by Darren Brown | Sep 29, 2022 | Three takeaways
This one had the makings of a real stinker for the Kraken, who—at least on paper—appeared to be overmatched coming in. In Thursday’s preseason game against the Vancouver Canucks, Seattle dressed a young lineup with only a handful of roster locks, while its neighbors to the north sent out most of their regulars.
The Canucks (especially offseason signee Andrei Kuzmenko) were scoring early and often, and it felt like a game that could get away from the Kraken. To their credit, though, the young guns battled back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits and skated away with a surprising 4-3 overtime win.
Here are our Three Takeaways from Seattle’s third preseason win in as many tries.
Takeaway #1: John Hayden makes his presence known
There are several players with NHL experience battling for the last spots on the opening night roster. The thing is, those roster spots don’t really exist if Seattle’s regulars remain healthy, but… well, more on that in a bit.
One of the guys trying to at least make a name for himself is John Hayden, a 6-foot-3, 223-pound wrecking ball with 240 career NHL games under his belt. He certainly made his presence known on Thursday, mucking it up with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, dropping the gloves twice—once with Kyle Burroughs and once with Dakota Joshua—and scoring the tying goal at 12:33 of the third period.
Hayden said he couldn’t remember the last time he scored a tying goal like that. “It was ugly,” he joked. “The fights were ugly, the game got ugly at times, but I thought we stuck together and did a pretty good job.”
In all, Hayden ended the game with a goal, three shots, and 12 penalty minutes in 9:32 of ice time.
Coach Dave Hakstol took notice. “Look at John Hayden and the night that he had,” Hakstol said. “That’s a hard job. He ended up in two scraps. Fittingly, and maybe [it was] a little poetic justice, he scores the game-tying goal. That’s big.”
It was a chippy game from the start, and nights like that are great nights to have a John Hayden in your lineup. Can he earn himself a spot with the big club when camp breaks? Hayden is on a two-way deal, so our hunch is still no, but he could certainly be a call-up candidate if needed.
Takeaway #2: Komeback Kraken
We will be honest; looking at the lineups, we expected a loss for the Kraken on Thursday. When Vancouver jumped out to an early lead, then scored again, then scored again but had it negated by an offside challenge, our prediction seemed to be coming to fruition.
But the young Kraken group found its sea legs (pun intended) and pushed back in the second half of the game. The late Hayden goal sent the game to overtime, and Ryan Donato scored his second dazzling goal of the preseason to win it in overtime.
Arturs Silovs never stood a chance.
“We were on our heels for the first 20, 25 minutes of the hockey game, for sure,” Hakstol said. “They drove the momentum five-on-five, they drove the momentum with the power play, but we were able to turn that, and you know, that says a lot about the group in the dressing room.”
Martin Jones also played a big part in the victory after coming in halfway through the game to replace Joey Daccord. Daccord stopped 18 of 21 shots, while Jones stopped 15 of 15 to remain perfect in his two preseason outings.
We’ve said it plenty of times over the last week, but take preseason success with a grain of salt because positive results mean nothing in the scheme of things. Still, it is nice to see the squad battle back, even when the lineup is made up mostly with players destined for the AHL.
Takeaway #3: Stay away, injury bug!
We hate to say this, but a couple guys got banged up on Thursday. Hayden’s second fight of the night was in response to Dakota Joshua crushing Michal Kempny into the end boards behind Seattle’s net. Kempny stayed down for a bit, then skated off under his own power and headed down the tunnel. He did not return after 6:52 of ice time.
Kempny has battled back from some major leg injuries, though this looked to be upper body, just based on how he went into the boards. The veteran defenseman is one of the players fighting for a spot.
Additionally, Joonas Donskoi collided with Kole Lind in front of Seattle’s bench and exited the game after logging 9:24 on ice.
Hakstol did not have an update on either player after the game.
You never want to see players get hurt, especially in a meaningless preseason game. The Kraken dealt with injuries all season long in 2021-22, and surely they’re hoping for a mostly healthy squad when opening night rolls around.
