Perhaps lost amongst the Kraken’s recent success, the Coachella Valley Firebirds are sweltering hot.
The Firebirds have accrued points in 13 consecutive games and have won 12 of 13 of those matchups. Coachella Valley is currently tied with the Calgary Wranglers for first place in the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division with 58 points — the Firebirds possess three games in hand.
What’s been the secret for the Firebirds? Perhaps they are reinvigorated by a fancy new barn in Palm Desert, Acrisure Arena, which opened up just before their point streak began. The Firebirds have only dropped two games out of their first 10 in their new home rink since it opened.
Additionally, the Firebirds’ defense has been much more stingy as of late. Coachella Valley is scoring at about the same pace since the streak began on Dec. 22, with 3.9 goals per game compared to 3.8 before; but the Firebirds are only allowing 2.07 goals per game during the 13-game point streak. That’s a swift drop from their 3.1 season average from before.
Coachella Valley has recorded four shutouts during that period, two courtesy of Joey Daccord — including a 39-save effort against San Jose on Jan. 7 — and one belonging to Christopher Gibson.
McCormick named AHL player of the week
During the streak, forward Max McCormick has been one of the main engines of the Kraken offense and picked up AHL Player of the Week honors after notching four goals and eight total points in three games.
McCormick is one of the hottest players in the Kraken system right now with 10 points in his last five games. That stretch includes a hat trick in a 5-4 overtime win over Ontario last Saturday and a three-point effort in a 5-2 win over Tucson on Jan. 16 for the Firebirds’ captain.
The 30-year-old forward is far from a prospect but has some NHL experience, including 10 games with the Kraken last year, and a wealth of AHL success under his belt.
Wright, Winterton, Melanson settling into new squads
The Sherbrooke Pheonix has raced to the top of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s (QMJHL) standings, partly due to Seattle forward prospect Jacob Melanson. Sherbrooke is now tied for first in the Western Conference and is 7-1-0 since the 19-year-old forward’s arrival, with Melanson boasting 10 goals and six assists in just eight games.
Shane Wright, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft is delivering for Windsor with four goals and nine points in five games played for the Spitfires. Windsor is 4-1-0 and is scoring 5.83 goals per game since Wright joined the team and has passed London in the Ontario Hockey League’s Western Conference standings. However, the Spitfires are allowing plenty of offense, too, with 4.5 goals against per game during that stretch.
Kraken forward prospect Ryan Winterton, a third-round pick in 2021, started slow for the London Knights but has been solid lately with seven points in his last four games. Winterton has been held without a point in half of his contests with the Knights, but remember, he is coming off a significant shoulder injury that required surgery and could be easing back into things a bit.
Jugnauth settling into freshman season
It’s been a difficult season for Wisconsin, with the Badgers sitting at the bottom of the Big 10 standings — sorry, @DarrenFunBrown — but Kraken defense prospect Tyson Jugnauth has carved out a nice role for himself amongst the struggles.
A fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Jugnauth is tied for second amongst Badger blueliners with eight points and appears to have solidified a spot on the power play.
There aren’t a ton of Kraken prospects playing NCAA hockey, so Jugnauth can get lost in the shuffle, but his billing as a skilled offensive defenseman is worth monitoring.
The Kraken got another proverbial monkey off their backs Wednesday with a dominant 6-1 win over the Canucks, a team that has been a bugaboo for Seattle since its inception. Rejuvenated after three days off, the Kraken came out flying in the first period and didn’t look back against their embattled neighbors to the north.
“That’s a great win for our club,” said Vince Dunn who had two assists and set a new career high for points in a season. “We definitely owed them over the past two years, so we showed a lot of character throughout the game.”
The victory—which may have come with a significant cost (see Takeaway #3)—solidified Seattle’s position in first place in the Pacific Division. The Kraken are level in points with the Vegas Golden Knights but still hold two games in hand. They also have now surpassed their point total for all of last season, and it took just 47 games.
Here are our Three Takeaways from a resounding 6-1 Kraken win over the Canucks.
Takeaway #1: How is that the first time the Kraken have beaten the Canucks?
The Kraken dominated that game from start to finish. You could tell they were playing with a little chip on their shoulder after going 0-5-1 in their first six all-time meetings with the Canucks, including giving away what should have been an easy win on Dec. 22 in Vancouver.
Oliver Bjorkstrand got on the board first at 7:57 when he found an Adam Larsson rebound in the slot and deposited it behind Martin. Alex Wennberg followed that up at 9:46 by finishing off a nice passing play on the manpower advantage. Dunn passed to Jared McCann at the top of the left circle, who hit Jordan Eberle in the slot, who tipped it to Wennberg, who redirected it past Martin.
From there, the game was on the rails and felt like a no-doubter all night long.
After watching that game, it’s hard to fathom that it took so long for Seattle to get a win against Vancouver. The organization has been a train wreck, especially these last couple seasons, yet somehow the Kraken just hadn’t been able to figure out those pesky Canucks.
“We haven’t liked the results, obviously,” said Hakstol.” I said before the game the results from last year mean nothing to this group. Maybe I overstated that a little bit, I mean they’re the nearest team, but the most important thing is this is Game 3 this year… We had one point up in Vancouver, and these are critical two points.”
For the second time in two seasons, Vancouver fired its coach in the middle of the year, and we’re starting to think the problem is not actually the coach. The turmoil in that market is real, and it comes with good reason.
Seattle has had several chances to beat Vancouver, only to come up short in the third period.
“They never give up,” said Dunn. “We’ve been up in a lot of those games, and we’ve sat back and they’ve taken advantage of us. So tonight was a complete game for us, all 60 minutes. We found ways to gain back momentum when we needed it.”
