It was the revenge game of all revenge games for Seattle Kraken goalie Chris Driedger Saturday night at FLA Live Arena.
He was facing the Florida Panthers, his former team who oh, by the way, are the top-scoring club in the NHL and had yet to lose at home. At the other end of the rink was Spencer Knight, the 20-year-old, former first-round pick by Florida whose arrival late last year essentially made Driedger expendable.
And it was the second of a back-to-back for the Kraken after losing 3-0 in Tampa Bay on Friday.
None of that mattered Saturday.
After struggling through his first two starts with Seattle, Driedger was on and on early, making 33 saves as the Kraken (7-13-1) denied the Panthers (14-4-3) a chance at setting a record 12th straight home to win to start a season by winning 4-1.
“[Tonight’s win] is about as good as they feel,” Driedger said.
Seattle got two goals from Jordan Eberle who was playing in his 800th career NHL game along with two points from both Jamie Oleksiak and Joonas Donskoi.
“It was a real competitive game for us, a competitive game both ways,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “We went start to finish tonight and we knew we needed to do that in this building against this team that hadn’t lost in this building yet this year. So it was a good 60-minute performance for us.”
Eberle opened the scoring for Seattle in the first period, but the dagger came at 5:57 of the third period when he picked up a rebound off a Yanni Gourde chance and backhanded his second goal of the night to put Seattle up 3-1.
The goal was the insurance score that Seattle needed to put away the Panthers.
“That’s typical Gourdie,” Eberle said. “He’s hard on the puck and doesn’t really give up. He made a great play, just missed the shot and I was there to put in the rebound. That was all him.”
Kraken lean on Driedger
Driedger thwarted a Jonathan Huberdeau short-handed breakaway chance early in the first period which gave a clue that he was dialed in. When Seattle was in the throes of its recent six-game losing streak, those chances seemingly always resulted in goals.
In the second period, the Panthers pushed back, down 2-1. Florida outshot the Kraken 13-7 in the second, took 67 percent of the quality shots, and led in high danger chances 5-2. Despite the tilted ice, Driedger stood tall while hardly looking rattled.
“The first two, or three [starts] you could say didn’t go my way,” Driedger said. “I just needed to go in there and feel good, make some saves and get the confidence back. A lot of buzz coming back into this building. Pretty happy with the performance of our group, that’s about as good as I’ve seen our group play, hat’s off to them.”
If Driedger’s confidence is back, and with the resurgence of Philipp Grubauer over the last three games, the Kraken just might be starting to see the goalie tandem they envisioned when the season began.
Seattle gets off to an early start
The first period has been an adventure for the Kraken, but it’s slowly been getting better and Saturday’s opening period was perhaps the best of the season.
Seattle went to the power play 25 seconds into the game and cashed in at 2:22 to take a 1-0 lead. After Driedger’s big save and with time running out in the power play, Donskoi found some space and drew the penalty killers to him as he deftly sent a cross-ice pass to Eberle who knocked in his 10th goal of the season.
It was the seventh time in the last nine games that the Kraken scored a power-play goal.
Florida tied the game at 6:59 of the first period when a MacKenzie Weeger shot from the point was deflected past Driedger by Patric Hornqvist in front of the net.
Jamie Oleksiak blasted a shot from the point at 10:40 of the first and it was deflected in by Ryan Donato to give the Kraken a 2-1 lead. It was Donato’s third goal of the season.
After Eberle’s third-period goal to give the Kraken a two-goal advantage, Oleksiak would put the final nail in the coffin with his first goal as a Kraken at 16:35 when he scored from deep in his own zone on the empty Florida net.
“We didn’t like the outcome last night, it was a tough outing for us,” Hakstol said. “It didn’t feel good walking away from the rink last night. So, your next opportunity was tonight, and the guys did a real good job in terms of being ready to go and play hard together for 60 minutes.”
Tentacle Tales
+ After a rough six-game losing streak, the Kraken have three wins and six points in their last four games. Those points come after playing four of the top teams in the NHL (Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Florida) in succession.