—
Seattle will have a day off Friday, then return to preseason action against these same Canucks at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday. The team is expected to reveal its mascot during pre-game festivities that night.
by Darren Brown | Sep 28, 2022 | Kraken, Three takeaways
Don’t look now, but your Seattle Kraken are 2-0 in the preseason. Take the success with a grain of salt, though, because A.) the preseason means nothing, and B.) Seattle has not yet faced any real competition. Tuesday’s matchup against the Flames had a similar feel to Monday’s game against the Oilers in that both opponents left most of their regulars at home. What was different, though, was literally all of the Kraken personnel, as Seattle was able to ice a full new roster from the night before with a nice mix of veterans and guys fighting to make an impression.
Jaden Schwartz returned and scored a beautiful short-handed goal, Daniel Sprong found the back of the net with one of his patented “Sprong bombs,” and Philipp Grubauer and Magnus Hellberg combined for the team’s second consecutive shutout. But the story of the night was undoubtedly No. 4 overall pick Shane Wright making his preseason debut.
So, let’s start with that, shall we? Here are our Three Takeaways from a second consecutive 3-0 Kraken win.
Takeaway #1: A solid debut for Shane Wright
Shane Wright has looked good in training camp to this point, but it’s so hard to form real opinions from watching practices. Where the rubber really meets the road is in game action, and for his first time out Tuesday, we thought he belonged.
After the game, the touted 18-year-old was jovial and visibly excited to have seen his first NHL action. “It was a lot of fun,” Wright said. “Definitely a pretty cool experience there, something I’ve been looking forward to for basically my entire life here, so it’s definitely a lot of fun. It took a little adjustment at first and throughout the game there, but obviously, great win, and I feel really happy with the overall result.” Wright said the speed of the game was the biggest difference from the OHL, and that was what pushed him to adjust.
Hakstol seemed generally pleased with the rookie’s debut performance as well. “I thought he played a simple, hard game,” Hakstol said. “He did a pretty good job with his two linemates [Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz].”
Wright had three shots on goal and pulled another backhander just wide of the post in the first period. His best looks came on the power play, including one laser snap shot from the right face-off dot that almost beat Dan Vladar and created a juicy rebound opportunity for Eberle.
As an aside, we would like to see Wright switch sides on the power play with Jared McCann, so that the two wingers can play their off-hand wings and be open for one-timers, but that’s not a critique on Wright. Even on his strong side, he still was a key piece of a power play unit that created plenty of chances. It’s a good all-around start.
Takeaway #2: Daniel Sprong making things interesting
A few days ago, we asked Hakstol about Sprong and what he needs to show in camp, and Hakstol said the Dutch forward has an opportunity to force the team to make some hard decisions. That’s because Sprong—a veteran forward with a heavy shot and good speed—is not currently signed to a contract and does not have a spot on the roster. Instead, he’s on a professional try-out, which means it is anything but a sure thing he’ll land with the Kraken or even the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
But, we’ve thought Sprong has looked good in every game situation he’s faced so far, and he showed off his blistering shot again Tuesday, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead at 12:30 of the second. Vince Dunn laid a nice pass into the slot for Sprong, who one-timed it by Vladar before he could even wave at it.
Our belief is that despite scoring six goals in his 16 games with Seattle last season, Sprong played himself out of favor with a lack of defensive responsibility. So, we asked Hakstol about him again after Tuesday’s game, and interestingly, the coach heaped high praise on the winger. “For me, it’s not the goal,” Hakstol said. “I know he can score in this league; I know he can do that, and that’s not easy. I’m not diminishing that in any way, but I thought he played his ass off tonight. He played hard, and that’s what we want him to keep doing. He’s done that every day. He’s just got to continue to do that in all three zones.”
The problem for Sprong is that even if he continues to shine in training camp, there isn’t an obvious roster spot for him if everyone remains healthy. Would Seattle consider signing him to a low-risk, relatively low-dollar contract? Would Sprong take something like that?
Sprong remains a storyline worth monitoring for the rest of camp.
Takeaway #3: The goalies are unflappable
Just like everything else in preseason, it’s hard to know how much stock to put in goaltending performances. It’s especially confusing on nights like Monday and Tuesday, when Edmonton and Calgary each trotted out a lot of players that appear destined for the AHL and elsewhere. Still, after a nightmarish inaugural season in the crease, it sure is refreshing to see all four Kraken goalies combine to pitch consecutive shutouts over a 24-hour period.
On Tuesday, Philipp Grubauer looked calm, cool, and collected for the first half, though he wasn’t tested all that often and only faced 10 shots before giving way to Magnus Hellberg. Hellberg had tougher stops to make, but he did make them all and looked great doing so in his stunning Brian’s setup.