We will note the Canucks played the Blackhawks Tuesday, so they were on tired legs and should get a little bit of a pass there. Still, if you’re new coach Rick Tocchet, you can’t be too thrilled with the team you just inherited. Oh, and if you’re Tocchet, you probably didn’t appreciate the “Bruce, there it is!” chants that rang down from the Climate Pledge Arena stands in the third period.
Takeaway #2: The Tolvanen-Gourde-Bjorkstrand line is legit
We are loving what we’re seeing from Seattle’s third line of Eeli Tolvanen, Yanni Gourde, and Oliver Bjorkstrand. While all four lines were clicking Wednesday, that trio was especially impactful and looked dangerous every time it was on the ice.
“They’ve got some good momentum, right?” said Hakstol. “They continued that tonight. They buzz around, they’re doing it with pace, with tenacity, but there’s chemistry there.”
After scoring just two goals in 13 games, getting scratched repeatedly, and finally getting waived by Nashville, Tolvanen now has six goals and eight points in 13 games with Seattle. He’s been a key cog in the machine that is the Kraken third line.
Tolvanen’s goal Wednesday was of familiar fashion, a rocket one-timer from the top of the slot. Gourde teed him up with an easy pass to lean on, Bjorkstrand created a screen in front, and Tolvanen put his whole weight into the shot, blasting it by Martin.
EELI GOALVANEN! 🚨
What a blast! Tolvanen’s sixth as a #SeaKraken in just 13 games.
Bjorkstrand added his second goal of the game at 16:15 of the second period after an impressive display of passing between Gourde and the top defensive pairing of Adam Larsson and Vince Dunn. They looked like they could do whatever they wanted with the puck, and in the end, Larsson found Bjorkstrand in the right circle. With Vancouver’s defense discombobulated after the effective cycling, Bjorkstrand had all day to pick his spot on Martin.
TOLD YA! 🚨
Another great passing play ends with Oliver Bjorkstrand getting his second of the night.
It’s no coincidence that Bjorkstrand seems to be finding his game since Tolvanen started getting playing time.
“[My game is] better,” said Bjorkstrand. “I think I’m creating more things, and just as a line, we’re playing really well together with Gourdie and Tolvy. So, it’s definitely nice seeing it go in.”
He still isn’t scoring at the kind of clip we would have expected from him, but Bjorkstrand has five of his eight goals since Tolvanen joined the lineup on Jan. 1.
Takeaway #3: Matty Beniers got hurt
The injury bug may have taken another big bite out of the Kraken, who had been remarkably healthy until recently. With Jaden Schwartz and Justin Schultz out of the lineup, and guys like Wennberg, Andre Burakovsky, and Gourde all being labeled as “game-time decisions” recently, Seattle is banged up right now.
And the Kraken may have taken another big blow Wednesday against the Canucks, both literally and figuratively.
Five minutes into the second period, with Seattle on the attack and the puck nowhere near Matty Beniers, all 6-foot-8, 229 pounds of Tyler Myers tossed the unsuspecting rookie like a rag doll. Beniers hit his head on the ice, and it took a pretty good bounce. He got up looking shaken up, and both referees immediately put their arms up in the air to call Myers for interference.
Tyler Myers takes a run at Matty Beniers far from the puck. That was uncalled for. pic.twitter.com/ZPcEkdibH6
Beniers stayed in the game for the rest of the second period, continuing to play regular shifts, but he did not return for the third period. Asked about Beniers’ status, Hakstol simply said, “He wasn’t available for the third period.”
So, keep an eye on that. It’s easy to imagine Beniers could have sustained a head injury with the way his helmet bounced. If that is the case and Beniers misses extended time, it would be a massive loss for the Kraken and concerning for the 20-year-old who is slated to participate in his first All-Star Game next week.
Bonus Takeaway: Jackson was the No. 1 star
The Kraken rolled out the red carpet for young Jackson Boboth, a nine-year-old fan who has been battling leukemia and is part of Make-A-Wish Alaska & Washington. Not only did Jackson suit up in goalie gear and take shots at practice Tuesday, he was signed to a one-day contract Wednesday.
Again in his full gear, Jackson took the ice and was announced in the starting lineup. After the final horn sounded, he was awarded the No. 1 star of the night and got to yeet a fish into the crowd. Cale Fleury then plopped the Davy Jones hat onto Jackson’s head in the dressing room, capping off an unforgettable experience for the young man.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Adam Larsson ⭐️⭐️ Oliver Bjorkstrand ⭐️ Jackson Boboth 🥹
“It’s something that we all love to be a part of and really special for him and his family,” said Dunn. “I think the support throughout the community— you see in warmups, all the signs for him, that’s really special, and he definitely brought a little spark in the dressing room tonight.”
Kraken forward Ryan Donato has had a good week. Playing on an elevated line, the 26-year-old forward has taken advantage, scoring three goals with an assist in Seattle’s last two games, but he isn’t getting a big head about it.
“It’s definitely increased [confidence],” Donato said after Tuesday’s practice. “But you always feel like you’re always right there. I mean, you’re getting chances sometimes they don’t go in and then you still have confidence and sometimes you’re not getting chances. And they don’t go in when you get one chance every couple of games.
“So you just try and stay as even keel as possible. I’ve learned that when you’re in the same position and you’re feeling low on yourself. You can’t get too low and then use the scoring… and get too high.”
For the second straight season, Donato has shown that he is a versatile player for Seattle. During summer’s training camp, coach Dave Hakstol mentioned that Donato was a player he could count on no matter what line or role he was asked to play.
It’s been more of the same this season. They need him to fill in at center on the fourth line? Done. There’s a need on Yanni Gourde’s wing for a few games? No problem.
