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
It was another great week for the Kraken who are now 13-5-3 after three regulation wins in three games this week, all against divisional foes. At times, the games were not pretty, but as coach Dave Hakstol said, “You have to find ways to win.” All three games featured scenarios where the Kraken held two-goal leads, only to see the opposing team each night come back to tie it up before the Kraken would pull away for the victory.
Wednesday night’s home game against the San Jose Sharks was one that people in attendance won’t forget. It was a back-and-forth affair that ended with seven unique goal scorers across eight total goals by the Kraken in an 8-5 win. It was a fun and rowdy atmosphere at Climate Pledge Arena that night, and one would think there were a lot of new faces in the building that night, as people returned home for the holiday.
The two points the team got by beating the Golden Knights on Friday night were technically no bigger than any other Pacific Division game, but that win felt like a bigger deal than others. For starters, the last time the Kraken played the Golden Knights was opening night in Seattle, when the Golden Knights whooped the Kraken 5-2 in arguably the most embarrassing loss of the season.
At the time, that loss cast a premature doubt on the Kraken season with several fans asking if we were in for another long year. Despite knocking off the Rangers and the Kings the prior week, people were still waiting for a benchmark game against one of the elite teams in the league. It was nice to finally beat the Golden Knights, especially on a night where the Kraken looked like the better team on the ice, as opposed to just stealing one from a better team.
The last game of the week against the Anaheim Ducks was an ugly one, but at the end of the night, the Kraken walked away with a regulation win and two more points in the standings. The Kraken grabbed two goals early, but even when it was 2-0, the team looked sloppy at times and gave the Ducks multiple good chances. It was beginning to feel like one of those games where Seattle looked like the better team, but somehow the opposition was going to win. That was not the case, though, as Daniel Sprong scored a goal early in the third and the boys would batten down the hatches the rest of the way to earn a 5-4 Kraken win. It’s better to win ugly than it is to lose pretty.
How good are they?
I received a text from a buddy in Minnesota asking if the Kraken are for real. I responded with the same response I give most people when they ask me about the team. Their strength is their depth, and they have three second lines, one third/fourth line, and a solid blue line. They are a playoff team, and based on their play in November, they have proven they can play with anyone. In an illustration of their balance, the Kraken have 13 players that have three or more goals on the season. That is tied for the most three-plus goal scorers in the NHL.
We still have a long way to go before the playoffs, but if the Kraken continue to bank these standings points, you might as well start saving for playoff tickets. I cannot wait to see what kind of atmosphere we can create for a playoff game at Climate Pledge Arena.
One-goal games
I am paraphrasing a bit here, but last week, a reader brought up some concern about the sustainability of the performance of the team. The reader referenced the fact that the Kraken have won so many one-goal games and that maybe the strong goaltending won’t last all season.
I thought it would be an interesting thing to explore, so I investigated the goal differential a bit. To start, I did not find anything of interest around the one-goal games. Seattle has five one-goal wins and six one-goal losses. 55 percent of the Kraken’s games have been decided by one goal. That is good for fourth in the NHL behind Colorado, Toronto, and Calgary. Last season, Seattle was fourth from the bottom with 33 percent of their games being decided by one goal. When looking at the data from last season and through the early stages of this season, there does not seem to be any indicator that there is a correlation between successful teams and their performance in one-goal games.
One positive I found in the data is that the Kraken have lost more one-goal games than they have won. This is encouraging on two fronts. First, they have a chance to win those one-goal games that they lost and second, their point totals in the standings are not being cropped up by a bunch of one-goal games that they have just squeaked out. By contrast, the New Jersey Devils have won 88 percent of their one-goal games. Could that be a sign that their season to date might be a bit inflated? It is possible but hard to know for sure.
Goalie performance to date
It is obvious that goaltending, specifically Martin Jones, has been a big contributor in Seattle’s team success to date. According to Evolving-Hockey.com, Jones has saved 2.85 goals above expected, which is slightly above average but not the kinds of numbers that would indicate he’s propping this team up on his own. Here is a breakdown of all Kraken goalie performances by game number.
It is not exactly earthshattering to say that the Kraken tend to win games when the goalie plays well. You can say that about every team, but it is nice to see that they have won a few games when the goalie did not play particularly well, specifically Daccord’s start in Calgary (debatable… he made some huge saves that night) and Jones’s start last Wednesday against San Jose.
With Philipp Grubauer coming back from long-term injured reserve, expect a bit of platooning with Jones and Grubauer. The team will need both goalies the rest of the season to be successful.
United States Thanksgiving is generally seen as a milestone that marks the quarter point of the season, where 75 percent of teams in a playoff position end up making the playoffs. It is also an opportunity for the national media types to do a contender/pretender classification of the top teams in the standings. Every analysis I heard or read had the Kraken as pretenders. Good, please keep sleeping on the Kraken.
The Kraken’s win in Vegas was the first win against the Golden Knights in franchise history. It was also the first point they ever obtained in a game against Vegas. There are only three teams that the Kraken have never grabbed a point from before. Can you name them?
The Kraken are 10-1-1 when scoring first this season. They were 15-14-2 in that scenario last season.
One negative for the week is the injury suffered by Morgan Geekie in Sunday night’s game against the Ducks. It was a bit of a fluke play, with Geekie catching teammate Adam Larsson’s shoulder as the Kraken were getting the puck out of the defensive zone. Geekie would not return the rest of the game, and the team has not released a statement on his outlook.
Geekie leads all Seattle Kraken players with three game-winning goals.
Ryan Donato’s goal against San Jose was his first since Oct. 19, and he potted another one Friday against Vegas. Let’s hope he starts to heat up.
Oliver Bjorkstrand also got the monkey off his back with a goal against the Sharks on Wednesday. He had not scored since opening night in Anaheim. It was just a matter of time with Bjorkstand as he has been all over the net lately, and I remember him hitting the post several times over the prior games.
Grubauer is coming back at the right time. Dating back to Wednesday’s game against the Sharks, the Kraken will be playing six games in 11 days. I would imagine the goaltenders trade starts until the Montreal game on Dec. 6.