“Both nights we got good, solid performances,” Hakstol said. “A couple good saves at the right time along the way. I thought [Grubauer] tonight just had a real good, solid night, and you know, that’s what we want to see.”
Wouldn’t it be great if Grubauer can put last season fully behind him and get off to a hot start?
—
One last thing. Game Ops played another teaser video about the mascot release, which is coming before Saturday’s game. Mayor Bruce Harrell was in the video and hinted that the mascot should relate to a Seattle landmark, so we’re going on record and predicting the mascot will be some sort of lovable troll character that’s based on the Fremont Troll.
by Darren Brown | Sep 27, 2022 | Kraken, Three takeaways
Kraken hockey is so back. Seattle won its preseason opener 3-0 against the “Oilers,” with the opposing team name in quotes because Edmonton didn’t exactly trot out a superstar-laden lineup. Still, it was a fun night back at Climate Pledge Arena for the first time since spring, and there were a lot of positives shown from a home squad that looks to be significantly improved this season.
The game featured some stellar offensive plays from guys like Matty Beniers, Ryan Donato, and… netminder Joey Daccord?! Plus, Game Ops played a blockbuster of a mascot-related teaser video that also implied with some certainty that the Sonics would one day return. So, that was something.
Here are our Three Takeaways from a Kraken win over the “Oilers.”
Takeaway #1: Matty Beniers picks up right where he left off
Most of the first period was expectedly sloppy at both ends of the ice, but Matty Beniers seemed to pick up right where he left off last season. The 19-year-old rookie, who scored nine points in his 10-game stint with the Kraken at the end of 2020-21, nearly scored just a few minutes into the game. The first shift of his line with Donato and Oliver Bjorkstrand had two Grade-A opportunities in a row, including one where the puck just eluded Beniers’s swinging stick off a rush.
In the second period, Beniers got the scoring started with a dazzling snipe over the shoulder of Olivier Rodrigue from a bad angle. A pass from Peetro Seppala got deflected, but Beniers still managed to corral it on what looked to be a broken play. The rookie gathered himself and fired a laser-guided missile up top where mama keeps the cookies.
Coach Dave Hakstol has been encouraged by Beniers’s play through the early parts of training camp. “Right from Day 1 of camp, he’s been skating well, been really confident with the puck, and you know he’s seeing the ice really well,” Hakstol said. “So yeah, real positive things that he’s doing. Just the way that he’s working, skating, and competing.”
Takeaway #2: Offensive star Joey Daccord
Both netminders, Martin Jones and Daccord, played well Monday, splitting a 29-save shutout. One puck did get past Jones in the first period, but it was negated due to incidental contact with former Seattle Thunderbird Noah Philp.
When Daccord came in, he immediately made an impact on the game in a way we may not have expected, hitting Donato with a perfect stretch pass to the far blue line. Donato raced in, delayed with a “tomahawk” move, using his body to protect the puck, then swung behind the net and scored a beautiful diving wraparound goal. The tally extended Seattle’s lead to 2-0 at 14:15 of the second period.
The crowd erupted when Daccord’s name was announced for the lone assist on the play, comically bringing him into a tie for the team’s preseason scoring lead.
“What’s funny is I didn’t have one point all last season,” Daccord told Sound Of Hockey. “I’m obviously pretty active with my stick, so it was kind of a running joke that I was snake bitten last year. So, it feels nice to end that first game tonight… That was an unreal finish [by Donato]. He earned me that apple.”
That wasn’t the only time Daccord was active with his goal stick in Monday’s game, as he also broke up a third period breakaway with a gutsy poke check. “I sold out for that one,” Daccord said with a laugh. He wasn’t too worried about missing the puck, though. “[The Edmonton player] had his head buried.”
Jones and Daccord are competing for a Kraken roster spot, though Jones is the favorite to make the team out of camp, simply because of his experience and $2 million contract. For now, Daccord is thrilled to be back playing in the NHL. “It’s just so fun to be back,” he said. “Any chance you get to play in the NHL is unreal, so yeah, it was just super fun being out there.”
Takeaway #3: Turbo is BACK
Brandon Tanev’s excessively fast mini-sprints were a sight for sore eyes when the Kraken took the ice for warmups against the Oilers.