“I think it’s difficult, but I mean, you prepare the same way you would with any game, right?” Donato said. “I mean, if you ask guys here, they think I’m superstitious, but I think it’s more of a routine, and I try and keep the routine the same. So no matter what the situation is, who I’m playing with, where I’m at, where I’m at in the lineup, what position, I always feel the same.”
His pregame routine is somewhat simple, it does not include any chants or strange foods at all but still prepares him to play many different roles on the ice.
“The pregame routine warm up, stretch,” he said. “All what I do on the ice, like it doesn’t change. I try and stay consistent. So if I know if I play bad, it’s not on anything I did during the day. It’s more something I wasn’t doing during the game.”
Donato is one of the nicest people you could hope to meet in hockey. He’s laid back and easy going yet at several times this year and last, he’s raised the ire of opponents. He doesn’t play dirty but has been involved in a few post-whistle scrums.
“I tend to stir the pot a little bit,” he said with a smile. “I don’t really go out of my way to do it. But I think there’s a lot of guys on our team that don’t shy away from it either. And, you know, kind of sometimes if you get into those moments it maybe even gets you into the game mentally and physically a little bit and sometimes if you’re not into it, that’s a way to get back into for sure.”
Kraken get a practice in before playing Vancouver
With a packed January schedule, the Kraken have had almost no practice time. They have three home games this week before getting time off for the NHL All-Star break.
Will it be beneficial?
“Well, we’ll find out tomorrow,” Hakstol said after practice. “I mean we were tired. We look like a tired hockey team a couple days ago against Colorado. The effort was really good, but you can see some of the fatigue in our game. So we gotta recharge the batteries here and make sure we’re ready for a push here for the next four days.”
The first test will be Wednesday night against the Vancouver Canucks who were awash with turmoil this week as they officially fired coach Bruce Boudreau and hired Rick Tocchet who will be coaching his first road game with Vancouver on Wednesday.
Hakstol, as he often repeats, said that the Kraken were worried about their game and that while Vancouver might ‘tweak’ some things, it won’t matter as long as Seattle is on point.
There were some notable absences Tuesday for a practice that Hakstol described as one focused on ‘pace and execution.’
Jaden Schwartz again missed practice, and Hakstol said he does not expect him to play Wednesday. Defenseman Justin Schultz, who has missed the last two games for the Kraken, is now considered out week-to-week meaning that Cale Fleury should get an opportunity for more playing time.
Forwards Yanni Gourde and Andre Burakovsky both were kept out of practice, and Hakstol said they would be game-time decisions. With the injuries, forward John Hayden was recalled from Coachella Valley after being sent down on Saturday.
Road versus home games
Seattle has been one of the best road teams in the NHL this season, with a 16-5-2 record. In what can only be described as a head scratcher, they’ve only been lukewarm at Climate Pledge Arena with an 11-9-3 record.
With a loud and loyal crowd and last change greeting them at home each night, it would make more sense if the records were flipped.
“I think we obviously should be better at home right?” Donato said. “Like the way we prepare, you have more advantage of being at your home rink, fans and all that stuff. I can’t say we can put a pin on what would be the reasoning that would be like that, but yeah, so not too sure.”
The Kraken have three chances this week to improve at home. After the Vancouver game on Wednesday, they will host Calgary on Friday and the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday. Climate Pledge should be packed and there should be no excuses.
Wishes come true
There was a special guest at practice Tuesday. For the first time, the Kraken hosted the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Alaska & Washington and created a special moment for young Jackson Boboth, who had his dream of skating with the Kraken granted.
Boboth, a goalie, was on hand at Kraken Community Iceplex for practice and worked with both Philipp Grubauer and Martin Jones on the ice.
His family joined him for a fun morning. Afterward, Grubauer helped Jackson take his goalie gear off. Boboth had his own personal stall in the dressing room with a nameplate and addressed the media once out of his gear.
“I think he’s next man up,” Hakstol said. “He looked pretty good out there today. I wouldn’t be shooting at his glove, I can tell you that. He’s just rock solid in there.”
It was the first time that Make-A-Wish has worked with the Kraken and hopefully not the last.
Monday Musings is a collection of random thoughts and observations about the last week of activity from the hockey world with an emphasis on the Kraken and other happenings around the Puget Sound hockey community.
Kraken thoughts
On the surface, a 1-2-1 week does not sound like a great week. The games on Monday and Tuesday of last week felt like an ambush and account for the two losses. On Monday, the Kraken faced the Tampa Bay Lightning at home less than 36 hours after they returned from a two-week seven-game road trip. Right after that game they would immediately jump on a plane for a road game in Edmonton the following day.
It was a tough scenario that ultimately ended with two regulation losses. Both games featured a healthy amount of “compete” from the boys, but they looked tired at times. Coming up with a win or even a point would have been nice, but just chalk it up to a challenging schedule.
Thursday night, the Kraken dominated the New Jersey Devils, but the Devils stuck around and forced overtime with an extra skater on the ice. That just prolonged the inevitable with Andre Burakovsky burying the game winner just 70 seconds into the extra frame. Then Saturday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche was a bit of a slugfest that ended in a 2-1 shootout loss.
The last week of games could have been better, but the Kraken are 7-2-1 over their last 10 and are now sitting, by points percentage, in first place in the Pacific Division.
Injury bug
One of the Kraken’s strengths this season has been their health. Going into last week, Seattle was one of three teams to only suit up 23 different skaters this season. For context, Colorado, Toronto, and Columbus have each used over 30 different skaters this season. The Kraken have been remarkably healthy.
