In a scoreless game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Climate Pledge Arena on Nov. 14, Seattle Kraken captain Jordan Eberle sprinted after defenseman Connor Murphy, hoping to strip him of the puck and create an offensive opportunity just 17 seconds into the second period.
Eberle lunged, trying to lift Murphy’s stick, but as he did so, he lost his footing. Both players went down and began careening out of control across the freshly resurfaced ice, destined for a hard, dangerous slam into the end wall. Murphy was lucky to go into the boards feet first, but Eberle was in a more vulnerable position, prone on his stomach as he crossed the goal line. A split second before impact, he managed to twist his body backward, absorbing the crash with his lower back instead of his head and neck.
While he did well to position himself in a less dangerous way than if he had gone in headfirst, the force of the collision was still too much for his body to withstand.
“I hit the boards hard, and I just knew instantly something was wrong,” Eberle said.
As Murphy got up and skated away, Eberle remained down on all fours while conversing with athletic trainer Justin Rogers. The silence in Climate Pledge Arena was deafening, as the home crowd held its collective breath, waiting to see if the veteran forward would get back up.
He eventually made it to his feet and coasted slowly to the bench, doubled over in pain. When he got off the ice and attempted to step toward the tunnel, his legs didn’t respond as expected.
“I got up and skated to the bench, and as soon as I took a step, I was like, ‘Oh, I can’t walk.’ And then the athletic trainers had to help me.”
Uh oh. Jordan Eberle with a VERY hard slam into the end wall.
Rogers and assistant athletic trainer Phil Varney helped Eberle down the tunnel and into the athletic training room, where he was examined. Fearing the 34-year-old had broken his hips, it was determined Eberle should go to the hospital in an ambulance. There, Eberle underwent a CT scan, but to his surprise, the scan didn’t reveal anything out of place. He still couldn’t lift his legs, though, so he was quickly referred to a local trauma surgeon by the Kraken medical staff.
“I went and saw a hip specialist, and he looked at it and immediately was like, ‘Yeah, this is what you’ve done. You’ve separated your pubic symphysis joint.’”
The pubic symphysis joint is where the right and left portions of the pubis connect in the middle. By stretching this, the two sides of Eberle’s pelvis had increased laxity (or looseness), leaving his lower body without structural integrity. It was a serious injury requiring a rare surgery to repair.
An unprecedented injury in hockey
The hip specialist explained that to repair the pubic symphysis joint, a plate would need to be screwed onto the bones to reconnect the two sides of the pelvis. While this gave Eberle a clear diagnosis, the injury was virtually unheard of in hockey, and a lack of shared knowledge in the sport about how to recover from the procedure made him apprehensive.
“Before I got the surgery, I reached out, tried to find a hockey player who had done this, and there was nobody,” Eberle recalled. “I tried to find a football player too, and there was nobody.”
Seattle’s medical staff had to think outside the box, searching for athletes in other sports who had experienced a similar injury to gain insight into the recovery process.
“Our doctor here found some rugby players who had done it. He spoke to two of them who had done it, and they were good, and he spoke to a third who didn’t do it and tried to recover naturally, and he ended up needing the surgery later on.”
That was all the information Eberle needed to move forward with the procedure. On Nov. 22, the Kraken announced that he had undergone pelvic surgery and would be out for three months.
Bad timing
There’s never a good time for a major injury, but this was especially bad timing. Eberle’s wife, Lauren, was nine months pregnant and due to deliver the couple’s third child at any moment. (In fact, just days before the fateful crash into the boards, Sound Of Hockey had spoken with Eberle about the challenges of becoming a dad in the middle of an NHL season.)
Indeed, baby girl Landyn was born two days after the surgery—while Eberle was completely immobilized.
Jordan Eberle holding his newborn baby, Landyn, while immobilized. (From Lauren Rodych-Eberle’s Instagram)
“None of the praise should go to me,” Eberle said. “I was just lying in a hospital bed. My wife basically did it all, so she had three kids, and basically, I was the fourth kid lying there too.”
Thankfully, Jordan’s mom was able to come to Seattle and help Lauren, as were Lauren’s parents for various stretches.
“When you’re immobile for a month, and you’re just in a bed, you can’t do as much as you want. But I think [Lauren] was a big rock and a big reason why I’ve gotten to this point.”
A long road to recovery
In addition to the support system Eberle had at home, he also praised how the Kraken organization handled his recovery, allowing him to focus entirely on getting back to full strength at the right pace.