What was Jamie Oleksiak doing so low in the zone on his goal last Wednesday? Coincidently, he scored from close to that same spot last year, but that one had a bit of different angle.
After going a career high six games without point, Matty Beniers has scored in each of the last four games and has nine points in those four games. He currently leads in points and is second in goals for all rookies this season.
Put me in the camp that wants to see Alex Wennberg shoot a little more. I love Wennberg, but there are times I feel he has some quality chances to shoot but passes to a teammate in a worse position to shoot.
Shane Wright had four goals in three games during his conditioning assignment with the Coachella Firebirds of the AHL. He has two games remaining before he must return to the Kraken.
I have seen a lot of hot takes from national media outlets about Wright’s utilization to date, which usually leaves me seething since it is obvious that none of the outlets have watched the Kraken play this season. When I see a well-researched article from a writer I respect, I love to share it. Highly recommend reading Justin Bourne’s breakdown here.
The Coachella Valley Firebirds have the second highest points percentage in the AHL’s Pacific Division and have yet to play a true home game.
The teams that Seattle has not obtained a point from in franchise history are the Toronto Maple Leafs (0-2-0), Tampa Bay Lightning (0-2-0), and Vancouver Canucks (0-5-0).
Goal of the week
There were a lot of nice goals scored by the Kraken, but I had to choose one. Bjorkstrand’s patience here is a thing of beauty.
Vitek Vanecek (NJD) – The “former” Kraken posted a .943 save percentage with two wins over three games including a Saturday night performance where he saved 37 of 38 shots against the Washington Capitals. Kirill Kaprizov (MIN) – He has seven points over three games with 19 shots on goal. Minnesota is slowly clawing back into playoff position. Andre Burakovsky (SEA) – Burky has six points in six games and currently leads the Kraken with 21 points.
On the docket
Los Angeles Kings – Tuesday, Nov. 29, at Crypto.com Arena
The Kings are still looking for redemption against the Kraken after losing the first two games between the teams this season. This is starting to heat up as a division rivalry with neither team liking the other one. The Kings and the Kraken could be competing for the second and third spots in the division all year.
Kings current record: 12-9-2
Players to watch:
Arthur Kaliyev – The 21-year-old winger is really starting to hit his stride in the NHL with ten points in thirteen games in November. Jaret Anderson-Dolan – The former Spokane Chief had two points on Friday night in a game against the Sharks and has started to get more playing time as of late.
Washington Capitals – Thursday, Dec. 1, at Climate Pledge Arena
You gotta love the Tim Ohashi revenge game. The Capitals have been struggling to get their footing this season as they sit in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division.
Capitals current record: 9-11-3
Players to watch:
TJ Oshie – The Mt. Vernon native and former product of the Seattle Junior Hockey Association did not get to play in the Capitals lone game at Climate Pledge Arena last season. He was someone I often promoted during the NHLtoSeattle campaign and still has a lot of affection for the area. I am looking forward to seeing him play in Seattle on Thursday.
Marcus Johansson – Johansson was a highly resourceful player for the Kraken last year and exceeded expectations for a guy that was signed for a league minimum late into the free agency period. He has five goals over 23 games this season for the Capitals.
Florida Panthers – Saturday, Dec. 3, at Climate Pledge Arena
The Panthers appear to be a sleeping giant in the Atlantic Division, sitting in fifth place right now. They are going to get hot at some point, but let’s hope it does not begin until mid-December. Fun fact, the Panthers have never beaten the Kraken.
Panthers current record: 10-8-3
Matthew Tkachuk – The offseason acquisition leads Florida in points with 27 and nastiness (PIMs) with 37. He is the type of player you love if he is on your team and hate if he is playing against your team. Either way, he is entertaining.
Spencer Knight – There is no guarantee we will see Knight in net, but he is currently outperforming his counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky. Knight is generally thought to be the future of USA goaltending in international tournaments. If the NHL ever returns to the Olympics, Knight is almost a lock to be one of the goaltenders.
Chart of the week
Last year, the Kraken did not get their 29th point until Jan. 23, which is 20 games longer than it took this season.
It may not have been the prettiest game, but the Kraken found a way to outlast the Anaheim Ducks 5-4 at the Honda Center Sunday night.
The Kraken held 2-0, 3-1, and 4-2 leads, but the Ducks held their own and eventually tied the game 4-4 thanks for three power-play goals.
Daniel Sprong put the Kraken ahead for good 3:41 into the third period when he got the puck in the slot, and showing tremendous patience, waited to shoot until an Anaheim defender fell into goalie John Gibson and knocked him down. Sprong then fired a backhand into the net to give Seattle the 5-4 lead.
“Donnie gave it to me wide,” Sprong said. “I kind of wanted to dump in and go for a line change and I think I ended up hitting [Mason] McTavish in the foot or something and it came right back to me in the slot. I think instinct just took over and put in the net.”
Matty Beniers had a goal along with two assists, and Sprong added an assist to his goal. Martin Jones started in net and stopped 25 Anaheim shots for the Kraken (13-5-3).
“Third period, we liked the way we played, we were a little bit better and more sound,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “First two periods we felt like we were too sporadic, there were stretches that were really good, but gave up too much, too easy at different times during the first couple periods. So, it was good to go flip the switch in the third period and lock it down a little bit and play a good 20 minutes on the road.”
Troy Terry had a goal and assist for the Ducks (6-15-1). Gibson started the game and made 14 saves. He left due to injury after the Sprong goal and was replaced by Anthony Stolarz who finished with six saves.
“Right now we have a little good motor going, we feel like we were just playing good hockey and obviously playing against teams in our division,” Alex Wennberg said. “It’s huge points for us obviously, right now. We think we’re doing a good job and getting rewarded.”
How the Kraken and Ducks played out
For the 12th time this season, the Kraken opened the scoring on Sunday. This time it was Jared McCann who went to the net after a face-off win 33 seconds into the game. Jordan Eberle threw a perfect pass, and McCann picked up his eighth goal.