“Honestly, I believe we’re past the building blocks, and we’re just trying to put wins together,” Hakstol said. “We went through a tough stretch, where we couldn’t find a result that would go our way. We hit a few speed bumps and wobbled a little bit, but we had to push back, and the pushback has come in a real tough stretch on the schedule in terms of playing high level teams.”
+ Will Borgen made his Kraken debut Saturday. The former Buffalo Sabres defenseman has been practicing with Seattle all year only to be a daily healthy scratch. He ended the night with 13:51 of ice time and one shot.
+ Seattle owned the dot on Saturday, winning the faceoff battle easily. Morgan Geekie went 11-for-14 on the draw and former Panther Alex Wennberg won 13 of the 16 faceoffs he took.
+ The Kraken were again without captain Mark Giordano who remains in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. Calle Jarnkrok was also out of the lineup for the second straight game after sustaining an undisclosed injury in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the Hurricanes.
SEATTLE – Kraken forward Mason Appleton was back skating with his teammates Tuesday at the Kraken Community Iceplex and was a full participant. He took regular reps playing on the wing with Jared McCann at center and Brandon Tanev on the other wing.
It looks like he’s close to returning, but head coach Dave Hakstol wouldn’t budge on any insight. “He’s close, he’s day to day right now,” Hakstol said. “It was nice to get him in practice, first full practice on a line so that’s another nice step for him.”
Once Appleton is able to return the Kraken will have a tough choice to make with their roster. A player will have to go to make room for Appleton. Nathan Bastian practiced Tuesday but did not participate in line rushes. He would be the 13th forward, and it seems unlikely he would go as that would leave the club thin up front.
On the back end, Will Borgen and Haydn Fleury would be in the crosshairs with an Appleton return. Both players would need to clear waivers and would be likely candidates to get claimed. With Appleton close, a roster move is imminent.
Revenge game with the Carolina Hurricanes
There is a lot of cross over between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Kraken. It starts with former Carolina player, coach, and general manager Ron Francis, who now of course runs the Kraken. But, the connections go deeper.
Television broadcaster John Forslund, head scout Robert Kron, Fleury, and Morgan Geekie all have ties to the Hurricanes, who just happen to be in Seattle for a game Wednesday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
Geekie was a third-round draft pick of Francis and the Hurricanes in 2017 and played parts of the last two years with Carolina. Francis nabbed Geekie again in July’s NHL Expansion Draft.
“Obviously, they had other plans and I wasn’t a part of them,” Geekie said. “But it’s a business and there’s no hard feelings. Everyone’s got their plan. Obviously, they’re having success and doing things well, but I’m excited for the opportunity to kind of get back at them a little bit.”
Fleury was a first-round pick of Carolina’s in 2014 and spent four seasons with the Hurricanes before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks at last year’s trade deadline. Seattle took him in the Expansion Draft.
With the Kraken, Fleury has yet to take a foothold as a regular player in the defensive rotation. He’s been a healthy scratch in all but three games in November. While he’s looking forward to seeing his old teammates Tuesday, it’s not clear if he’ll be in the lineup.
Marcus Johansson sparking Kraken power play
Johansson played with the Kraken on opening night but then was injured and missed time. He returned to the Seattle lineup on Nov. 9 in Vegas and immediately had an impact with the club’s struggling power play.
Johansson helped snap an 0-for-23 power-play drought with an assist and since then the Kraken have been on fire with the man advantage.
Marcus Johansson has three points on the power play since returning to the Kraken lineup. (Brian Liesse photo)
With Johansson often parked in front of the net, Seattle’s power play is 5-for-10 over the last four games.
“He has veteran presence and he’s positive but in a pretty stern way,” Hakstol said of Johansson. “He brings that leadership, he’s outstanding getting us in the zone. He’s been in that spot that he’s in right now for us for a lot of years, and he’s seen a lot of different things there.
“So, he brings a nice level of execution and that’s been a part of it, for sure. It was good timing to have him come back into our group as our group was starting to get that swagger.”