Unfortunately, we started to see some health issues pop up this week. About halfway through the Edmonton game on Tuesday, Justin Schultz took an innocuous-looking hit halfway through the second period, but he left immediately after and did not return the rest of the game. Schultz has not played in the two games since the Edmonton game. Then, in somewhat of a surprise, Andre Burakovsky was out of the lineup on Saturday night against his former team just two days after scoring the overtime game winner against the Devils.
Schultz and Burakovsky joined Jaden Schwartz who has not played since Jan. 12. All three of those guys have been significant contributors to the Kraken’s success this season and will be critical for the long-term outlook of this team. It should be noted that none of the three have been officially placed on injured reserve so maybe we should not be overly concerned here.
The All-Star break is just three Kraken games away, and with extra recovery days on the horizon, this might be the best time for minor injuries to hit.
Strength in the Pacific?
As well as the Kraken have been playing, it is important to point out that Edmonton and Calgary have also been winning. It is great to celebrate the recent success, but the Kraken cannot lift their foot off the pedal. There are teams doing everything they can to get back in the playoff hunt.
Right now, 95 points is the projected cutoff for making the playoffs. If the Kraken were to play .500 hockey the rest of the season, they would have 95 points exactly.
Other Kraken musings:
Sunday was the Kraken’s second annual Super Skills Showcase. Anyone who attended knew exactly what it was about… the kids. It was so amazing to see how many young fans were able to attend, and it certainly seemed like there were more activities for the kids before the event this season.
The events of the Super Skills Showcase were fun, but I enjoyed the puck juggling event last year and would have really enjoyed seeing a Ruff-Ruff Relay. Oh, well. I guess seeing Cheddar McCann was pretty cool.
John Hayden suited up for the Kraken on Saturday night to play his first NHL game of the season. He played under nine minutes but had a golden opportunity to score a go-ahead goal in the third period on a two-on-one opportunity. He shot it wide, but that would have been quite the fun moment for Hayden who has 241 NHL games in his career.
Hayden was reassigned to Coachella Valley on Sunday, but with three Kraken games over four days, do not be surprised to see him called back up.
Speaking of Coachella Valley, the Kraken’s AHL affiliate is now 27-6-3 and has the best record in the AHL.
Firebirds captain Max McCormick was named the AHL’s Player of the Week after notching four goals and four assists in three games, including a hat trick on Saturday.
One challenging area for the Kraken this season is the faceoff circle. The Kraken have the third worst faceoff-win percentage in the league. I have mentioned him before, but Morgan Geekie’s hidden value is what he brings to the faceoff circle. He is the only right-shot center on the team which enables coach Dave Hakstol to deploy Geekie regularly when the puck is being dropped on his strong faceoff side.
He might not make the score sheet every night, but I love watching Yanni Gourde play. He is the heart and soul of this team.
Add Ryan Donato to the list of Kraken players that will likely have a career high in goals scored this season. He has three goals in the last two games and is just five goals away from that career mark.
This will require a deeper dive, but both Kraken goalies are playing well right now. Since Dec. 23, Philipp Grubauer’s save percentage is .914 and Martin Jones’s is .910. The Kraken will need both goalies to play well to continue the team’s success this season.
Speaking of goalies, Chris Driedger has been skating at Kraken Community Iceplex for some time now. I have been getting a lot of questions about what the team does when he comes back from injured reserve. The short answer is, I do not know. I expect him to still be a couple weeks away from seeing any kind of game action, but when he is ready, Seattle will more than likely put him in a conditioning stint in the AHL. From a timeline perspective, I feel he will join the Kraken’s roster after the NHL Trade Deadline, at which time the team can expand its roster size and he could be carried as the third goalie.
Several fans have asked about trading one of the goalies. Based on contracts and the success of the team, I do not see it as a realistic scenario for any of them to be traded this season.
With the All-Star break coming up, it is a great time to check out some WHL action. The Seattle Thunderbirds are playing excellent hockey and are currently the best team in the Western Conference. During the NHL All-Star break, the T-birds have a home-and-home series with the Everett Silvertips Friday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 4, and play again at home against Spokane on Sunday, Feb. 5. The Silvertips also host Red Deer on Sunday, Feb. 5.
Kraken themes for the week ahead
There is a series of interesting games coming up this week for the Kraken. On Wednesday, the Vancouver Canucks will visit Seattle to play their first road game under new head coach Rick Tocchet. Tocchet interviewed with the Kraken to be their first coach, so you can imagine he might have some extra motivation that night. The Kraken are 0-5-1 all time against the Canucks, and Vancouver is one of four teams remaining that Seattle has never beaten in its brief franchise history. Those narratives aside, these are two point that the Kraken, at least on paper, should pick up.
On Friday, the division rival Calgary Flames visit Seattle. The Flames are currently outside the playoff cutoff and will feel some level of desperation to make up ground on Seattle. The Flames are the team I am paying attention to the most right now. They are on the outside of the playoff bubble and badly need points to get back in the race.
The Columbus Blue Jackets visiting Seattle will be an excellent opportunity to pick up some points. The Blue Jackets are dead last in the league with just 30 points in the standings. This will be the last Kraken game before the All-Star break, though, so it feels like a trap.
Kraken health
I expect Burakovsky to be back in the lineup soon but am less optimistic about Schultz and Schwartz. Burakovsky warmed up against Colorado before being scratched, so that would indicate his injury isn’t too severe. Although the team has not released any details on Schultz and Schwartz, they have each missed multiple games. Even if they could play, resting Schultz and Schwartz this week before the All-Star break might be the best play here.
Player Performance / Stick Taps
Ryan Donato (SEA) – The injury to Schwartz has allowed Donato to play further up the lineup and he is seizing it. He has three goals in the last two games and is currently on pace for 21 goals on the season.