Wennberg gave Seattle its first two-goal lead at 6:53 when Andre Burakovsky found him on the doorstep and he made it 2-0.
“Obviously, scoring goals is a lot of fun too, and helps the team to get confidence,” Wennberg said. “It’s great, but I mean all that matters is the two points, so to be able to help them out with that was just great.”
Anaheim got back into the game with a power-play marker from Troy Terry when he got the puck down low and slid it through Jones’s five-hole at 14:16 to make it 2-1.
Just before the end of the first period, Vince Dunn would make it 3-1 at 19:33 when he got the puck at the top of the zone. Inexplicably, the Ducks defense opened up the middle of the ice and Dunn walked into the high slot and beat Gibson with a wrist shot.
The Ducks, refusing to go away, made it a one-goal game again, 3-2 at 1:48 of the second on a goal from Derek Grant scored from the slot.
Beniers would quickly reinstate the Kraken two-goal advantage at 4-2 when he scored a power-play goal of his own, putting back a rebound from the crease for his seventh of the season. Beniers has nine points in his last four games and spent the second half of the game double shifting due to Morgan Geekie leaving with an injury after he skated into Adam Larsson’s shoulder in the second period.
The Kraken then started a parade to the penalty box and the Ducks made them pay.
First it was Mason McTavish at 16:34 cutting it to 4-3 on a power-play goal, scoring on the back door. Just over a minute later, at 17:55, Adam Henrique tied the game with the third power-play score from Anaheim.
“We’ve found different ways to win games,” Hakstol said. “I don’t really like the term ‘find a way to win,’ we built good wins so our team has a confidence in that we’ve done it in different ways for the most part. We found a pretty good rhythm out on the road, and you get a group of 20 guys every night, whichever 20 guys it is, in the lineup are working hard for one another.”
Tentacle Tales
Beniers recorded his fourth multi-point game of the season, which leads all NHL rookies.
The Kraken have their second five-game win streak of the season.
Seattle is 10-1-1 over its last 12 games.
Beniers’ nine points in his last four game is the most by a Kraken skater over a four-game span in franchise history.
Hakstol did not have an update on Geekie after the game.
What is it about those pesky last-place Anaheim Ducks? Seattle had them dead to rights on opening night in October, dominating every facet of that game, only to collapse in the third period and lose in overtime. Sunday, the Kraken came out again looking like they were ready to blow the Ducks out of the pond, but somehow Anaheim hung around, scored three power-play goals, and made things downright stressful in the third period.
Seattle learned from its early-season sins, though. Sunday, when it looked like they were about to give the game away, the Kraken bent but didn’t break and escaped with two more important points in the standings.
With the victory, the Kraken are now 10-1-1 in their last 12 games and are on their second five-game win streak of that stretch. With the Golden Knights idle Sunday, the win brings Seattle (at least temporarily) within four points of Vegas for first place in the Pacific Division. Oh, and the Kraken still have two games in hand on the VGK’s.
Here are our Three Takeaways from an imperfect but important 5-4 Kraken win over the Ducks.
Takeaway #1: Ding dong! It’s Daniel Sprong!
It’s hard to put our finger on exactly why we root so hard for Daniel Sprong to succeed, but there’s something about how the story has played out for him since he arrived in Seattle at last season’s NHL Trade Deadline. He keeps getting asked to prove himself, and he keeps responding.
Sprong’s big shot on the power play led to Matty Beniers’ power-play goal in the second period (more on that in the next Takeaway), but his biggest play came in the third period. He streaked across the Anaheim blue line and tried to dump the puck deep. It hit a Duck defender, but the puck took a fortuitous bounce and sat up nicely for Sprong to regain control at the top of the slot.
With Ryan Donato creating chaos by driving to the net, Sprong looped around to his backhand, waited, waited, waited, and finally lofted the puck into a yawning cage.
NHL Video Highlight – Daniel Sprong scores against the Anaheim Ducks to make it 5-4. pic.twitter.com/nOjPIbouYc
With things looking like they could have gone sideways for the Kraken at that stage in the game, regaining the lead was paramount. Leave it to Daniel Sprong; he’ll get the job done.
Takeaway #2: Matty Beniers is on fire
We wrote a couple games ago that concern had started to creep in when Kraken star rookie Matty Beniers had gone quiet for six straight games. Well, he has been anything but quiet in the four games since and notched his second three-point night during that span Sunday against the Ducks. In total, Beniers now has nine points in his four-game scoring streak, which officially qualifies him for “a heater.”
Sunday, he won the face-off that led to Jared McCann’s game-opening goal. That earned him a second assist. He also got an assist on Sprong’s game winner by connecting on a long breakout pass to Ryan Donato that started the play.
Yet, his biggest moment came midway through the second period with Seattle on the power play. Things had gotten shifted around a bit in the course of play, and instead of hovering around the right half wall, where he is normally posted, Beniers found himself in the net-front position. Sprong initially fumbled a pass but quickly picked it up and fired it at John Gibson. Gibson didn’t handle it cleanly, and Beniers pounced and swatted it home.
It was a huge goal at the time, because it re-extended Seattle’s lead to two goals.
This kid is so special. After that quiet stretch, here’s hoping he stays noisy for as long as possible.
Takeaway #3: Morgan Geekie injured by friendly fire
The win may have come with a cost for the Kraken. Three minutes into the second period, with the Ducks changing, Seattle had plenty of time to reset for a breakout. Morgan Geekie laid a pass back to an uncontested Vince Dunn, then began racing up the boards. Looking back at Dunn, Geekie didn’t see Adam Larsson crossing his path. Larsson’s shoulder caught Geekie right in the face, and the 24-year-old forward went down in a heap.
Geekie was helped to the bench and then immediately went down the tunnel. He did not return to the game, and the team announced that he had suffered an upper-body injury.
It would be complete conjecture to say what we think happened to Geekie, so we won’t; but it didn’t look great. If Geekie misses any significant time, it will be a big loss for the Kraken. In the midst of his best NHL season so far, Geekie has been key for Seattle’s impressive fourth line that has helped drive offense for the team.