Kraken with a tough test with Carolina on Wednesday
If it feels like every night, the Kraken are playing a top opponent these days, it’s because they are.
Carolina is coming off an overtime loss on Monday in San Jose, but they enter Wednesday’s game at Climate Pledge Arena with a 14-2-1 record and are tied with the Florida Panthers for the league lead in standings points with 29. Oh, by the way, Seattle plays at Florida on Saturday.
The Hurricanes have only allowed 34 goals, which makes them the league’s stingiest team.
“All that sounds close to the team we played two nights ago,” Hakstol said. “Not giving up very much and great goaltending. So, we have to go out and play a full 60-minute game, have a real good 60-minute effort, and have some extra effort in certain areas. But ultimately, just to have everybody go out and do the things that they do well for our team and bring that consistent level of play throughout the 60 minutes.”
We’ve been hearing rumblings about attendance being down across the NHL, so we wanted to take an early-season look at some of the figures from around the league to see what the data actually shows. The intent is not to take shots at any team’s fanbase or paint the league in a bad spot. The numbers are the numbers and should just be used as an indicator of how the league is doing, identify any teams that are showing improvement, and other teams that could be doing better.
League attendance
Last year was obviously challenging, and comparing year over year is not realistic or fair. It has been widely reported that all sports leagues and teams are facing attendance challenges in what we all hope is the tail end of the pandemic. The light is (hopefully) at the end of the tunnel, and perhaps soon the vast majority of fans will feel comfortable coming back to crowded environments like sports arenas.
Team by team change in attendance compared to 2019-20
Comparing how teams are doing compared to last season would be an easy exercise considering several arenas were not allowed to have fans in attendance as we navigated the pandemic. A fairer comparable is to see how teams are doing this season vs the beginning of the 2019-20 season. Let us take a look.
As you can tell by the amount of red on the chart, most teams’ average attendance is down this season compared to 2019-20. There is not much explaining to do here other than the pandemic continues to impact the in-person attendance of events.
Team detail attendance
Here is a look at how teams are trending by game number of the season compared to the same game number from 2019-20.
Here are a couple notes on individual teams’ attendance performances:
We would anticipate the Ducks, Flames, and Kings to see increases as the season goes on. The Ducks and Kings are putting much better teams on the ice compared to 2019-20, and fans will start to come back to the arenas.
The Blackhawks continue to see declines as the team struggles on (and off) the ice.
The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the few teams that are seeing an increase in attendance. They have an exciting team that has being building for years, so expect this trend to continue if the Canes continue to play well.
It is hard to get a read on the decline by the New York Rangers since, even in challenging years, they end up selling most of their games out at Madison Square Garden. The team has been better on the ice, but that has not translated to an increase in attendance.
The attendance in Buffalo looks rough. They are usually a loyal fanbase that shows up through the darkest of times, but even Sabres fans have a breaking point, and it looks like they have hit it.
It is early
There is no sugar coating it, the NHL attendance numbers do not look great, but it is too early to identify if there are any long-term trends to any one team here. As vaccination rates increase and COVID case counts decline, the numbers should start to trend back up to where they were pre-pandemic, but it might take a season to fully recover.
If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to share them in the comments section of the article.
It was the fish toss heard around the world, or at least heard around the Seattle Kraken, NHL circles, and in Jared McCann’s home.
In the hours before the NHL Expansion Draft in July, a video was leaked of ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes rehearsing the reveal of Seattle’s pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The video was shot at Pike Place Market with a fish monger catching a fish that had a note attached to it. Weekes pulled the note from the fish to announce that the Kraken had chosen Alex Kerfoot from the Maple Leafs.
“I was like ‘what’s happening right now’ and then I saw another video of my name being called,” McCann said about the video. “I was like, ‘okay, both of us. I don’t know.’”