“I kind of had an idea in my head [for when I wanted to get back], but, once again, there wasn’t really any basis behind it, as far as anyone doing it. So just the mental roller coaster was— I think I had a great support system here, and with the team, they were just like, ‘Make sure you take care of it, and when you get back, you get back.’
“There wasn’t any pressure to come back early or late. There was no information on any of it, so it was as simple as trying to get better each day. And when days weren’t good, you tried to stay positive. When days were good, you just tried to keel it back a little bit… It was a wild experience.”
That patience from the organization was needed, because Eberle’s progression back from the injury was a long, arduous road. He spent a month in a hospital bed, then progressed to a wheelchair, then to crutches, and eventually to walking and skating.
Eberle admitted that the uncertainty of the situation was always on his mind during the recovery.
“I’d be lying if… yeah, of course,” Eberle said when asked if he had considered whether he may not be able to play again. “I think any time you get the news of what happened and [have them] basically telling you what the surgery entails, and no one’s ever done this, I mean, it crosses your mind. But I think once you start progressing each day, and you start moving… I think I tried not to let that get to me as much as it was in my head.
“[And then it was] not so much about not ever playing, it was more so about not being the same player with what they had to do. But once I got on the ice, and made progress each day, and I saw myself getting better, and I saw each step that I was taking of basically learning to skate with a plate where something shouldn’t be, then I got better and better and better.”
Jordan Eberle skates in a game Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
While there was no pressure to hit a specific return date, the Kraken’s estimated three-month recovery timeline turned out to be almost exactly right. Eberle was back in game action on Feb. 22 against the Florida Panthers. Since then, he has skated in five games, logging as much as 17:06 of ice time and registering an assist in each of Seattle’s last two games against Vancouver on Saturday and Minnesota on Tuesday.
More work left to do
Knowing what Eberle endured makes his return all the more impressive. Seattle coach Dan Bylsma shares that admiration for his perseverance.
“What’s remarkable about his recovery is just the work and the determination Ebs put in off the ice to [get back] in a relatively unknown situation,” Bylsma said. “There’s not a prescribed rehab for an athlete, for the surgery or the injury that he had, and so it was a little bit of an unknown. And the way he plowed through it, the way he worked through it, is quite remarkable.”
And while Eberle is back competing in the NHL, he knows he still has plenty of work to do to return to the level he was playing at before the injury—when he looked to be on pace for a career season.
“I’m happy I’m at the point now where I’m not thinking about it on the ice, I’m just playing, you know? There’s probably a little bit of tightness there, but that’s just going to happen for the rest of the year, probably. And I’m hoping once I get back to a good summer of training and get my speed and my quickness back, I can get right back to where I was.”
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
We had heard whispers that the NHL Trade Deadline might be quieter than expected for the Seattle Kraken. But that theory was emphatically debunked Wednesday when Elliotte Friedman and Pierre LeBrun reported that the Kraken were working on a deal to send veteran forwards Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In return, the Kraken are reportedly receiving a bounty: the Lightning’s first-round draft picks in 2026 and 2027, Toronto’s second-round pick in the upcoming draft, and depth forward Michael Eyssimont, who is on an expiring contract. Lebrun has indicated that Detroit is involved in facilitating the deal, retaining 25 percent of Gourde’s contract, and that Seattle will retain half of his contract. The Kraken are also sending their 2026 fifth-round pick to Tampa Bay.
(Update: It is worth noting that the first-round picks are top-10 protected. If either ends up being a lottery pick, then the Lightning will have the option of sliding them back to 2028 and 2029).
Still, that is a massive return, especially considering Gourde has been playing exclusively on the fourth line and is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Getting three high draft picks was not the type of return we envisioned general manager Ron Francis to be seeking at this deadline, but the beauty of this deal is that those assets can now be used as currency to improve the roster—either in the coming days or during the offseason.
Gourde and Bjorkstrand will be missed
While this was a deal the Kraken couldn’t pass up, we will certainly miss Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand. The Maestro and the Pepperpot have both had some magical moments with the organization, from Bjorkstrand’s two-goal performance in Game 7 of Seattle’s lone playoff series win over the Colorado Avalanche to Gourde’s ever-present, mid-scrum smiles.
Assuming he doesn’t sign back in Seattle after the season (which remains a possibility), Gourde closes his Kraken tenure with 52 goals and 94 assists in 271 games over four seasons. He now returns to the only other NHL franchise he has played for as Tampa Bay gears up for a playoff run. Before leaving via the 2021 Expansion Draft, Gourde recorded 80 goals and 107 assists in 310 games with the Lightning, winning two Stanley Cups along the way.