Without their fourth center in the second half of Sunday’s game, Matty Beniers was often seen doing double duty to center both his usual line and also that fourth line. That’s not sustainable, so if the Kraken need to replace Geekie in the lineup, the most obvious options would be to have Ryan Donato play center with Sprong and Karson Kuhlman on the fourth line, or they could bring Shane Wright back from his conditioning stint in Coachella Valley.
Bonus Takeaway: Set plays are cool when they work
McCann’s goal less than a minute into the game came just after an offensive-zone face-off. Best friend of the pod, Alison Lukan, called this out on the ROOT Sports broadcast as well, but we wanted to mention it here. The goal was scored because Beniers, Jordan Eberle, and McCann executed a pre-designed set play to perfection.
Beniers pulled the face-off back between his feet. Eberle, who had lined up on the left hash, lunged to his right to grab the loose puck. McCann, who had lined up on the right hash, immediately took off to loop around the bottom of the face-off circle and hopefully get lost by the Anaheim defense. As soon as Eberle gained control, he blindly threw the puck to the front of the net, hoping McCann would be there. Sure enough, McCann had gotten lost by the Ducks defense and was alone in front of Gibson. The pass from Eberle was on the money, and McCann just had to wait out Gibson and throw it up under the bar.
NHL Video Highlight – Jared McCann scores against the Anaheim Ducks to make it 1-0. pic.twitter.com/90L5DFkDRe
Set plays don’t always work, because everything from the drop of the puck onward has to break perfectly in your favor. One minute into the game against the Ducks, everything broke perfectly in Seattle’s favor, and the result was a beautiful goal.
Vegas for a birthday is a popular destination, and that’s where Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer spent his 31st Friday night. Grubauer, making his first start since Oct. 21 against Colorado, kicked away 20 Vegas Golden Knight shots to earn his first victory of the season as Seattle came away with a statement type 4-2 win at T-Mobile Arena. The Kraken (12-5-3) scored twice in the second period to win their fourth straight overall and fourth straight on the road.
“It’s probably, besides my dog, the best birthday gift I’ve ever gotten,” Grubauer said. “Two points.”
Andre Burakovsky scored twice and Adam Larsson had two assists for the Kraken who inched closer in the Pacific Division standings, climbing to within six points of the Golden Knights.
Nicolas Roy scored a goal, as did Phil Kessel. Former Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman Shea Theodore had two assists, and Adin Hill made 24 saves for the Golden Knights (16-5-1) who fell to 7-4-0 at home.
Seattle gave up a two-goal lead in the first period but pulled away in the second and shut down the Vegas attack during the third period. The Golden Knights only had six shots in the final frame, and their big guns, Mark Stone and Jack Eichel, were held off the scoresheet.
Burakovsky was the offensive star, but it was a team effort for Seattle to win the game.
“We just wanted to get back to playing the way we play, ” coach Dave Hakstol said. “We were really happy with the two points the other night [against San Jose]. You gotta find different ways to get ’em, but we got back to the way we wanted to play tonight.”
“Just amazing to watch from back there how everybody is contributing and no selfish plays,” added Grubauer.
How it played out for the Kraken and Golden Knights
Ryan Donato got the scoring going early in the first period. He was parked in front of the Vegas goal and made it 1-0 at 2:30 when he cleaned up an Adam Larsson rebound and scored from just outside the crease.
“Lately, we get rewarded when we get pucks on net,” said Larsson. “That was a prime example of just close your eyes and shoot it, and it really landed pretty much on his stick in front of the net, so that was nice.”
Burakovsky then continued his hot play when he stepped into a wrist shot that Hill got a piece of but couldn’t keep from trickling in to make it 2-0 Seattle at 8:00.
Vegas would work the game back when Nic Roy cut the lead to 2-1, banging a rebound in at 10:46 during a Golden Knights power play.
Kessel then tied the game 2-2 at 12:50 when he got a piece of a Theodore shot in front of Grubauer.
Burakovsky scored again at 5:20 of the second to put the Kraken up 3-2 after Jamie Oleksiak drove the puck deep. He found Burakovsky outside the circle and buried a wrister. It was the third goal in the last couple games to go along with five points.
Jordan Eberle reinstated the Kraken’s two-goal lead at 4-2 when he scored a highlight reel goal at 18:46. Hill stopped his initial shot but he got the rebound and put it back.
That was all Grubauer needed. After the two goals against in the first period, he was perfect the rest of the way, including an impressive glove save on Theodore in the second. Grubauer said, “You can’t get too high or too low,” after saves like that, but he recognized the importance of timely stops and said that was probably one of them. He gave the credit to his teammates for the win, though. “They made it really easy for me tonight, and once you make a couple saves, everything is kind of settling in a little bit.”
Tentacle Tales
Donato opened the scoring for Seattle Friday for the fifth time as a Kraken. He trails only Eberle (6) and Jared McCann (7) for most game-opening goals in team history.
Adam Larsson had a pair of assists for the Kraken, and it was the second multi-assist game for the defenseman since becoming a Kraken.
The Kraken were 6-20-0 against the Pacific Division last season but are already 5-2-1 this season.
Seattle will have a chance to improve against the division with a game at Anaheim Sunday followed by a rematch with the Kings on Tuesday.
That’s… *not* Kraken hockey, baby! You don’t often see Seattle in track meets (or swim meets, since both teams were sea creatures?), but that’s what happened Wednesday against San Jose. In the end, the Kraken outran (out-swam?) the Sharks with an 8-5 win to improve to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and close out their six-game homestand 4-1-1.
“It was fun for the fans, but it stunk for the coaches,” coach Dave Hakstol joked about the high-scoring affair. “Sometimes there’s nights like this. It kind of had that feel right from the go.”
With the win, Seattle now officially jumps over Los Angeles in the standings and holds sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division with three games still in hand. That was a big two points.
It’s another new way for the Kraken to win, earning a franchise record eight goals and overcoming a Timo Meier hat trick. And although coach Hakstol couldn’t have been thrilled about his team continuously letting the Sharks back in the game, the boys prevailed in the end.