The video added to what had already been an anxious week for the 25-year-old forward. Previously with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he appeared to be a key player that would be left unprotected and selected in the Expansion Draft. In the hours before the Penguins had to submit their protected list to the NHL, McCann was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“That was definitely a stressful time in my life,” McCann said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know where I was gonna play. But it worked out for the best and I’ve got a great opportunity here that I wouldn’t have gotten in Toronto. So, I’m very excited.”
The Penguins traded McCann because they didn’t want to lose him to the Kraken in the Expansion Draft for nothing. They avoided that by moving him in return for a prospect in Filip Hallander and a seventh-round draft pick in 2023.
Toronto wanted McCann for Expansion Draft insurance, and if Seattle selected him, they’d still have Kerfoot who is a similarly skilled player.
McCann was of interest. He was coming off his third full season with the Penguins where he scored 14 goals and 32 points in 43 games. His ultimate selection by Kraken general manager Ron Francis was not a surprise.
It all worked out for the Kraken and McCann. The team got the player they wanted all along and McCann landed in a place where he was given the opportunity he’d been waiting for.
Kraken have provided a bigger role for McCann
Playing as a center for the Penguins has its limits. McCann was not going to unseat Pittsburgh’s top two centers. Those roles belong to future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. He faced a similar log jam in Toronto with Auston Matthews and Jonathan Tavares at the top of the order.
With Seattle he’s getting those minutes, he’s on the power play, and he’s getting the opportunity he wanted.
“I’ve had [chances] sporadically over my career and I’ve done well every time I’ve been able to get the chance,” McCann said. “I’m taking it one day at a time. I know it sounds cliche, but I’m just enjoying it. I really am.”
The Kraken are enjoying it as well.
Seattle’s Jared McCann is on pace to set career highs in all offensive categories. (Brian Liesse photo)
He was leading Seattle in scoring before landing in the COVID-19 protocol that forced him to miss five games. That was a setback and he dealt with the low energy and lack of taste and smell that came with the virus.
It didn’t take long for him to make an impact once cleared to play. In his first game back on Nov. 11 against the Anaheim Ducks, and while still dealing with some COVID after effects, he scored twice in a loss.
“[McCann] brings speed and a shot, you saw it tonight on a couple goals,” Jordan Eberle said after the game.
In the 10 games McCann has played with the Kraken he’s skated up and down the lineup from the top line to the third line. He’s played center, on the wing, and he’s often on the half-wall for the power play. He has scored five goals and recorded nine points.
That versatility has come in handy as Seattle has had early injuries to navigate around. No matter where he’s played, McCann has produced.
“I’ve done that my entire career,” McCann said. “I’ve always kind of been a guy who fills in a lot and it’s something that I pride myself on. I love doing that.”
McCann a key player for Kraken moving forward
While he may not be as noticeable from game to game as Brandon Tanev or Yanni Gourde, McCann is a key player as the Kraken try to break out of their early season malaise.
He’s consistently been one of the team’s top offensive performers and at his current pace he would easily top his career high in goals (14), assists (21), and points (35). If the Kraken are going to break their slump and get into the Western Conference’s playoff race, they’ll need McCann to continue taking advantage of his newfound opportunity.
His career started in Vancouver after the Canucks selected him with the 24th pick of the 2014 NHL Draft. After one year in Vancouver, he was traded to Florida where he spent three seasons before landing in Pittsburgh.
McCann is in his final year of a $2.9 million contract and will be a restricted free agent after the season. That makes it easier for the Kraken to re-sign him and the way things have started, that’s good news for both the team and player.
“The facilities have been unbelievable; our gym is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. That’s pretty crazy so we’re very fortunate to have one like this. It’s just been amazing,” McCann said of playing in Seattle. “They’ve taken care of us so well and we were able to go see the Seahawks play and we got to see a Mariners game. We have great owners and a great management here.”
What looked promising for the Seattle Kraken Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas turned bad in just 1:33 of game time and they lost 4-2 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
It was the second straight loss on the road for Seattle (4-8-1) in which it held a lead, and Tuesday had a familiar odor to the disappointing loss Saturday in Arizona.