Bjorkstrand, acquired in a trade with Columbus during the 2022 offseason for just a third- and fourth-round pick, tallied 56 goals and 85 assists in 224 games with Seattle. He has one year remaining on his contract, which will pay him $5.4 million next season.
Michael Eyssimont incoming
We will wait to hear from Francis later this week on the reasoning behind acquiring Eyssimont, but our guess is that it was a “warm body” move to help make the dollars work for Tampa Bay. It reminds us of how Daniel Sprong was thrown into the deal with the Capitals at the 2021-22 deadline, when Marcus Johansson was traded away. Sprong arrived with few expectations but ended up earning a role.
Like Gourde, Eyssimont is a depth forward on an expiring contract. He can help fill the void left in Seattle’s roster by playing fourth-line center down the stretch if needed.
The 6-foot-0, 191-pound forward has 10 points (5-5—10) in 57 games for the Lightning this season. He has played limited minutes, averaging just 10:41 per game, but that’s on a stacked Tampa Bay roster.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
For those Kraken fans hoping the team will tank the rest of the season for the highest possible draft pick, Seattle’s game Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild was ideal. The game was fun to watch, and the home team put in a good effort, but spotting a strong defensive squad a three-goal lead and then trying to battle back was too big of a hill to climb. Ultimately, the pro-tank crowd got the outcome it wanted, with a Seattle comeback falling just short and the Wild skating away with a 4-3 win.
“I thought there was a lot of good [in our game],” coach Dan Bylsma said. “I just felt the puck went in a little too easily for various reasons at the beginning of the game.”
The Kraken tilted the ice and allowed just one shot on goal as they tried to find the equalizer in the third period, but Filip Gustavsson stood tall for Minnesota and stopped all 11 Seattle offerings.
The big storyline coming into this one was Yanni Gourde’s return to action and the implications of the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline, but Shane Wright did some things that also deserve mentioning.
Here are Three Takeaways from a 4-3 Kraken loss to the Wild.
Takeaway #1: Here’s Yanni!
Yanni Gourde played Tuesday for the first time since Jan. 2. The pesky veteran center missed 22 games after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia. Adding to the intrigue of his return, he has been widely rumored as a potential trade candidate before Friday’s deadline.
In terms of his performance, he looked like his old self. He was fast and physical, and in the middle of the second period, he went right to the top of the blue paint, where he ran into Gustavsson and mucked things up with his signature Yanni Gourde smirk.
“We missed him since Jan. 2,” Bylsma said. “To have his energy and his passion was noticeable for us to have him back in the lineup tonight.”
Gourde logged 12:53 of ice time and registered the second assist on Brandon Montour’s rocket of a shot that cut Minnesota’s lead to 4-3 with 11 seconds left in the second period, setting up an exciting third.
There’s a bigger picture to consider with Gourde’s return, though; with the NHL Trade Deadline looming on Friday, Gourde has been frequently mentioned in trade rumors, and if he were to move, then this would have been his last home game as a Kraken.
He was asked about this after the game and said, “I’m focusing on what I can control, and that’s— yeah, I can control showing up tomorrow, working hard, and that’s all I can control. So that’s what I’m focused on, and we’ll see what happens the next few days.”
He was also asked if there have been discussions about a contract extension with Seattle, and he said, “Yeah, we’ve been—“ before cutting himself off and adding, “There’s been communication. That’s all I’ll say.”
If I were a betting man, I’d say he sticks around, but stay tuned.
Takeaway #2: Shane Wright is blossoming
Shane Wright has been talked about a lot this season, but it’s remarkable to think back to how he looked before his series of healthy scratches earlier this year compared to how he looks now. The kid is flying around the ice, and every time he’s out there, he does something that makes you raise your eyebrows.
While I’ve always been cautiously optimistic about Wright’s future, I’ve also had reservations about how high his ceiling will be. But seeing him play with this level of confidence makes me think the sky is the limit for the 21-year-old center if this is the norm for him.
“I’m obviously trying to play confident, try to play my game and just continue to improve and continue to learn as much as I can and just kind of grow with every game I play,” Wright said.
After posting two assists in Seattle’s win Saturday over Vancouver, Wright scored a power-play goal Tuesday, one-timing Oliver Bjorkstrand’s seam pass and getting a little help from Brock Faber’s stick blade to fool Gustavsson at 14:10 of the second.