“You gotta win games all different ways,” Hakstol said. “This isn’t the way that you draw it up, but it’s still a win, and you got to find different ways to win hockey games.”
Here are our Three Takeaways from a wild 8-5 Kraken win over the Sharks.
Takeaway #1: Everyone off the schneid!
It had been a long time since we had seen Jaden Schwartz score a goal. It had been longer since we had seen Ryan Donato pot one. And it had been really really long since Oliver Bjorkstrand had gotten one.
Schwartz, who had two goals, had last scored Oct. 29 against Pittsburgh. Donato, meanwhile, hadn’t scored since Oct. 19 against St. Louis, and Bjorkstrand hadn’t scored since the team’s very first game of the season in Anaheim.
Bjorkstrand getting on the board feels especially important. The key offseason acquisition has scored more than 20 goals in three of his last four seasons, but he has been mired with just one this season thanks to a shockingly low shooting percentage.
He finally got the monkey off his back against the Sharks. With the game tied early in the third period, Brandon Tanev forced a turnover at the San Jose blue line. The puck went right to Yanni Gourde, who found Bjorkstrand all alone with oodles of time. Bjorkstrand waited out Kaapo Kahkonen and tucked a backhander up under the bar.
BJORKSTRAND GETS OFF THE SCHNEID! 🚨
Turnover at the blue line, and Gourde finds Bjorkstrand, who dangles and puts it up top where mama keeps the cookies.
“He scores that goal, and we all went nuts on the bench,” said Matty Beniers. “He’s so deserving of it. He’s getting so many offensive chances every night, and now one’s going in, and you’re probably going to see they’re all going to start falling for him.”
Andre Burakovsky shared that Bjorkstrand had a secret weapon Wednesday. Bjorkstrand recently switched to a new stick and had been scoring a lot in practice recently. So, when he buried one Wednesday, Burakovsky told him, “It’s the new stick, bud.”
“It’s great for him,” Hakstol added. “That’s a heck of a goal. He’s had some really good opportunities here over the last 10 games. That play is— first of all, it’s off of hard work on a re-load in the offensive zone, and he made no mistake.”
It was a big goal in the game and perhaps an even bigger goal for the player, who Seattle certainly hopes can get going offensively.
Takeaway #2: Jamie Oleksiak is back
Though the Kraken had some success with Jamie Oleksiak out of the lineup, the Big Rig was a sight for sore eyes on the Seattle blue line Wednesday. It is our belief here at Sound Of Hockey that consistent and balanced right-shot/left-shot defensive pairs has been hugely helpful to this team. Without Oleksiak, Seattle had temporarily lost that balance, plus a big, physical presence on the back end was suddenly missing.
In his first game back from his lower-body injury, Oleksiak found his way onto the scoresheet. Midway through the second period, San Jose had a delayed penalty coming. With Martin Jones off for an extra skater, the Kraken maintained possession for an extended period. They worked it around the offensive zone until Justin Schultz found Oleksiak open on the doorstep. Oleksiak redirected it by Kahkonen to make it 4-2 Kraken.
“He was good,” Hakstol said of Oleksiak. “Obviously, we love his defensive game and the hardness that he brings there. He chipped in with a goal in the six-on-five with the delayed penalty. So it’s not really a defensive two-way defenseman’s dream tonight at 8-5, but he contributed in a lot of different ways, and he’s a big part of our group. It’s nice to have him back in the lineup.”
Just like how the Kraken saw immediate results in three-on-three overtime after practicing that scenario, they also practiced six-on-five situations this week. Lo and behold, an extended opportunity came up in the middle of the game, and they took advantage. As we said after last game, practice makes perfect.
Takeaway #3: The Killer B’s come through in a big way
Not only did Bjorkstrand score an important goal Wednesday, the other two of the “Killer B’s” had an enormous night as well.
Burakovsky had Seattle’s first goal of the game on a five-on-three power play, then assisted on Oleksiak’s goal and Schwartz’s first goal.
Kraken immediately convert!
Andre Burakovsky with a rocket. Dunn and McCann with the 🍎’s.
Beniers had three points of his own, with a beautiful goal off a rush to seal the game at 7-5, and an even better assist on Vince Dunn’s goal in the second period. He made something out of nothing, attacking an offensive zone full of Sharks, despite being completely outnumbered. Beniers flew deep into the zone, then somehow snuck a pass between Jaycob Megna and Luke Kunin. The pass found Dunn driving to the net, and he tied the game at 2-2.
VINCE DUNN SCORES! 🚨
Great play by Matty Beniers to drive low and find Dunn at the top of the crease.
“I loved his game three nights ago,” Hakstol said of Beniers. “If you go back and look at that hockey game, he did so many really good things. High-level, good two-way play, good offensive plays, and he followed it up tonight.”
We’ve quietly had just the smallest inkling of concern that Beniers may have been hitting a bit of a wall. This is, after all, his first full pro season and the first time he’s experienced the grind of an 82-game campaign. After a torrid start to the season, Beniers had gone six games without a point before earning two assists against the Kings on Saturday. Wednesday was a breakout.
It’s a great sign to see Matty back to his contributing ways after a quiet stretch.
It happened 1:42 into the second period. That was the time when Shane Wright scored his first professional goal. No, it wasn’t at Climate Pledge Arena for the Kraken, but rather the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, where he was playing for the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Wright was making his American Hockey League debut on Tuesday, and it was the first game he played in his 14-day conditioning assignment. The Kraken had sent the fourth overall pick of the NHL Draft to the Firebirds on Sunday.
Back in Seattle, earlier in the day, Seattle coach Dave Hakstol talked about the AHL assignment.
“Great, great opportunity for him to go and play some real valuable minutes at a high level, in an important role down there,” Hakstol said. “He’ll get that opportunity to start with tonight.”
Wright played on a line with Ville Petman and Kole Lind Tuesday, and the goal he turned in wasn’t cheap.
After a neutral zone turnover, Wright turned on the jets the other way and beat the reigning AHL Goalie of the Year and former Everett Silvertip legend Dustin Wolf over his shoulder.