Early in the third period, Turbo reminded Kraken fans what they were missing last season after he tore his ACL against these same Oilers in December. With Seattle killing a five-minute major against Jacob Melanson for an illegal check to the head on James Hamblin, Tanev won a race to the neutral zone and poked the puck ahead to create a two-on-one. He slid the puck across to Morgan Geekie, who deposited it into a yawning cage.
Bonus Takeaway: Mascot coming Oct. 1, Sonics… coming… back?
In the second period, a video played on the twin Jumbotrons at Climate Pledge Arena, teasing the introduction of the team’s mascot—which will not be former Sonics mascot Squatch—at the Oct. 1 preseason game against the Vancouver Canucks.
The video also included an interesting line by Sonics legend Detlef Schrempf, in which he emphatically agreed with the children performing the mascot search that an NBA team would one day return to Seattle. “Yes, the Sonics will come back,” Schrempf said, a statement that got a massive roar from the home crowd.
It is no secret the Kraken ownership group hopes to also bring the NBA to Climate Pledge Arena. Could that quote from Schrempf be hinting at something bigger than a mascot reveal?
by Darren Brown | Dec 4, 2021 | Gameday Coverage, Three takeaways
Call it a hunch, but sometimes you just have a feeling that things are going to play out the way you want. We had that feeling on Friday morning after the Kraken skated at Climate Pledge Arena in preparation for their game against the electric Edmonton Oilers.
From the active roster, only Carson Soucy addressed the media after the team’s skate, but he was noticeably more jovial and upbeat than we saw from players before they snapped their painful six-game skid on Nov. 21. Winning has that effect on teams, from the players to the coaches to the media covering them to the fans watching them. Everyone involved gets a mood lift when the pendulum swings back the other way, and that is exactly what has happened for Seattle over these past two weeks.
On paper, this was always going to be a tough one. Seattle is still without its top two scorers in Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz and entered the game trailing Edmonton in the standings by a whopping 14 points. So there was some concern that our morning hunch would prove to be dead wrong and that the Oilers could come in and steamroll the Kraken. After all, they did just that when these two teams met for the first time at the beginning of November.
But this is a different Seattle team now, one that has found a winning formula over this 5-1-1 stretch and has stuck to it, regardless of who is in the lineup and regardless of the opponent. Sure enough, the Kraken put together arguably their most complete game of the season on Friday and took down one of the best offensive teams in the NHL.
Here are our three takeaways from a thrilling… and we mean thrilling 4-3 home Kraken victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Takeaway #1: Kraken had everyone contributing to beat Oilers
In the past week and change, the following statements were true at some point:
- Jeremy Lauzon was a healthy scratch
- Colin Blackwell was a healthy scratch
- Riley Sheahan was in the AHL
- Kole Lind was in the AHL
About 13 minutes into the second period, Sheahan picked off a Zack Kassian pass just outside the Edmonton blue line and quickly turned it back up to Lind who was exiting the zone. Blackwell was heading in the right direction, so Lind made a little touch pass to his linemate. With a head of steam already built up, Blackwell sprinted in, split the defense like he was Connor McDavid, waited out netminder Stuart Skinner, and threw a backhander upstairs for his second goal as a Kraken.
If you’re keeping score at home, that’s a highlight-reel goal by a guy who was scratched against Florida and Buffalo, assisted by a guy who was in the AHL as of Tuesday, and another guy who was in the AHL as of last Friday, all of whom were teamed up in a fourth-line role. That is some depth scoring.
Now, we move onto a separate subject, but we promise it’s related. Adam Larsson took a defensive-zone penalty with 91 seconds left, when he accidentally caught Leon Draisaitl up high with the shaft of his stick. The penalty came after an absurd icing call, so perhaps that penalty shouldn’t have happened, but that’s neither here nor there. With Skinner pulled, the Oilers had a terrifying six-on-four advantage. The Kraken were doing everything they could to hold McDavid and Draisaitl at bay, and in the last minute, who comes over the boards? Lauzon and Sheahan.
That personnel decision was also made with Draisaitl and McDavid on the ice together—as they were for practically the entire third period—doing everything they could to find an equalizer. But the equalizer never came, because the unsung guys stepped up and contributed. Everyone played a part in Friday’s win, and that is what can make winning a sustainable endeavor for this still very new club.