“We’re just a fragile team,” Jordan Eberle, who scored his seventh goal of the season, said. “We’re finding ways to lose instead off finding ways to win.”
After a dominating second period, Yanni Gourde scored a goal to put Seattle up 2-1 with 31 seconds left in the period. Instead of building momentum, it would be Vegas (7-6-0) who tied the game on a goal from Evgenii Dadonov on the next shift with 15 seconds left before intermission.
The Golden Knights rode that wave to score twice on goals from Reilly Smith, one at 30 seconds and again at 1:16 of the third period, to take a two-goal lead and sail to a win. Goalie Robin Lehner made 25 saves, 10 of which were in the third period, to squash any Kraken notions of a comeback.
“This was a hard loss,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “We worked really hard to be in a position going into the third period and that slipped away. We’ve got to reset, practice tomorrow, and get ready for a game Thursday.”
Chris Driedger made his first start in net for Seattle and allowed four goals on 23 shots. Gourde’s goal was his second in two games and third on the season. Eberle scored his seventh goal in seven games to open the scoring in the first period.
It was in the second that the Kraken were gaining control.
Seattle took 75 percent of the unblocked shots at 5-on-5 and 75.8 percent of the quality shots. They also drew two penalties as the ice was tilted and the Kraken were controlling things. They took a deserved 2-1 lead when Brandon Tanev hit a streaking Gourde in stride for a go-ahead goal.
That’s where things turned.
With time running down in the period a Shea Theodore shot was stopped by Driedger, but he couldn’t control or find the rebound and it was poked in by Dadonov to make it 2-2.
“We have to go into the intermission up by one,” Hakstol said. “That’s a goal we can’t give up. We got caught with an out numbered situation at the net on a throw in. That’s a little too easy.”
Vegas grabbed the lead when a Theodore point shot was tipped by Smith in the slot causing Driedger to miss it with his glove. Smith would then knock in a touch pass in front on a Vegas power play to make it 4-2 and sap the life out of the Kraken players.
Driedger had a similar struggle with the glove late in the first period with the Kraken up 1-0. Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo threw a shot on net that seemed to surprise Driedger. Despite getting a piece of it, he was not able to keep it out of the net.
“There’s a couple he’d probably want back,” Hakstol said of Driedger’s game. “He’s got to reset and be ready to go back to work at practice tomorrow.”
The last two games have been a struggle and wiped away the good feeling last week’s win at home over the Buffalo Sabres gained. Trends are starting to emerge as the Kraken can’t find a way to cash in on repeated stretches where they control the play, and they are still looking for timely saves from their goaltenders.
Finishing a team once they’ve built a lead still appears to be a lesson that the team needs to learn.
Power play finally breaks through
One bright spot Tuesday was Seattle finally cashing in on a power play. It came in the first period after Gourde goaded Vegas’ Chandler Stephenson into taking an unsportsmanlike penalty for grabbing Gourde’s visor.
Eberle would then find a rebound in front and score on the backhand. It snapped a streak of 23 straight failed power play attempts.
In a touch of irony, Seattle failed on two second-period power plays which would have gone a long way to giving them a two-goal lead and change the tone of the contest. Even when the power play works the Kraken still managed to have it let them down.
“We’ve got to get feeling good about ourselves,” Mark Giordano said. “In tight games, we’ve got to find a way to still make those plays.”
Other Kraken game notes
— Marcus Johansson returned to the lineup Tuesday for Seattle. He last played in the season opener, also against Vegas, but recorded an assist on Eberle’s goal.
— Ryan Donato was injured in Arizona and was not in the lineup Tuesday. Hakstol did not have an update.
— Gourde did not play the last six minutes of the game, apparently suffering an injury. Hakstol did not disclose what the nature of the injury was nor did he offer any status update. Earlier in the game, Gourde took a shot off the knee but returned to the ice for his next shift.
— The Kraken open a six-game homestand at Climate Pledge Arena Thursday with a game against the Anaheim Ducks.