It was a goal that might be overlooked on any other AHL night, and while it tied the game at 1-1, Coachella Valley would ultimately lose the game 5-3. But it had to be a huge relief for the 18-year-old rookie.
He’s played in seven NHL games with Seattle and has one assist to show for his work in very limited minutes. It’s not the script that everyone expected for a player that hopes to have a stellar NHL career ahead of him.
Just to be able to send him to the AHL for two weeks, the Kraken had to scratch Wright for five straight games. You would understand if he was down or frustrated because of his lack of playing time. If he is, he’s never shown it. Wright practices hard daily, has never let up, and is all smiles in the dressing room with his teammates.
“It’s not always easy to do on a daily basis, and he’s been able to do that on a daily basis,” Hakstol said. “That’s where I compliment him, to be able to have that mindset every day, to be able to wake up and come to work with a real positive outlook and a good work ethic is really, really important.”
The goal was the highlight, but Wright played strong throughout the night. After scoring, he made another play where he nearly split two defenders, forcing one to take him down, and drawing a penalty. He forced a turnover on a forecheck that led to a chance on goal and made a couple heady passes that led to shots on goal.
After being sent down on Sunday, Wright was able to get one full practice in with the Firebirds before Tuesday night’s game. He will next hit the ice on Thursday with a rematch in Calgary against the Wranglers.
He stands to get into five games with Coachella Valley before his time is up there, and then the questions will rev up again. Is he ready after a little time the AHL? Will he crack Seattle’s lineup and get meaningful playing time? Will he be sent back to the Ontario Hockey League for the rest of the season?
The answers are all still up in the air. But, there is a possibility that the Kraken loan Wright to Team Canada to play in this winter’s World Junior Championship, which will give him another opportunity to play against top talent closer to his age group.
“That’s an option that’s available,” Hakstol said. “But you know, I’m certainly not jumping to that yet. Lets go one step at a time here. And this was the right timing for Shane to go and be able to play some real valuable minutes in Coachella. And that’s what we’re focused on now.”
Vibes are good again, folks! The Kraken bounced back from two straight losses with two straight overtime wins, and things are trending back in the right direction for them. The Sound Of Hockey Podcast has a full breakdown of those most recent games, as well as discussion about everything that has been happening with the team behind the scenes.
Aside from the Kraken rolling, John, Andy, and Darren are still buzzing from Sunday’s USA versus Canada Rivalry Series game at Climate Pledge Arena. Hilary Knight played a big role, and Seattle set an attendance record for women’s hockey.
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
It was another big week from the Kraken as they captured four out of four possible standings points with two overtime wins against quality opponents. On Thursday, the New York Rangers visited Seattle and tied the game with under two minutes left while the Kraken were on a penalty kill. The overtime period featured a completely different strategy to three-on-three that we have not seen before. The Kraken were very patient and did not force any shots. They had only two shots in overtime and one of them was a game winner from Justin Schultz. In overtime, it is always about the quality of the shots and not the quantity.
This was the Kraken’s first ever win against the New York Rangers and the first overtime win of the season. There have been some fun and amazing games at Climate Pledge Arena this season, but this one might have been the best to date.
The Los Angeles Kings visited Seattle on Saturday night in one of those benchmark games where you just want to see how Seattle stacks up. We have been bullish on the 2022-23 Seattle Kraken, but you still want to see how they compare against a quality division rival. It was another very tight, quality game for both teams. The third period featured a short-handed goal against the Kraken with an immediate response power-play goal for Seattle that tied it up in the third. Jordan Eberle would snipe the overtime winner two and a half minutes into overtime. Eberle’s goal was the only shot the Kraken had in overtime. Again, quality not quantity.
The Kings remain ahead in the standings, but it is only because they have played more games than the Kraken. Here is the current pace of the Pacific Division.
I believe this team is a playoff team, but I also recognize there a lot of games left in the season. The key is banking points early and often, because like all teams, the Kraken are bound to go through a rough patch at some point. Banking points now allows them to weather those rough patches down the road.
Shane Wright
Shane Wright has been sent down to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on a 14-day conditioning assignment. We talked about it on the Sound Of Hockey podcast last week, and I mentioned it in last week’s column. This is kind of a loophole in the NHL-CHL agreement where an otherwise ineligible player can be sent down to the AHL on a conditioning assignment, provided that player had been healthy scratched for five games in a row. Saturday’s game against the Kings was Wright’s fifth straight game that he had been a healthy scratch.
This is an excellent opportunity for Wright to get some quality playing time against players that are more comparable to the skill he will face in the NHL. In short, he belongs in the AHL but the NHL-CHL agreement prevents this from happening. The Firebirds schedule will have five games over the next 14 days. Here are the games Wright should play in over that stretch:
Tue, Nov 22 vs Calgary
Thu, Nov 24 vs Calgary
Sat, Nov 26 vs San Diego
Fri, Dec 2 vs Henderson
Sat, Dec 3 vs Henderson
Once Wright is done with his conditioning assignment, I would expect him to draw into a game or two. Then, assuming no substantial injuries with the Kraken, I expect the Kraken to loan him to Team Canada for the 2023 World Junior Championship that kicks off Dec. 26. Team Canada training camp starts in mid-December.
Rivalry Series
The two Kraken games were not the only hockey played at Climate Pledge Arena this week. On Sunday, CPA hosted Game 3 of the USA-Canada Rivalry series between the two women’s national teams. I have raved about this rivalry for years and to see a game in Seattle was another surreal moment on this entire journey. Not only was it incredible to just see it in Seattle, but the turnout and atmosphere were amazing. We set a record for attendance at a women’s game on US soil. I am not surprised but it is still a proud moment. Well done, Seattle!
Incredible! That’s a US record for attendance at women’s hockey game. https://t.co/fUigvFiNVt
The game on the ice was outstanding. Hilary Knight, who was presented with a golden stick before the game for being the all-time leader in points in IIHF World Championship play, potted two goals for Team USA. We were also treated to goals from Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse, both icons for Team Canada. The game featured a bit of the nastiness we expect when these teams play, with plenty of scrums and hits throughout the night. For me, USA-Canada is must watch, so if you have never seen these teams play, give it a try, as you will not be disappointed.