WRIGHT AS RAIN! ☔️ 🚨
Great seam pass by Bjorkstrand, and Shane Wright gets a little help from Faber’s stick for the power-play goal.
He now has seven power-play goals on the season, leading the team by three (Bjorkstrand and Montour are tied for second with four each).
If this is who Wright will consistently be—and I’m beginning to believe it is, as he has remained effective for two months now—then Kraken fans should have high hopes that he can be a cornerstone player for many years to come.
Takeaway #3: Goals going in “too easily”
There were some interesting quirks in this game. The Kraken didn’t challenge for goalie interference on Vinnie Hinostroza’s deflection goal at 12:27 of the first to make it 1-0 (Bylsma said they didn’t challenge because Jamie Oleksiak pushed Hinostroza into Joey Daccord). They did challenge for a missed high-stick call after former Kraken Devin Shore appeared to make it 5-3 in the third period and won that one. They also got a rare penalty shot and power play on the same play after Faber was called for slashing Eeli Tolvanen on a penalty shot and then boarding him, earning two separate infractions (Seattle failed to score on either).
The biggest issue was that Seattle gave itself too big of a hill to climb, falling behind 4-1 in the first half of the game before turning on the afterburners and trying to claw back.
Statistically, it was a tough night for Daccord, who faced only 20 shots and ended the game with an .800 save percentage. But he was disrupted on the first goal, had a dual-layer screen on the second goal with Hinostroza and Josh Mahura both standing in front of him when Jared Spurgeon banked a perfect shot off the post, then watched as Frederick Gaudreau got a bounce off Jamie Oleksiak’s skate, and Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Johansson executed a pretty give-and-go to make it 4-1 in the second.
To Seattle’s credit, it eventually clamped down on the Wild in a way we haven’t seen too often this season, controlling the last 27-ish minutes of the game. But in the end, it still wasn’t enough.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Saying the past week perfectly encapsulates the season might be a bit dramatic, but the Kraken’s pendulum swings over the past few games felt wider than usual, reminiscent of the vibes earlier this season. This team has some signature wins against great opponents—Carolina, Florida, Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Vegas—but also some brutal losses, including Chicago and San Jose… twice. I know this is the National Hockey League, where anyone can beat anyone on a given night, but I can’t recall another Kraken season with such extreme Jekyll-and-Hyde performances.
In case you missed it, the Kraken opened their light week with a brutal 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues in what was arguably their worst game of the season. The Blues are a desperate team fighting to stay in the playoff race, but that’s no excuse for how poorly the Kraken played. The players knew it, too, and acknowledged as much in postgame interviews.
After a 7-2 loss on Monday, Jared McCann described an “embarrassing” performance in St. Louis:
“We’ve got to play for the logo on the front, right? It’s an honor obviously to be in the NHL.” #SeaKraken
The Kraken then returned to Climate Pledge Arena for their first home game since Feb. 6 to face the Vancouver Canucks. From the opening puck drop, the tone was set with hustle and physical play, as players finished their checks. The Kraken struck first on a slick backhand pass from Shane Wright that set up Andre Burakovsky for a one-timer.
Though the first period ended with Vancouver leading 2-1, the game had a different feel—there was fight and effort, something completely absent in St. Louis. If the Kraken were going down, they were going down swinging. They responded with three second-period goals and never looked back. The atmosphere inside CPA was electric, and the win—Seattle’s first at home since Jan. 30—felt long overdue.
Other musings
It’s been clear for a while that the Kraken won’t make the playoffs this season, and in terms of long-term success, the best outcome would be losing more often to improve their odds in the NHL Draft lottery. But I don’t care. I’d rather see them go on a run and miss the playoffs than win the lottery.
The win against Vancouver marked Seattle’s fifth home victory on a Saturday night this season. Last year, they didn’t win a single Saturday home game.
The 6-3 win was also the 14th time this season the Kraken have scored five or more goals in a game. They only did that 10 times last season.
Three of those goals were tip-ins—the most tip-in goals they’ve ever had in a single game—and they were all beauties.
Since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Kraken have had just six power-play opportunities—their fewest in any four-game stretch this season. The downside? We haven’t gotten much of a look at the new power-play unit, specifically Kaapo Kakko, Shane Wright, Matty Beniers, Jaden Schwartz, and Vince Dunn. That group will be something to watch down the stretch.
Eeli Tolvanen’s two goals on Saturday night were his 17th and 18th of the season, matching a career high with 21 games remaining. Not bad for a waiver claim.