“Nobody cares who’s out of the lineup. Nobody cares who’s in the lineup or what the injuries are,” Hakstol said. “Whoever’s in the lineup on any given night has to go out and has to provide something that helps their team win. Probably the biggest factor tonight was that we had contributions from everybody in the lineup, big or small.”
Takeaway #2: Are slow starts becoming a thing of the past?
There was a time when the Kraken were almost always chasing games. If they didn’t give up a goal on the first or second shot of the game, they’d let the first period drift past, spending the whole frame defending and eventually conceding the first goal. With only a handful of exceptions, it didn’t matter the opponent, that was just how it was working out almost every night.
Against Buffalo, the Kraken scored three goals in the first period and took a 3-0 lead to the dressing room. Against Florida, Eberle scored 2:22 into the game, and the first period eventually ended with Seattle leading 2-1. Heck, even against Detroit, in which the score was officially 0-0 after 20 minutes, the Kraken scored first, but it was disallowed due to incidental contact with the goalie.
On Friday, the Kraken buzzed Skinner from the opening face-off with a couple chances. Then Ryan Donato carried a puck into the offensive zone on a three-on-two rush with linemates Joonas Donskoi and Yanni Gourde. Donato put a cross-ice pass right in Gourde’s wheelhouse, and Gourde blasted away, beating Skinner at 49 seconds.
Now that’s a start!
“Every time you can start with a one-goal lead, you take it,” Gourde said with a smirk. “You know they have a tremendous team. They are so talented, so good, so you got to respect their skill. So getting the first one was a little bit of a relief.”
It was absolutely the best opening ten minutes we’ve seen at home from this team, yet another sign that things are continuing to trend up for the Kraken.
Takeaway #3: The Kraken are showing they can beat anybody
What’s most impressive about the Kraken racking up points in six of their last seven games is that most of the wins have come against elite teams like the Oilers. There couldn’t have been too many folks in the hockey world that expected Seattle to come out on top Friday, especially considering the injuries the team was dealing with.
The formula Seattle is using works against any team, though, no matter the caliber. It’s fast starts, opportunistic scoring, sound defensive structure with relentless shot blocking, and stout goaltending. With Philipp Grubauer stopping 29 shots, those boxes were all ticked again, and the result was a victory against a team that features two of the world’s best players.
The way the Kraken managed Oilers superstars McDavid and Draisaitl was also impressive. Sure, Draisaitl got an easy goal in the first period, after a beautiful passing play that showed why Edmonton has the league’s best power play. And yes, McDavid deflected a shot through Grubauer in the third period that brought the Oilers back to within one. But the dynamic duo did not own the game the way they did in Edmonton on Nov. 1.
“Those two superstars are going to get their chances,” Larsson said after defeating his old team. “You just have to limit how many, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that.”
Larsson, by the way, spent five seasons defending against those two players in practices, so he knows them well. “Obviously, Connor can make you look stupid one-on-one,” he said. “You need to have support, and you need to have help, and I thought today it was a five-man effort when they were out there, and that’s what you have to do.”
Taking stock, that’s Kraken wins against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals, Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and the Hurricanes, the previously undefeated-at-home Panthers, and now Draisaitl, McDavid, and the Oilers.
That’s something, folks. If the Kraken keep playing like this, they could start climbing the Pacific Division standings very soon.
Bonus takeaway: Paul McFarland is a hockey guy
Kraken assistant coach Paul McFarland took an errant clearing attempt by William Lagesson right off the noggin during the first period. We could tell even from far up above that it had done some damage after he got attention from the team’s medical staff. Replay confirmed that it did, in fact, do some damage.
After the game, Hakstol joked, “You know, the NHL Network was just on our TV, and he wasn’t mentioned as first star. He didn’t flinch, didn’t leave the bench, didn’t miss a shift. He’s probably concussed, I don’t know.” He then added, “I’m actually glad that one hit him, because I didn’t see it.”
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
by Darren Brown | Dec 2, 2021 | Gameday Coverage, Three takeaways
Earlier this season, we heard Seattle Kraken players say—after several of their hard-fought regulation losses—that good teams find ways to get points out of tight games. On Wednesday, the Kraken did do just that, even as they fell behind the Detroit Red Wings in the third period. The outcome was a 4-3 shootout loss but pushing the game to overtime gave Seattle a point in the standings and five of a possible eight from the four-game road trip.