Here are the next two games of the Rivalry Series:
Dec. 15 in Henderson, NV (TV: NHL Network)
Dec. 19 in Los Angeles, CA (TV: NHL Network)
Other Kraken musings:
The Kraken have seven wins in their last 10 games. Despite the early season results, there is not a lot of national attention on this team, and I don’t mind. I generally like to fly under the radar, so naturally I like when the team is doing the same. As the saying goes, when you lose, say little, and when you win, say less.
Daniel Sprong’s power-play goal on Saturday night was the Kraken’s 14th power-play goal of the season. That puts the Kraken on pace for 63 PPG’s. They had 32 power-play goals all last season.
There was a sequence in the Rangers game that will not stand out on the score sheet, but I wanted to call it out here. It happened around the 11:30 mark of the third period. The Rangers had the Kraken penned up in their zone with a flurry of activity. The Kraken could not get the puck out. Martin Jones would make a save and stop play. The score was 1-1, but it felt like the Rangers had the Kraken on the ropes. Hakstol would replace Oliver Bjorkstrand with Morgan Geekie for the faceoff. Geekie won the faceoff, the Kraken cleared the zone, and Geekie jumped off the ice. One minute later, Schultz scored his first of the night, and the Kraken had a 2-1 lead. Geekie’s shift was 17 seconds, but it was probably his biggest shift of the night.
I cannot believe it took me this long to mention Jones. Jones has been nothing short of outstanding for the Kraken this season. He has given the team a chance to win every night and has been one of the best goalies in the league during the month of November. He was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week for his efforts.
Speaking of goalies, Philipp Grubauer officially came back from injured reserve and served as the backup on Saturday night during the Kings game. If Jones stays hot, we expect he will remain the starter with Grubauer drawing in from time to time to give Jones a night off. The Kraken have a stretch of four games in seven nights coming up, so expect Grubi to get the start at least one of those games.
With the win on Saturday, the Kraken are now 8-1-1 when scoring first and 2-4-2 when trailing first.
Also, with the win on Saturday, the Kraken have a winning record at home of 5-4-2 for the first time this season.
Player performance /Stick taps
Martin Jones (SEA) – In November, he has five wins in seven games for the Kraken with a .943 save percentage. As much as we talk about the increased scoring and power play efficiency for the Kraken, Jones has been a big reason for the early season success.
Robert Thomas (STL) – Had six points over four games, and after a rocky start, the Blues are starting to roll with six wins in a row. The Blues are one of those teams that could be fighting for a wild card spot come March.
Hilary Knight (USA) – With two goals at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday night as part of the Rivalry Series, it is clear the GOAT still has plenty of fuel in the tank and remains a treat to watch.
San Jose Sharks – Wednesday, Nov. 23, at Climate Pledge Arena
Much like the Canucks game in October, this has all the makings of a trap game. It’s the classic scenario where you beat the teams that are good and lay a stinker of a game to a team you should beat. Seattle probably should not sleep on San Jose right now, as the Sharks have won three out of their last five games with victories against Minnesota, Vegas, and Dallas, all solid teams.
Sharks Current Record: 6-11-3
Players to watch:
James Reimer – Reimer had 43 saves in defeat against the Rangers on Saturday… after allowing six goals on sixteen shots against the Red Wings on Thursday. Which Reimer will show up on Wednesday?
Timo Meier – After a cold start, the Swiss winger led the Sharks in goals scored last season. He is fun to watch with a little bit of a snarl to his game.
Vegas Golden Knights – Friday, Nov. 25, at T-Mobile Arena
The Kraken will look to redeem themselves from their worst game of the season in the home opener when Vegas spanked Seattle 5-2 at CPA on Oct. 15. In all honesty, it was not even as close as the 5-2 score felt. At the time, we were unsure how good the Golden Knights would be this year after missing the playoffs last year. There were a lot of questions about their health, and goaltending seemed a bit uncertain. Since then, they have proven to be one of the better teams in the league and are tops in the Pacific Division. I am nervous but excited for this game. It is a benchmark game to see just how good the Kraken are.
Golden Knights Current Record: 14-4-1
Players to watch:
Jack Eichel – Have you heard about this guy? Apparently, he is good at hockey. In all seriousness, Eichel seems to be back at a 100 percent and the fully operational superstar that we expect him to be.
Shea Theodore – The former Seattle Thunderbird is logging the second most minutes on the team and leads Vegas defensemen with three goals on the season.
Anaheim Ducks– Sunday, Nov. 27, at Honda Center
Another redemption opportunity. The Kraken were the better team when they played in Anaheim to kick off the season but squandered the win away in the third, only to capture one point in the overtime loss. It stung back then, and the team will look to leave no doubt when they take the ice for the Sunday matinee.
Ducks Current Record: 5-12-1
Players to watch:
Trevor Zegras – He is one of the flashiest players in the NHL, and although I hope he does not score on Sunday, I cannot ignore how much fun he is to watch.
Austin Strand – The undrafted defenseman was part of that Seattle Thunderbird championship team in 2017. He has only played a handful of games in the NHL over the last three seasons, but a rash of injuries on the Ducks blue line has given him a handful of games so far. TBD if he will still be in the lineup next Sunday, but if he does play, it will be fun to see him square off against the Kraken.
Chart of the week
I know faceoffs do not mean what they used to, but you still want to win them more often than you lose them. Early season it seemed like the faceoff circle was a challenge, and I have seen the team actively working on faceoffs in practice so I looked at the data…..
That looks like improvement to us.
As always, please feel free to share any feedback. I have received a lot of positive feedback on this Monday column but continue to strive to make it better.
That was a big one. The Seattle Kraken battled through the daunting 1-3-1 forecheck of the Los Angeles Kings to earn two huge points against their Pacific Division rival Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena.
If the Kraken had gotten the W in regulation, they would officially be sitting in second place now, but since the Kings got a point, they’re still technically in the lead despite having played three more games. Regardless, it’s a huge victory for the Kraken, who have righted the ship after two consecutive losses Friday and Sunday of last week.