With Mitchell Stephens back in Coachella Valley and Yanni Gourde still on injured reserve, Tolvanen played on the penalty kill for the first time this season. He logged 2:17 of ice time as the Kraken successfully killed off all four minutes of Vancouver’s power plays.
It’s hard to imagine heading into the offseason with “backup goalie” as the Kraken’s top priority, especially for a team likely to finish in the bottom seven. But that might be the case. The Kraken’s points percentage with Philipp Grubauer is just .262, compared to Joey Daccord’s .566. It’s tough to say exactly what a serviceable backup would have meant for the team, but with a league-average option, they’d probably still be in the playoff picture. By the way, Grubauer was recalled from Coachella Valley on Sunday and is now back with the Kraken.
The battle for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference has turned into a chaotic mess, with no team seizing control. Calgary currently holds the last spot, but they’ve been struggling lately.
Not sure if anyone caught the NHL’s outdoor game over the weekend, featuring the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets at The Horseshoe, but it was a fantastic game with some incredible tributes to Johnny Gaudreau. While outdoor games have lost some of their mass appeal, I still enjoy them and think two or three per year is the right number.
Goal of the week
I already mentioned the tip-in goals, but I loved the entire Shane-to-Burky sequence. It really set the tone in the building that night.
1-0 #SeaKraken
Hughes' pass is off target. Wright jumps on the loose puck, rushes into the zone, and feeds Burakovsky with the cross slot pass
Jani Nyman (CVF/SEA) – Li’l Jani put up three points in the Coachella Valley Firebirds’ 6-5 win over the San Diego Gulls on Friday night. I expect we’ll see him in Seattle for a handful of NHL games down the stretch.
Clarke Caswell (SCB/SEA) – The Kraken’s fifth-round pick from the 2024 NHL Draft tallied four assists in two games over the weekend. The forward now has 75 points in 56 games this season.
Ryan Donato (CHI) – The former Kraken forward has two goals and three assists in his last three games. With a trade expected this week, he remains an easy player to root for come playoff time.
The week ahead
The Kraken have four games on the schedule this week, starting with a home matchup against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. They’ll then hit the road for three games—Thursday in Nashville, followed by a back-to-back against Philadelphia and Washington over the weekend. Seattle already has wins against Minnesota, Nashville, and Philadelphia this season, so there’s an opportunity to string some victories together.
Now that Philipp Grubauer has been recalled, I wonder if he’ll see game action before the back-to-back. There’s no sugarcoating his struggles this season, but I’d like to see him play and hopefully regain some confidence.
Trade deadline
As much as I wish the focus this week was solely on the games, that won’t be the case with Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline looming. Things have been quiet on the Kraken front, but movement is picking up around the league. Nothing has changed since we published our Kraken trade deadline primer weeks ago, but that won’t stop me from speculating.
One potential trade partner for the Kraken could be the Washington Capitals. They’re reportedly looking for a depth center, and Yanni Gourde fits that mold. The Capitals expect Ryan Leonard to join the team after his season at Boston College, making him a key part of their future at center. If that happens, Hendrix Lapierre could become a valuable trade chip. While a Kraken trade for Lapierre specifically might not be in the cards, that’s the type of move I hope Seattle makes at the deadline.
There is still a good possibility that Gourde signs an extension to stay in Seattle for a few more seasons. If that happens, the Kraken could be in for a quiet deadline.
That’s all for this week! If you have any thoughts or questions, drop them in the comments.
It has been a tough season for Seattle Kraken fans, no doubt, and they have endured some difficult nights at Climate Pledge Arena. But those in attendance Saturday were rewarded for sticking with their team, as Seattle showed emotion and resilience, feeding off the impressive energy in the building for a 6-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Eeli Tolvanen scored twice, Brandon Montour had a goal and an assist, and Shane Wright and Vince Dunn each recorded two assists, while Andre Burakovsky, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Matty Beniers added a tip-in goal apiece.
“Just the bounce back from the game in St. Louis… I think they didn’t need to hear from me about the game in St. Louis and the compete level,” coach Dan Bylsma said. “A good bounce-back message for the guys as well, just getting to the net front, going to the inside, fighting and battling to get there.”
Here are Three Takeaways from a fun-to-watch 6-3 Kraken win over the Canucks.
Takeaway #1: Burakovsky was great
On the long list of frustrations Kraken fans have felt this season, Andre Burakovsky’s inconsistent play has surely been noted at times. But the winger had one of his best performances of the campaign Saturday, standing out in a very good way.
He only ended up with one banger of a goal, but he led all players with six shots on goal and seemed to be skating with more confidence than we’ve seen from him during some stretches of this season.