For some reason, five points and a 2-1-1 record feels a lot better than four points and a 2-2-0 record, doesn’t it? A regulation loss in Detroit sends the Kraken home with a very “bleh” sentiment, but figuring out a way to get a point on a night where the injury bug had just struck the team in a big way is another confidence booster.
Here are our three takeaways from Wednesday’s 4-3 Kraken shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Takeaway #1: “He’d like to have that one back”
Every time a goalie gives up a goal that maybe shouldn’t have gone in, the broadcasters say something along the lines of, “Oh, he’d like to have that one back.” 17 minutes into the first period Wednesday, 19-year-old phenom Lucas Raymond, off a rush, fired a shot from just above the goal line. Philipp Grubauer was a fraction of a second late in getting back to his post, and the puck caromed off him and went in.
Play-by-play announcer John Forslund indicated that Grubauer would, in fact, like to have that one back.
For as much as you’ve heard that watching hockey over the years, how many times has the goalie then actually gotten it back? It can’t be many, but that happened on Wednesday. Kraken coach Dave Hakstol challenged for offside and won, negating what looked like an unfortunate goal for Grubauer.
Hakstol credited friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast and Kraken video coach Tim Ohashi, along with video analyst Brady Morgan, for initiating the challenge. We promised Tim during that podcast interview that we would keep track of this stat for him, so he’s now 1-0 on the season in video challenges.
Coincidentally, the Kraken also had a goal disallowed earlier in the period when Mason Appleton ran into Thomas Greiss just before a Jeremy Lauzon shot from the point. The argument could be made that Appleton was pushed into the Detroit netminder, and even if he hadn’t been, Greiss still had time to recover. But that’s neither here nor there, since the call was made and upheld.
Takeaway #2: Ryan Donato was hurt… and then he wasn’t!
In the second period, Ryan Donato blocked a shot off the top of his left foot and limped down the tunnel in pain. Kraken faithful felt an overwhelming here-we-go-again vibe, as it briefly appeared Donato would join Calle Jarnkrok, Jaden Schwartz, Jordan Eberle, Chris Driedger, Will Borgen, and Mark Giordano in the Kraken’s injury and illness ward.
Not only did Donato get right back out there, but he scored immediately, his first of two goals on the night. The Red Wings had two comical errors in a row in their defensive end, and the puck wound up on Joonas Donskoi’s stick at the right hash. He dished to Yanni Gourde, who then made a beautiful fake and pass to Donato. Donato dusted it off and calmly deposited it into a yawning cage.
That gave Seattle a 2-1 lead, but the Kraken later found themselves trailing after a late second-period goal by Vladislav Namestnikov and a Raymond goal—this one actually counted—6:30 into the third.
With Seattle now behind, Donato, sore foot and all, followed Jamie Oleksiak on a rush into Detroit’s zone. Oleksiak lost the handle on the puck, but it dribbled right to Donato, who wasted no time in firing a perfect shot into the top corner to beat Greiss for the second time.
Takeaway #3: Next guy up, indeed
Injuries happen in hockey. It’s just part of the gig, and every NHL team deals with them every single year. Teams that have the depth to manage through times when several injuries happen at once are the ones that sustain success throughout the season. It’s a one-game sample size of the Kraken having a whole host of players on the shelf simultaneously, but still, that was a gutsy effort by the boys.
Eberle and Schwartz are the top two point producers for the Kraken so far this season, while Giordano is the captain, a top-pair defenseman, and a power play quarterback. Having those players all out at once is certainly less than ideal, but the Kraken rose to the occasion Wednesday.
As Gourde said after the game, “Next guy up, next guy up, let’s go!” Indeed, Yanni. Indeed.
While it’s great to see guys like Donato step up and help the team find points, Seattle needs its biggest guns healthy. Here’s hoping they’ll get some reinforcements before Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the high-octane Edmonton Oilers roll into town on Friday.
by Darren Brown | Oct 20, 2021 | Gameday Coverage, Three takeaways
As the Kraken were taking their second regulation road loss in as many nights Tuesday, this one a 4-2 loss at the hands of the New Jersey Devils, their home arena opened its doors to the public for the first time, welcoming concertgoers for an evening with the Foo Fighters and Death Cab for Cutie.
