When Carson Soucy took a penalty at 17:04 of the third period, and the Rangers pulled their goalie to give themselves a six-on-four advantage over the Kraken, things suddenly felt uncomfortably familiar. When Vincent Trocheck banged home a loose puck to tie the game at 2-2 with under two minutes left, it brought on a nasty sense of deja vu.
That is almost exactly how Seattle’s previous game Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets had played out. That one ended early into the overtime period after Andre Burakovsky tried to force a play in the offensive zone, leading to a Jets goal at the other end.
This time, though, Seattle looked better prepared and had learned its lesson about overtime. The outcome was a thrilling 3-2 win over the New York Rangers on Hockey Fights Cancer Night. It gave the Kraken their first points ever against the Blueshirts and points in eight of their last 10 games.
Here are our Three Takeaways from an exciting and emotional night at Climate Pledge Arena.
Takeaway #1: Justin Schultz was the star of the show
Justin Schultz was signed in the offseason to be a puck-moving defenseman that could chip in offensively from time to time. He did just that Thursday and ended up as the night’s No. 1 star. With the game level at 1-1 and deadlocked in a goalie duel, it was Schultz that finally broke through against reigning Vezina Trophy winner, Igor Shesterkin at 9:27 of the third.
Seattle hadn’t scored since 2:45 into the game, and Shesterkin had been outstanding. But after Burakovsky circled the wagons and passed to Schultz at the blue line, the defenseman walked the line and got a shot through traffic. It appeared to change directions off a Ranger player or two and ultimately eluded Shesterkin to give the Kraken a 2-1 lead.
After the Kraken gave up the tying goal late in the third (more on that in a bit), it was again Schultz who got Seattle over the hump in overtime and sent the fans home happy. Jordan Eberle drove around Artemi Panarin and shoveled a shot into Shesterkin’s pads. The rebound squirted across for a crashing Schultz, and he made no mistake, slapping it past Shesterkin.
“It’s just a good offensive play, and a lot of times that’s how it happens, right?” coach Dave Hakstol said. “It’s a dirty rebound, and Schultz is right there to punch it in.”
Takeaway #2: Practice makes perfect
While the late tying goal with Soucy in the box and Seattle facing a six-on-four felt eerily similar to Sunday, Seattle got a nice pushback in the closing minutes of regulation that made this game feel slightly different. The Kraken didn’t score before the horn, but they did get some great looks to regain confidence and momentum going into the overtime frame.
When the three-on-three session began, it was quickly evident the Kraken had changed their overtime strategy.
“Just a little bit more structure, I think,” said Schultz. “And a little bit more of a plan.”
The improvement wasn’t by happenstance. After Seattle lost to the Jets in overtime Sunday, the third time it had lost in as many OT tries this season, the team went to work practicing that scenario. We saw the team do a controlled three-on-three scrimmage Tuesday, and they were spotted doing similar work Wednesday.
“The three games that we lost were a little bit all over the place,” Schultz added. “We just sat down and practiced it, and I thought you noticed it tonight. We did a much better job.”
Jared McCann, who scored the game’s first goal, also credited the win to Seattle’s three-on-three practice this week. “We felt more confident going into it,” he said. “We made some plays, but we were smart with the puck.”
The biggest difference was Seattle’s willingness to take the puck backward and regroup. If nothing was available to them offensively, they circled to the neutral zone, got a line change with possession, and went back to work. That’s how you win in overtime.
The Kraken are a perfect two-for-two in their history at getting us choked up and teary eyed on Hockey Fights Cancer Night. Thursday’s game was emotional. Friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast and frequent anthem singer for the Seattle Thunderbirds, Paul Klein, got the call to sing before the game. Paul has recently recovered from throat cancer, and we can tell you he is one of the nicest guys we’ve ever met.
Joined on the ice by his oncologist from Virginia Mason Hospital, Klein sang the Star Spangled Banner like the pro that he is. He looked like he was fighting back emotions of his own as he sang, but the crowd inside Climate Pledge Arena gave him a little extra help, and he even got a big “GO PAUL!” from somewhere in the 200 level.
WOW! Let’s hear it for friend of the pod and nicest guy in the world, Paul Klein! That was awesome!
“This night was a culmination of how supported I felt during my treatment and care at Virginia Mason,” Klein said. “To have my doctor next to me as I sang at a regular season NHL game with my hometown team was incredible, in the truest sense of the word. I have never felt so loved, as I poured my heart into an anthem that I’ve sung at least 700 times over the last 30 years. It was overwhelming.”
