken up 4-2.
The goals came fast in the second period
The game heated up in the second period where the two teams combined for five goals, the first three of which came in a span of 62 seconds.
Soucy’s first came 18 seconds after Schmaltz put the Coyotes ahead with a power-play goal that he fired at 8:11 of the period. Nine seconds later, Soucy got a pass at the point from Jordan Eberle and took a wrist shot that scored for his eighth of the year, setting a new career high.
Ritchie finished the scoring flurry at 9:13 when the Kraken defense lost track of him in the neutral zone and he got in alone and fired a shot past Grubauer to give Arizona a 2-1 lead.
As they did earlier, the Kraken responded to make it 2-2 with a power-play goal from the newcomer Sprong.
He told the local media during his introductory press conference that he had a good shot, and he put that on display at 13:39 on a Kraken power play. He found room along the boards after Geekie and Jaden Schwartz skated to the net, drawing the penalty killers with them. Sprong took advantage and scored on a wrist shot.
“You can see [his shot] is a weapon,” Hakstol said. “In the first period he had one that he put off the pad, there was a live rebound there. We just couldn’t get to it, and a second one in the first he just missed… It’s a nice way of him to take some of the pressure off the power play.”
New lines yield good early returns for the Kraken
With the trades that sent six players off the roster, Hakstol had to find new lines. It was an opportunity for players who had been relegated to fewer minutes and lines to show their worth.
One of the more impressive lines Hakstol came up with was made up of Jared McCann, Geekie, and Kole Lind. Not only did that trio find the insurance goal in the third period, but they drove play and possession all night.
With the Geekie line on the ice at five-on-five, they took 12 unblocked shot attempts while only allowing two and had 59.63 percent of all shot quality. It’s just one game and a small sample size, but the early returns suggest that line should get another game, at least.
Tentacle tales
+ With an assist in the game, Vince Dunn extended his streak to five games in a row with an assist. He has six over that stretch.
+ Yanni Gourde was held off the scoresheet for the first time in seven games.
+ The Kraken end the season series with Arizona with a 1-2-0 record.
+ Defenseman Haydn Fleury left the game in the second period with an undisclosed injury and did not return. Hakstol did not have an update after the game on Fleury’s status.
by Darren Brown | Mar 20, 2022 | Gameday Coverage
We’ve reached an interesting juncture in the season, when what’s happening off the ice has drawn more focus than what is happening on the ice. The Kraken entered Saturday’s contest against the Red Wings in danger of falling to last place in the entire NHL. Captain Mark Giordano was held out of the lineup for the second consecutive game (yes, we see the reports that he has been traded to the Maple Leafs, and we will have more on this Sunday), and Calle Jarnkrok had already been moved to Calgary. There’s no doubt most people paying close attention to Seattle’s season were more focused on the moves the Kraken may or may not make prior to Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline than on this game itself.
But on Saturday, the Kraken did not appear terribly distracted by the constant rumors swirling on social media and instead came out flying.
Here are our Three Takeaways from a fun—but sometimes maddening—4-2 home win for the Kraken over the Red Wings.
Takeaway #1: A maddening first two periods
The Kraken might have played their best period of the season in the opening frame on Saturday. They dominated in nearly every aspect, and it took the Red Wings more than 11 minutes to register their first shot on goal.
Yet… somehow… when the horn sounded, the Kraken were still tied 0-0, despite the outstanding performance.
To his credit, Detroit goalie Alex Nedeljkovic played out of his mind and stopped all 16 shots he faced in the period, including two highway robberies on Morgan Geekie and Ryan Donato.
Still, the period was yet another stark reminder of the lack of offensive skill this Seattle team possesses. There just had to be a goal in that period, and instead, the Kraken left the door open for the Red Wings to take the lead in the second.
The Kraken had 59 seconds of five-on-three time in the second, after Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin took penalties in quick succession. Seattle’s poor power play failed to convert, and in incredibly predictable fashion, Detroit took a 1-0 lead just seconds after killing off the penalties.
The goal was an ugly one, too, as Vince Dunn skated the puck right into Donato, and together they lost the puck to Larkin, who found Joe Veleno for an easy tally.
Add in a power-play marker less than three minutes later, and it felt like we were heading toward another night of the Kraken finding a new way to lose.
Coach Dave Hakstol summed up the first two periods quite nicely after the game. “Our start was excellent. Second period, I really liked our first 10 minutes… We made two mistakes, one coming off of a power play, two guys got tangled up. We made a mistake there, and we made a mistake on the PK. In reality, on the PK, we didn’t get a clear, and we had two sticks at the scene of the crime, and they won that puck battle.”
Takeaway #2: A turning point save
When evaluating a goaltending performance, Hakstol often talks about getting saves at the “right times” in games. Philipp Grubauer wasn’t tested all that often Saturday, and got hung out to dry by his teammates twice in the second period.
With the score still 2-0 six minutes into the third, the Red Wings came in on a three-on-two rush. Tyler Bertuzzi put a perfect pass in Filip Zadina’s wheelhouse, and Zadina leaned into a one-timer. Grubauer read it, sprawled across, and made his best save of the night.
“If they get that third one, it’s a big uphill for us,” Adam Larsson said. “[Grubauer] has been great for us. We haven’t played great in front of him, but I think he has really stepped up his game lately.”
Added Hakstol, “That’s the one that gives us an opportunity. If it goes to 3-0, we don’t have an opportunity to dig out of that one, so that was a huge save at the right time of the game for our team.”
A minute and a half after Grubauer made that key stop, Larsson finally got the Kraken on the board for the first time, sneaking a shot just barely over the goal line behind Nedeljkovic. Suddenly things were rolling for the Kraken.
Takeaway #3: A four-goal third period, led by Yanni Gourde
Just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in.
What has made these Kraken such a lovable losing team is their resiliency and staunch refusal to quit on games. As the teams took the ice for the third period, there was a feeling that this could be a night where Seattle might pack it in. After dominating the first half of the game, but somehow coming out of the second period 2-0, there was plenty of doubt in the building that the boys would overcome the two-goal deficit.
But Seattle never packs it in. As soon as Larsson scored, things started rolling downhill for the Kraken, and the Red Wings simply ran out of answers.
In the end, Yanni Gourde was the hero of the night. After taking a deflected puck to the cheek and rushing down the tunnel in the second period, he returned for the third looking bruised and battered. What did he do? Well, he scored the game-winning goal and added an empty-netter to seal the deal, of course.
“You may think that’s spectacular,” Hakstol said. “But if you hang around Gourde-o every day, you would just think it’s another day. It’s what he does. He’s a competitor.”
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