“I thought [Burakovsky] was flying tonight,” Wright said. “I thought he was really moving well, skating well, and when he’s possessing the puck like that, he’s cutting back and using his skills, that’s when he’s at his best.”
Burakovsky opened the scoring at 5:47 of the first period after Wright strung together several good plays in a row—first winning a race to a loose puck in the neutral zone, then burning around Pius Suter to create a 2-on-1. He followed that up with a perfectly sauced backhand pass over Filip Hronek’s stick, laying it right in Burakovsky’s wheelhouse.
BURKY MAKES IT WORKY! 🚨
Great speed and backhand sauce from Shane Wright to win a race for a loose puck and set up Andre Burakovsky.
For his part, Burakovsky did exactly what he was supposed to do on the play, staying wide enough to create space for the pass and opening himself up to rip it past Kevin Lankinen. The goal set the tone for an all-around impressive night for the winger.
He also started the play that led to Oliver Bjorkstrand’s tip-in goal, which tied the game 2-2 at 4:11 of the second period. On that goal, it was just good, hard forechecking from Burakovsky that allowed Wright to pick up a loose puck and find Montour at the point.
“Offensively, starting with the goal in the first, Shane Wright making the great pass to him and scoring the goal,” Seattle coach Dan Bylsma said. “He didn’t factor in on the Bjorky goal, but he was a factor on the Bjorky goal, winning the puck in the offensive zone and hanging onto it… He was dangerous, he was good with the puck, he was on the puck in the offensive zone and noticeable tonight.”
Takeaway #2: Lots of tip-in goals
The Kraken scored three times in the second period to put themselves in the driver’s seat heading into the final frame, and oddly enough, all three goals in that middle period were scored in similar fashion.
Bjorkstrand tipped Montour’s shot, Beniers tipped Dunn’s shot, and Tolvanen tipped Ryker Evans’ shot—all three going past Lankinen’s glove.
“That’s one thing that we try to harp on is getting forwards to the net,” Montour said. “Obviously, it’s tough when goalies can’t see it or we get good tips, and we had a few goals like that.”
The redirections in this game highlighted the importance of creating traffic in front of NHL netminders, who—almost every time—will stop the shots they can see. Add a deflection and a change of direction a few feet in front of the goalie, and your chances of sneaking the puck by increase.
“In an effort to try to score more goals, that’s where you’ve got to go,” Bylsma said. “You’ve got to go to the inside, and also that takes intent, it takes courage to go there.”
My personal favorite of the three was the Beniers goal, because Matty won the face-off clean back to Dunn, then beelined straight for the slot, where he somehow got a piece of a Dunn rocket slap shot before a huge celebration.
MATTY MAGIC! 🚨
He gets a tip off Vince Dunn’s slap shot after his own clean face-off win.
At this stage of the season, it’s almost frustrating to see the Kraken play a game like this—battling for every puck, getting contributions from everyone, and not letting goals against sink them. It’s frustrating because it makes you wonder why they haven’t been able to string together more efforts like it this season.
I asked Bylsma about the unpredictability of the team after the game, and here’s what he said: “I just think that’s the challenge for this team. It’s a challenge for our team being consistent every night, and I’m not going to— I’m going to pat them on the back for the compete and the effort tonight.”
Still, it really is fun to see them play like that, even though we’re in “meaningless games” territory—at least from Seattle’s perspective. Here’s hoping for several more of those down the stretch, because that was one of the more enjoyable nights at CPA in quite a while.
Bonus Takeaway: Joey went for a goalie goal
With Lankinen pulled for an extra skater with more than three minutes left, and Seattle enjoying a two-goal cushion, you knew Joey Daccord had a shot at the empty net on his mind. Indeed, Nils Höglander gave him a golden opportunity by tossing a soft floater into his catch glove, which Joey quickly settled onto the ice and prepped to fire.
Daccord got the shot up in the air and appeared to have it on line, but he may not have gotten great wood on it. Tyler Myers easily gloved it, thwarting what would have been an unforgettable moment for Daccord and Kraken fans.
I also asked Bylsma what it will take to get Joey “off the schneid,” and the coach said, “He’s got to learn to shoot it harder. It was a muffin he shot. We’ve more guided him to not always looking for the opportunity to shoot it and try to get the goal, but today was a good opportunity to do it. After the game, I said, ‘You’ve got to work on your shot, because that was a muffin.’”
Incredible stuff from Bylsma, who remains one of the funniest personalities in the sport.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