Klein said the first person he saw when he came off the ice was Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke. “[Leiweke] stared at me with his mouth open and then stretched out his arms and held me,” Klein said. Leiweke told Klein, “Paul, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more beautiful anthem.”
We are so honored to have had Paul Klein, who just finished treatment for throat cancer at @VMFHealth, sing the National Anthem ahead of tonight’s game.
Kraken game ops didn’t stop there. In the first period, Eddie Olczyk introduced the night’s “Hero of the Deep,” Julie Self, who sadly passed away from cancer recently. Self was a huge Kraken fan and used her love for the team to help her through some of the hardest parts of her fight. Eddie started his presentation by saying, “Hi Kraken fans, I’m Eddie Olczyk, a stage-three colon cancer survivor.” On behalf of the Kraken, Olczyk then presented $32,000 to charity in Julie’s honor and welcomed members of her family to the game.
Midway through the second period, Olczyk was again featured in a heartfelt video interview in which he talked about how important his support system was in getting him through his own battle. “It’s ok to feel scared, it’s ok to feel sorry for yourself,” Olczyk said in the video. “But you gotta fight. You gotta believe.”
After the game, Yanni Gourde and Joonas Donskoi were seen touring kids with the Make-A-Wish Foundation around the Kraken dressing room. “You really can’t put it into words,” Hakstol said, on the importance of the night. “I mean, we’re fighting a battle in here to win a hockey game, but the perspective of things in life— we were fortunate to have a few young kids that were here on Make-A-Wish, and just everybody that’s involved in Hockey Fights Cancer Night, it’s such an important night. It’s such an important recognition for everybody; not only the individuals, but the families that are dealing with and working through the process of fighting cancer.”
Cancer has touched everyone in some way, and it truly is a heartwarming experience to feel the love and support that people give one another on Hockey Fights Cancer Night.
Now, if Kraken game ops could kindly leave our tear ducts alone, we would appreciate that.
When Daniel Sprong came to Seattle in a Trade Deadline deal in 2021-22, he didn’t take long to show off his offensive prowess. Using his big shot and plus speed, Sprong notched six goals in the 16 games he played with the Kraken down the stretch. Combined with the eight goals and six assists he had scored in Washington, Sprong thought he had given himself a good chance to earn a contract extension. But things did not go the way he anticipated over the offseason, and he found himself battling for every opportunity he’s gotten since.
Now, after settling for a professional tryout deal, Sprong has not only earned a contract, he’s earned himself a spot on the Kraken roster and—on most nights—a place in the lineup.
An offseason wake-up call
When last season ended, Sprong remained a restricted free agent. To retain his rights, Seattle only had to extend a qualifying offer of 105 percent of his previous $725,000 salary. He had arbitration rights, though, meaning if Sprong didn’t like the offer the Kraken gave him, he could have filed to have a neutral third party determine his 2022-23 salary. With that in mind, it seemed like he had leverage, so summer was looking promising.
“You speak to your agent and you find out what your arbitration rights are, and the money was looking pretty good,” Sprong said. “So you feel pretty at ease when you get a value of what you’re projected at or what you could make. So, when it started off, summer was good.”
Soon after the end of Seattle’s inaugural season, Sprong—a big Formula 1 fan—went on vacation to Miami to watch his fellow Dutchman, Max Verstappen, win the Miami Grand Prix. When he returned, things were quieter than he expected.
To Sprong’s dismay, a qualifying offer did not come from the Kraken by the July 11 deadline, meaning he would become an unrestricted free agent on July 13. Still, he thought there were teams out there that would be excited to employ his services.
“When you have 14 goals and your Corsi numbers are pretty good and you had a really good end to the season, you feel pretty confident going to [unrestricted free agency],” he said. But the offers never came. “It was kind of a frustrating thing. And then, you kind of go month by month. Every day, go to the rink, go to the gym, go out in public. [People would ask,] ‘Where are you signing? Where are you signing?’ You get that question asked pretty often.”
Sprong says he heard through his agent that several teams had expressed interest in signing him, but nothing ever got done. The feedback was consistently that teams around the NHL knew he could play offense but were concerned about his play on the defensive side of the puck. “It kind of was just like a wake-up call because it was the same problem with every team.”
A bumpy road back to the Kraken
With his options thinning out, Sprong took his medicine and accepted that he would need to sign a PTO and earn a contract the hard way. He did have a few teams to choose from for his PTO, but he ultimately returned to Seattle. “I had a really good end to the season here, so I felt pretty comfortable here and decided to take my chance here,” Sprong explained. “The coaching staff has been great, guys have been great—really supportive during camp when they knew I didn’t have a deal.”