Clayton Keller (ARI) – There have not been a lot of bright spots for the Coyotes this season, but Keller is one of them. He scored a hat trick against the Golden Knights on Sunday in a 4-1 win. Thanks Clayton.
Vitek Vanecek (NJD) – The “former” Kraken netminder had two wins in two starts and posted a .931 save percentage in those two games last week for the New Jersey Devils. If you do not know the story about Vitek, he was drafted by Seattle in the NHL Expansion Draft, but when the Kraken signed Grubauer in free agency a week later, Vanecek became expendable. The Kraken traded him back to the Capitals for a second-round draft pick.
Goal of the week
The @SeattleKraken prospects connect for the game-winner 🤝
Ty Nelson fools everyone and finds Kyle Jackson behind the net, scoring the go-ahead goal to help lead the @OHLBattalion past the Wolves at home 📽️ pic.twitter.com/8tLC8X4zxe
What should be obvious by now, the Seattle Kraken are the second-most-improved team in the league.
Thanks again for all your engagement and questions on these posts. If you have anything you want me to look into, feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments.
The Seattle Kraken secured one point in the standings with a shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena. Alex Newhook for Colorado and Ryan Donato for Seattle scored within a 68 second span in the second period, but otherwise the teams traded checks and agonizingly close chances without breaking through. In the shootout, Nathan MacKinnon (ever heard of this guy?) scored the only goal by either side and lifted the reigning Stanley Cup Champions to victory.
Despite the setback, Seattle has amassed a 9-2-1 record and secured 19-of-24 potential standings points since calendar turned to 2023. With 59 points overall, the Kraken currently sit just one point back of the Vegas Golden Knights (with one game in hand) for first place in the Pacific Division. The Kraken could surpass last year’s full season point total (60) with a win over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, January 25.
What’s our headline coming out of this one against Colorado? Who is trending up? Who isn’t? What’s next for the team? Let’s dive in.
Main takeaway: The Kraken are a resilient group right now
After Seattle’s 4-3 overtime win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night, the word that stuck in Coach Dave Hakstol’s mind was resilience. That descriptor was apt regarding his team’s performance against Colorado as well.
For long stretches of the 2022-23 season, the Seattle Kraken have been quite fortunate in avoiding player injuries. In fact, going into Saturday’s tilt, Seattle was tied with Dallas and Carolina for the fewest number of unique skaters to take a shift this season (23).
Things have gotten a little more challenging recently, though. Top-six forward Jaden Schwartz had missed the last four games before this one, and second pair defenseman Justin Schultz missed Thursday’s game with an injury as well.
Those two remained out Saturday, and were joined in street clothes by another injured top-six winger in Andre Burakovsky.
Earlier Saturday, after both Burakovsky and forward Alex Wennberg missed the team’s morning skate, coach Dave Hakstol said that one of the two would be in the lineup but the other would be a game time decision. When the Kraken stepped on the ice for pregame warmup Saturday evening both were there, but so too was John Hayden, the team’s extra forward. The intrigue was resolved about 15 minutes later when it was announced that Burakovsky would be scratched and Hayden would draw in.
Missing three top-of-the-lineup players against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, it would have been easy enough for the team to back down. They didn’t. Rather than use excuses to lose, this 2022-23 Kraken team finds ways to win (or at least stay in the game). I’ll get into it below, but the team defense in and around the slot salvaged a point from a game where a lot of things were pointing Colorado’s way. This is a good sign for the character of this team as it looks toward the stretch run.
Stock Up
Philipp Grubauer. The German netminder allowed just one one goal on 27 shots before the shootout. He stopped a handful of dangerous opportunities, including a slot chance from Nathan MacKinnon midway through overtime and a breakaway chance by Sam Girard moments after that. The goal he allowed was a second rebound opportunity after selling out to make two initial saves. It is hard to fault him there. Expected goal models agree that Grubauer was good against Colorado, indicating that Grubauer was likely about a goal better than average based on the shot quality he faced. That is a big game.
Ryan Donato. Donato has four points in his last two games, including three goals. Without his contributions in these two games it is very possible the Kraken would be looking at a fourth consecutive loss and a very different narrative. Donato’s goal in this one came from the outside and likely counts as one Pavel Francouz “would like to have back.” But there is no denying Ryan Donato is on a heater right now.
Ryan Donato and Alex Wennberg celebrate during Thursday’s game versus New Jersey. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Daniel Sprong. With Burakovsky absent, coach Hakstol opted to keep the Yanni Gourde and Alex Wennberg lines intact, and promoted Daniel Sprong to play with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle. John Hayden skated alongside Brandon Tanev and Morgan Geekie. When asked about the decision to move Sprong up after the game, Hakstol noted that Sprong’s progress with his two-way game gave Hakstol confidence. Sprong seemingly rewarded that confidence midway through the first period with a shot block that thwarted a dangerous-looking scramble in front of the net.
Team defense good in “the house.” Adam Larsson saved a possible goal when he swatted a puck that had broken through Grubauer off the goal line in the second period. (I say “possible” only because Matty Beniers was on the spot too, and he may have been able to save it if Larsson had not done so.) This play was indicative of Seattle’s intense defensive effort all night. The team was active blocking shots and with their stick checks at the sides of the net. Grubauer called this out in his postgame interview. Without the benefit of a full tape review, I recall at least three additional occasions (beyond the one noted above) where it seemed like a Colorado empty net goal was possible only to have a Seattle player thwart the shot at the last possible moment. It was an impressive team effort, with many contributors. Larsson led the way, as he usually does.