“When you go into those games, those are huge points that you give up,” Jordan Eberle said of the recent losses. “You never know when you might need that extra point to get in [the playoffs], so we’ve worked on it, and obviously, it’s worked out.”
“Every divisional game is so big,” added coach Dave Hakstol. “So that extra point is really important. It’s the kind of game that you would expect on these kinds of nights.”
Another impressive 27-save performance by Martin Jones, plus goals by Jared McCann, Daniel Sprong, and Eberle, gave the Kraken the big 3-2 overtime victory against the Kings. Here are our Three Takeaways.
Takeaway #1: The Kraken have figured out overtime
After Seattle lost to Winnipeg in overtime on Sunday, alarm bells were ringing about the team’s struggles in three-on-three extra sessions. The Kraken at that point had not only lost all three of the extra sessions they had played, but they also seemed to just not really have much of a plan.
The Kraken worked on it this week in practice, and it’s a good thing, because Saturday’s game against the Kings was Seattle’s third straight game to go to overtime in a 2-2 tie. Against Los Angeles, Seattle showed impressive patience despite not being able to gain possession of the puck for much of the first two minutes.
“It was a different overtime tonight [compared to Sunday],” coach Dave Hakstol said. “We didn’t have the puck a whole lot, but we defended really well. We never really gave up— we didn’t give up anything threatening.”
When the Kraken got their chance, they pounced and took advantage of an overly aggressive play by the Kings. With Justin Schultz battling with Kevin Fiala in the Seattle zone, defenseman Sean Walker jumped up to help. Schultz gained control for just long enough to chip it past Walker and send Eberle and Brandon Tanev on a two-on-one.
“We were patient,” Hakstol said. “Schultzy does a good job defending, we took advantage of their defenseman diving in as we punched that puck past him, and that creates the outnumbered and the odd-man situation.” Hakstol also joked that the practice this week hasn’t meant anything. Instead, he said the formula is just getting Eberle and Tanev out there together, as they were the forwards on for Schultz’s game winner Thursday against the Rangers as well.
This version of Kraken overtime where they stay behind the puck, wait for their opportunities, and aren’t afraid to circle back and regroup isn’t anything groundbreaking; a lot of teams do that kind of thing. But, it sure will give them a fighting chance far more often than the previous version, which tried to force plays and seemed generally out of sorts.
Takeaway #2: Just don’t look
Sprong and Eberle scored two very different types of goals Sunday, with Sprong firing away from the left circle on the power play, and Eberle beating Cal Petersen off an odd-man rush opportunity in OT.
But if you look closely, there’s an interesting little similarity between the two. As Sprong shot the puck 53 seconds into the third period, his eyes were actually on Alex Wennberg, who was drifting toward the top of the crease.
DING DONG! IT’S DANIEL SPRONG! 🔔
Sprong gets a PPG, rifling one through the wickets on Petersen.
Huge response from Seattle, 18 seconds after LA had taken the lead.
“I work on it a good amount in practice, the no-look five hole, but it hasn’t been going in for me when I’ve tried it in a game,” Sprong said. “The D takes [Wennberg], so I just kind of use Wenny there, and [Petersen’s] legs are open, and I put it five hole.”
Taking a page out of Sprong’s book, as Eberle raced up the ice with Tanev in the extra frame, Eberle took a quick peek at Petersen, but otherwise had his gaze glued on Tanev the whole time. Still looking to his right, Eberle let the puck fly and beat Petersen over the glove.
So, our takeaway here is that the secret to scoring is to just not look where you’re shooting… or something like that. But seriously, both of those goals were pretty sick because of the no-look aspect of them.
Takeaway #3: Response to goals against has been good
We’ve talked about this a number of times lately, but Seattle has done a fantastic job of minimizing damage after giving up goals against. A big part of that has been the outstanding play of Jones, who was great yet again Saturday, but the Kraken have made an effort to push back after conceding goals.
After Trevor Moore scored a short-handed breakaway goal early in the third period, the Kraken not only responded with a good next shift, they immediately re-tied the game at 2-2.
“It’s not really something we’ve talked about recently,” Hakstol said of responding to goals against. “We talked about it early on, whether it’s a goal for or a goal against or a good shift or a bad shift. It’s a recognition, to start with, right? You gotta realize and recognize what just happened in the hockey game and then what needs to come and follow that type of shift up.”
It was common for the Kraken to allow goals in bunches last season, and we saw that a few times early this season. But aside from two quick goals against to start the third period in Calgary on Nov. 1, it’s been one and done for opponents in November.
A great example of the Kraken’s ability to push back was Sprong’s tying goal against the Kings. Moore’s short-handed goal could have really sapped Seattle’s momentum, but the power play went right back to work and answered in just 18 seconds.
“That can really flip momentum,” Hakstol said of the goal against. “That can be a switch on the game, and the fact that the next power-play group went out there and was able to answer was really important.” Hakstol added that on the shift after a goal against, they don’t need to go out and do anything special, but they need to have a competitive shift. Seattle has certainly done that and more since the end of October.
Bonus takeaway: Kraken denting the posts
The Kraken could have had several more goals Saturday, if not for those pesky goalposts that kept getting in the way. During a mad power-play scramble in the second period, Alex Wennberg swung the puck behind the net to Matty Beniers. Petersen was way out of position and dead to rights, but Beniers shot the puck across the front of the wide open net and hit the far post.
Then, in the third period, Beniers made a great play to spin off a check and find Jared McCann open on the far side. McCann had what looked like his second goal of the game, but he too rang it off the post. Seattle has been doing that a lot recently.
We asked Eberle about that after the game, and he said, “I think it was the Mighty Ducks that goes, ‘If it hits three inches the other way, it’s completely missing the net,’ so you can’t really focus on that stuff.” If we’re getting nitpicky, the exchange between Gordon Bombay and Charlie Conway indicated that shots hitting the post come down to a quarter of an inch in either direction, but the sentiment is the same.
The Kraken have done a good job of sticking with it and not getting frustrated, despite denting the goalposts on a number of occasions.