Of course, the concert has no bearing on the Kraken, but seeing the building completed and fully operational is a sight for sore eyes, especially as Seattle’s road-weary hockey team comes home for the first time since training camp. Heck, even in training camp they technically didn’t get to play a home game since the arena was not yet ready, so knowing that the finishing touches have been put on Climate Pledge Arena at this point is a relief for many.
Seattle finished its five-game, season-opening road trip with an underwhelming 1-3-1 record, certainly not what fans might have hoped to see from the new team to begin its inaugural season. But when you consider the circumstances of playing five in eight days across three timezones in a bunch of historically tough buildings, with minimal practice, injuries piling up, and Covid protocol chaos… well, it could have been much worse, frankly.
The Kraken get to come home now, get a few days of recovery and practice, and go back to work with a nice four-game homestand to restore some balance. There are no excuses, but this was undoubtedly a tough way for Seattle to start its first season.
Here are our three takeaways from the most recent loss to the Devils.
Takeaway #1: Slow starts and loose defense do not victories make
In four of Seattle’s five games so far, the opposing team has gotten on the board first. In Vegas, Philadelphia, and New Jersey, the opposition got at least two relatively early goals, making the Kraken chase the game from the jump.
Sometimes you can come back from deficits—Seattle actually did temporarily negate a three-goal lead by Vegas and would have tied the game in New Jersey if not for Alex Wennberg’s goal being challenged and ruled offside—but you simply can’t rely on resiliency every night.
Making things worse, the Kraken, which are built around defense and goaltending, have been a bit loose on the defensive side of the puck. Coach Dave Hakstol has talked quite a bit about giving up too much off the rush, and that was again the case on Tuesday, as Dawson Mercer got his first career goal off a two-on-one just five minutes into the game.
Hopefully for Seattle fans, the end of a brutal road trip that has had twists and turns from the onset will mean a fresher team in a few days.
On Monday and Tuesday, Seattle ran into teams that had only played one game each and had done so in their own respective barns. Nonetheless, the Kraken need to be better in the first 10 minutes of the game.
Takeaway #2: This Yanni Gourde guy is pretty good
We knew it. We just knew it. We hadn’t heard any kind of updates about Yanni Gourde in several days, so we didn’t say anything publicly, but we just had this hunch that Gourde would be in the lineup Tuesday. Sure enough, mere hours before the game, Seattle Kraken PR tweeted that Gourde would be a full participant against the Devils.
And he was good.
“[He had] great energy tonight,” Hakstol said after the game. “He brought a real boost to our lineup, he brings life on the bench, he brings the exact same thing on the ice. So, you know, he was a productive guy out there. He made some plays, he created a lot of o-zone time and did a good job with two linemates that he’s never played with before.”
Gourde was slotted on the top line between Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Eberle. He assisted on Jared McCann’s power play goal and won 56.5 percent of his faceoffs, and he was noticeable just about every time he was on the ice.
While we had a hunch that Gourde and defenseman Vince Dunn might return, we did not expect the last-second goalie shuffle that resulted in Joey Daccord getting the start Tuesday. Chris Driedger, who came on in relief in Philadelphia Monday, got injured, and we really don’t know how or when it happened.
The way this played out for Driedger is similar to Marcus Johansson’s sudden placement on injured reserve after the Vegas game. There was no indication of an injury during the game in Philadelphia, but Tuesday rolls around, and boom! Driedger is on IR, meaning he’ll miss at least a week.
All that said, Daccord played really well on Tuesday. He stopped 29 of 32 shots and made some huge and timely saves for the Kraken.
Takeaway #3: The boys are coming home
In the grand scheme of things, a five-game trip is so small. It’s important, no question. But it’s so small.
The bigger picture begins to come into focus on Saturday when Climate Pledge Arena officially welcomes the Seattle Kraken onto home ice for the first time, a moment we’ve all been eagerly awaiting for so long.
And what a magical and thrilling night that will be.
“I think it’s going to be a fantastic night,” Hakstol said Tuesday. “Just the energy and the positivity that has surrounded everything over the last— especially the buildup over the last few months, but really longer than that.
“You know, I haven’t really talked to any of our players about it, but I know that they’re going to be looking forward to it. Coming off of a nine- or ten-day road trip, guys will look forward to getting home, having a day with their families, a day to regroup, and then it’s going to be a great event to look forward to.”
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Page 24 of 25« First«...10...2122232425»