Tolvanen-Gourde-Bjorkstrand line is in the circle of trust. Tied for the most shifts of any forward line on the team, this group started the game for the Kraken and Coach Hakstol kept going back to them in all situations. While the line did not score tonight, they were on the ice for 14 Seattle shots for and conceded just six Colorado shots in return. Eeli Tolvanen matched his season high with four shots on goal, Yanni Gourde let the entire team in total shot quality per MoneyPuck, and all three played with strong pace.
Stock down
Injuries. The nature and origin of Andre Burakovsky’s injury is unknown at this point. He scored the game winning goal in overtime Thursday night and spoke to the media then. Jaden Schwartz and Justin Schultz remain day-to-day. The team currently has no healthy extra skaters. On the other hand, it does have the luxury of a few days to sort through its roster with the team’s next game coming on Wednesday, January 25.
Team scoring; points streak. Remarkably, Ryan Donato was the only Kraken player to register a point on the scoresheet in this one (his second period goal was unassisted). This means that Vince Dunn’s team-high nine-game point streak came to an end. Dunn will look to start a new point streak when the Kraken take the ice against Vancouver.
Parting thought: time for some well-deserved rest and relaxation
After a grueling stretch to begin January that saw 12 games in 21 days, with eight of those games coming on the road, the Kraken now have three days off before they take the ice again to play a game. Coach Dave Hakstol noted postgame that he thought his team could benefit from the break to get away and re-charge.
First thing is first though: the team will take the ice at Climate Pledge Arena Sunday at 2:00 pm PT for the Super Skills Showcase. Per Hakstol, the team will then have the day off Monday before returning for a practice at the Kraken Community Iceplex on Tuesday.
The Seattle Kraken played their 45th game of the season Thursday against the streaking New Jersey Devils, one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. When Andre Burakovsky circled around the offensive zone in overtime and loaded up a shot that squeezed through the pads of Mackenzie Blackwood, the Kraken officially took over first place in the Pacific Division from the Vegas Golden Knights.
So, did you expect the Kraken to be in first place 45 games into the season? Yeah, neither did we.
“I don’t know where we were at this point last year points-wise, but it goes to show that we took a big step as a team and as an organization,” said Ryan Donato, who was one of the heroes for Seattle.
This feels like one of those inflection points in the season, as the Kraken cleared a huge hurdle Thursday and now will try to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the division.
Here are our Three Takeaways from a thrilling and memorable 4-3 Kraken overtime win against the Devils.
Takeaway #1: Kraken bent but didn’t break
After a hellaciously long stretch of road games (with one midday home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning mixed in Monday), Seattle came out Thursday looking rejuvenated. For a good stretch of the first period, it felt like the Kraken were doing whatever they wanted with the puck and were setting themselves up for grade-A chance after grade-A chance.
“We played quick again tonight,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “We had our energy back, physically and mentally we were on it, and you could feel that right from the start of the hockey game. And that carried through, I mean there’s gonna be momentum swings back and forth, but you could feel that throughout the hockey game.”
Blackwood stood mostly tall in the opening 20 minutes, kicking out 14 of the 15 shots he faced in the frame, but Ryan Donato broke through for his first of two goals on the night at 12:27.
RYAN GOAL-NATO! 🚨
He gets the #SeaKraken on the board first with a short-side snipe! 🎯
Midway through the second, Jordan Eberle had a chance to make it a 3-0 game and put the Kraken on cruise control, but after deking Blackwood out of his jock, Eberle backhanded a shot off the post. Seconds later, Dawson Mercer got the Devils on the board at the other end, and suddenly New Jersey had life.
Sure enough, some hairy moments ensued down the stretch. With the Kraken on their only power play of the game, Mercer chipped a puck past Vince Dunn and found Erik Haula, who had gotten behind Seattle’s defense. Haula flew in and beat Martin Jones to tie the game at 6:04 of the third period.
The Kraken pushed right back with a Brandon Tanev goal at 7:51, set up beautifully by Yanni Gourde and Donato. But the comeback kids from New Jersey had a relentless push with their goalie pulled in the final two minutes of regulation, and Nico Hischier banged in another tying goal with just 1:14 left to play.
Still, the Kraken didn’t let it take the wind out of their sails, and they instead went right back to work in overtime, finishing the job with Burakovsky’s ripper through the wickets.
Hakstol said it was resilience that got his team through to the two enormous standings points. “We played a really good first period. Back and forth game from there, and just to be able to push back after the shorty, that can be a dagger at times to give up a goal like that at that time of the game.”
Takeaway #2: The Cale Fleury/Ryan Donato night
One thing that’s been remarkable about this team all season has been the way different guys have stepped up almost every night. Thursday, Donato, playing up the lineup to replace injured Jaden Schwartz, had the first two goals of the game and also the primary assist on Tanev’s third-period tap-in goal.
“To be honest, the first one, it was lucky that Wenny let the puck go, because that would have been offside by about four feet if he got the puck,” joked Donato. “At that point, I’m in a spot where there’s not much angle for me to shoot. I’m just trying to get it to the net as quickly as I can, and that one was pretty lucky.”
Donato added that on his second goal, which was also a short-side snipe, he was planning to pass but was forced to shoot by New Jersey’s backcheck. He got the shot away quickly, and again beat Blackwood.
IT’S A DONNY DOUBLE-UP! 🎯 🎯
Donato’s second of the game. Both have been short-side snipes over the glove.
“Those two goals, that’s the story of our year, right?” Hakstol said. “It’s the story of our team, somebody stepping up and scoring big goals at the right time. We had had a ton of good opportunities at that point in time [in the first period], both in tight and some different looks, so that first goal was a real big goal in the hockey game to be able to break through. And it was a hell of a shot.”
Meanwhile, on the back end, Cale Fleury slid in to replace injured Justin Schultz, playing his first game in more than a month. Fleury looked calm and confident all night and got rewarded with his first ever NHL assist. That was his first NHL point since the 2019-20 season when he scored one goal with the Montreal Canadiens. Ironically, both his goal in his first season and his assist Thursday came against the Devils.
“I knew it was both against these guys,” Fleury said with a smile. “So I guess they’re my favorite team to play against.”
Fleury’s night was downright heartwarming. This is a guy that has had a tough go with the Kraken this season, getting scratched in 38 out the team’s 45 games. We’ve seen him bag skating and working on his own skills at almost every morning skate and practice, only to show up and watch the games in street clothes.
But after he played a solid game on the blue line and even pitched in offensively against the Devils, Fleury was all smiles.
“It’s pretty tough, obviously, being in the situation I have been,” Fleury said. “But it’s something that kind of just stays in the back of your head every day when you’re doing the skates that I’ve been doing, so I think it’s kind of easy for me to stay into it.”
Hakstol liked what he saw from Fleury as well.
“It’s four or five weeks [since his last game], it’s a long time,” Hakstol said. “But he came in tonight, and it was pretty seamless. He did a good job. He looked confident right away, and you can see that when a guy’s moving and he’s gapped up and he’s physical and he’s confident with the puck coming out of the zone.”
As the Kraken finally begin to sustain injuries after a very healthy first three months, they will need their depth players to step up even more than they have before. Thursday’s performances by guys like Donato and Fleury brought hope that this team can withstand absences from key players.
Takeaway #3: The Kraken are in first place
Just as we all predicted would happen back in September, the Seattle Kraken officially took over first place from the Golden Knights Thursday, as Vegas lost 3-2 to the Detroit Red Wings.
It’s mind boggling to think where this team was last season and how far it has come to develop a winning culture and a belief that they can beat any team in the NHL.
“It tells me the work that the group in here has done,” Hakstol said. “That’s the bottom line. That’s what we’re here for; you’re here to compete for a playoff spot and positioning, and No. 1 on the list, competing every night for points that go into the bank towards a playoff berth.”
Now, the big question is whether Seattle can fend off teams like Vegas, Los Angeles, Edmonton, and Calgary the rest of the way and remain at the top when it’s all said and done.
“We’re playing against good teams and every point matters now,” said Donato. “I think we climbed to the top of the standings in our division with that game, but you know, there’s going to be a lot of teams trying to knock us off the top.”
We’ve seen this movie before. After a long win streak gets snapped for an NHL team, it is very typical for that club to lose at least a couple games soon after the streak ends. The challenge is keeping the dip that inevitably comes to nothing more than a game or two. Well, the Kraken were handed their second loss in a row Tuesday in a 5-2 defeat to the Edmonton Oilers.
The players sounded disappointed in themselves for not executing better Tuesday, but fatigue has to be setting in to some degree. While the Kraken have racked up 16 points this month despite a miserable schedule, the amount of travel and games they’ve played in a short time does take its toll. The players refuse to make excuses, though.
“I said this last game, there’s no excuse for being tired right now,” Vince Dunn said. “We’ve got to find a way to win games. We’re just halfway through the season, so if we’re tired now, then we’re definitely in a lot of trouble. But I don’t think that’s it. I think it’s our execution right now. It needs to be better.”
Here are our Three Takeaways from a 5-2 Kraken loss to the Oilers.
Takeaway #1: A “bad penalty” derailed a good first period
Seattle was rolling for the first 10 minutes of the game Tuesday. The Kraken jumped out to a 1-0 lead and looked to have their legs in the early going, despite being on the second of back to backs and playing their eighth road game in 15 days.
But the momentum was halted when Morgan Geekie took an undisciplined penalty in the neutral zone.
By the seven-minute mark of the game, Edmonton had already been called for two penalties. When that happens, you know the officials are looking for an opportunity to even things up, and Geekie gave them the chance to do so.
Coming through the neutral zone, Geekie took an innocuous bump from Evan Bouchard. Rather than skating away, Geekie gave Bouchard a two-handed slash that landed him in the box.
“We had a really good first 10 minutes,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “We took a bad penalty, and that slowed our momentum. We did a nice job on the penalty kill, but that broke our momentum. I’m not saying that got their momentum going, but that broke our momentum. I really liked our first 10 minutes.”
It’s not the first time this season Hakstol has pointed to a penalty as a turning point in a game. He also called out Carson Soucy twice earlier in the season, once after the Kraken lost in overtime to Winnipeg on Nov. 13, and another time after Seattle lost to Calgary on Dec. 28.
Takeaway #2: Eeli Tolvanen just can’t stop scoring (even in the wrong net)
Though it was one of those “just not Seattle’s night” type of games, there were some fleeting moments in which the Kraken seemed to be giving themselves a chance.
They came out very hot in the first period and scored a power-play goal when Daniel Sprong—looking for a high tip from Jordan Eberle—actually banked his shot-pass in off Darnell Nurse. The goal was initially awarded to Eberle but eventually was changed to credit Sprong with his 15th of the season, a new career high.
#SeaKraken go up 1-0 off an Eberle power play goal
Then, after giving up the next three goals to Edmonton, Vince Dunn scored what can only be considered a soft goal for Oilers goalie Jack Campbell. But, it was a big goal in the moment and extended Dunn’s point streak to a franchise record eight games.
Vince Dunn gets one back and sets a franchise and personal point streak (8 games), but Edmonton answers right back and it's 4-2 with 18:37 to play.#SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/yPFt699Sb4
The momentum boost was short-lived, though. Eeli Tolvanen, who has been red hot since making his Kraken debut on Jan. 1, made a good defensive play to poke the puck off Zach Hyman’s stick. The problem was that the puck came off Tolvanen’s stick with enough pace that it actually snuck by Martin Jones, who clearly wasn’t expecting it to come his way.
The unlucky own goal made it 4-2 and got things rolling in the wrong direction. The worn out Kraken couldn’t put the wheels back on the wagon after that.
Takeaway #3: The schedule has been brutal in January
There are a couple reasons no team had ever swept a road trip of seven or more games before the Kraken did just that in the first two weeks of 2023. First off, winning on the road is hard to do, especially for that many games in a row. You face a hostile crowd in a semi-foreign environment, and your opponent gets the advantage of last line change all game long. Second, teams typically just don’t have road trips that long.
The Kraken had a relatively comfortable schedule in October, November, and December, but they are making up for it on an absolutely brutal stretch of games in January.
After finally returning home for just one midday game against the Lightning on Monday, they had to go right back out on the road to face an Edmonton team that had won its previous three in a row.
The players and the coach won’t admit it, but Seattle looked tired both Monday and Tuesday.
“I don’t attribute any of it to [fatigue],” Hakstol said. “We got in at a great time last night, we had really good energy through the day. There were a lot of really good efforts today, but no, I don’t attribute that to [fatigue] at all.”
Hakstol also mentioned there were several players “below the bar,” so we wonder if we’ll see John Hayden make his Kraken debut Thursday, as the coach looks for a jolt.
Seattle finally gets to come home for a while now, but things will remain tough for the rest of the week. The streaking New Jersey Devils will be in town looking for their sixth straight win Thursday, and then the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche, will visit on Saturday.
Thankfully, a respite is on the way for the group, which desperately needs it. After that Colorado game, the Kraken will play just three games in 16 days.
The Kraken returned to the place their historic seven-game road win streak started but could not recreate the success, falling to the Edmonton Oilers by a 5-2 score at Rogers Place on Tuesday.
Playing the second night of a back-to-back, Seattle failed to generate offense and allowed a pair of greasy goals in the second period. The Kraken fell behind and could not muster life or energy to come from behind.
“You give up two right from inside the blue paint in the second period, that’s the difference in the hockey game in a lot of respects,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “In games like this, you have to have everybody going, and we had a couple of guys below the bar tonight. On a night like this, we’ve talked about this in a couple of our wins, when we have everybody digging in and doing their part. We didn’t have that to a high enough level tonight.”
Spokane native Derek Ryan broke a 1-1 tie at 3:11 of the second period when a shot squeezed through goalie Martin Jones’s pads. Ryan found it first and tapped it in to make it 2-1 on his sixth goal of the season.
Edmonton took advantage of another scramble in front of the Seattle net after Jones made a couple of in-close saves, but the rebound was flipped in by Warren Foegele at 12:30 to make it 3-1.
Vince Dunn increased his franchise-best eight-game scoring streak with a shot that snuck through Jack Campbell’s glove to pull the Kraken to within one at 3-2 just 22 seconds into the third period.
“I said this last game, there’s no excuse for being tired right now,” Dunn said. “We’ve got to find a way to win games. We’re just halfway through the season and if we’re tired now, we’re definitely in a lot of trouble. I don’t think that’s it, I think it’s our execution right now. It needs to be better, our details, a lot of the chances other teams are getting right now are coming from little plays.”
The Oilers responded, however, to reinstate a two-goal lead at 4-2 1:01 later when Seattle’s Eeli Tolvanen attempted to stick check Zach Hyman and knocked the puck into the net past Jones.
Hyman added two assists and Connor McDavid scored a goal for the Oilers (25-18-3), who got a small measure of revenge for Seattle’s win two weeks ago. Jack Campbell stopped 28 shots.
Daniel Sprong set a career high by scoring his 15th goal of the year and Jones made 28 saves for the Kraken (26-14-4), who have lost two in a row.
Sprong’s goal came on the power play at 3:11 of the first period and gave Seattle a 1-0 lead. Shooting from the half boards, Sprong’s shot hit an Oilers stick in the slot and deflected in. Jordan Eberle was initially given credit for the goal, but after review, it was credited to Sprong.
McDavid tied the game, 1-1 with a rush down the ice where he deked a couple of defenders, and Justin Schultz lost an edge and fell, leaving McDavid room to move in and score his league-leading 38th goal at 14:08.
“We had a really good first ten minutes, we took a bad penalty and that slowed our momentum,” Hakstol said. “We did a nice job on the penalty kill but that broke our momentum.”
The playoff implications
We are nearing the point of the season where division games like Tuesday’s have an impact on the standings and the playoff race.
With the Oilers picking up two points, they move to three points shy of the Kraken who still have two games in hand. The Kraken had a chance to make up ground on the first-place Vegas Golden Knights who lead the division by two points. Seattle still has two games in hand, though, so Tuesday would have been a good opportunity to cash in a game in hand and tie Vegas in standings points.
Seattle has dropped a couple in a row now but has a chance to make up for it with a five-game home stand before the All-Star break at the start of February.
“We talked before the game, this was a big one,” Dunn said. “We need the two points. It’s really disappointing not to get the results.”
Tentacle Tales
Dunn’s goal was his 14th point since Jan. 1, which ties him with New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes for the most in the league in the calendar year of 2023.
Dunn’s eight-game point streak is not only the longest in Kraken franchise history but his personal best.
McDavid also extended his point streak to eight games.
McDavid scored his 38th goal in 46 games this season. Of the five players who scored 60 goals or more in the past 27 years only Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux had 38 in their 46th game of the season.