Getting signed off a PTO is far from a sure thing, and, even then, earning that contract is only half the battle. Sprong was outstanding in his preseason outings, though, and at times looked like Seattle’s most dynamic forward with the way he was playing.
🚨 SPRONG BOMB! 🚨
Dunn serves it to Sprong on a platter, and the Dutchman blasts away. 1-0 Kraken.
After his hot start in Training Camp, the Kraken announced they had signed Sprong to a one-year, two-way deal worth $750,000 in the NHL or $325,000 in the AHL. That made the AHL a very real possibility for the 25-year-old winger, but he remained confident that he belonged in the NHL.
“Playing in the American League was never in my head,” Sprong recalled. “I wanted to make a statement on that PTO that I deserved to play, and if for whatever reason I didn’t make it—that if I ended up on waivers—that teams see I changed [my defensive play]. But it never got that far.”
It never got that far because Sprong made Seattle’s final roster when the Kraken broke camp.
Visa challenges kept Sprong away from the Kraken to start
Making the roster wasn’t Sprong’s final hurdle for joining the Kraken. Because he got signed so late in training camp, the process of getting his work visa didn’t get underway until just days before the season.
After Seattle’s bonding trip and last couple preseason games in Alberta, Sprong stayed in Calgary to get his visa situation sorted. Unfortunately for him, Canadian Thanksgiving plus issues in the process on the US government side slowed things to a crawl and caused him to miss the Kraken’s first road trip to Los Angeles and Anaheim.
He recalls having a flight booked to return to the US on Wednesday, but he didn’t get his passport back. So, the waiting game continued, and on Thursday, still not knowing when Sprong’s passport would be returned, Kraken director of team services, Brennan Baxandall, had four different flights booked for Sprong, hoping he could make one of them.
“It was a little bump in the road in the beginning of the year where I got stuck in Calgary, so it kind of ruined my momentum a little bit,” said Sprong. “I didn’t play for 10 or 11 days or practice much. I felt like I wasn’t really in a rhythm.”
Good chemistry with the fourth line
A big piece of Seattle’s early season success has been its ability to roll four lines. Playing mostly with Morgan Geekie and Ryan Donato, Sprong has found good chemistry and a mostly solid role (though he did sit out Sunday against Winnipeg).
Once the visa issue was finally sorted, Sprong got scratched for his first couple games along with Geekie. He joked that the two “Had a lot of one-on-one time together,” which has contributed to that chemistry, but he also says they feed off each other well. Two offensive-minded players, Sprong says Geekie understands the way he plays and knows that if he has the puck in a scoring area, he’s going to put it on net.
Geekie also feels the chemistry. “We’ve got a lot of offensive guys on our team,” he said. “I think last year, we struggled to score some goals, and this year, I think the chemistry is there, and pucks are going in for us.”
Positive reviews from his coach
The “wake-up call” that Sprong experienced during the offseason, with criticism of his 200-foot game coming from several potential landing spots, was no surprise. Kraken coach Dave Hakstol had said similar things at the end of last season. But Hakstol has been happy with what he has seen from Sprong this season.
“There’s no disputing his offensive abilities,” Hakstol said. “What we’ve asked out of Spronger is to become an everyday 200-foot player. There’s gonna be different opportunities in front of him in terms of where he is in the lineup, based off of exactly where we’re at, but right now, he’s found a really solid role with [Geekie] and [Donato].”
According to Seattle’s coach, it was not necessarily how Sprong defended, but rather how he played up and down the ice and how he managed the level of risk versus reward in his game. “It means how detailed you are in what you’re doing without the puck, the defensive part, and how you’re fitting into the scheme with the other five guys on the rink.”
The Kraken coach had high praise for how hard Sprong has worked to get better in those areas and says that’s the reason he’s been in the lineup most nights.
Sprong was back to being a scratch Sunday against the Jets, and we suspect there’s a chance he could sit out again Thursday against the New York Rangers. But he earned his contract, earned his spot on the NHL roster, and earned playing time in the early parts of the season. Now, for Sprong, it’s just a matter of continuing to prove himself as a 200-foot player while maintaining his offensive production. If he does that, he soon could earn himself a permanent role in the Kraken lineup.
It’s a fun new episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, which dives right into a disappointing Seattle Kraken loss to the Winnipeg Jets this past Sunday. John, Andy, and Darren break down that game that ended in frustrating fashion after Carson Soucy took a bad retaliation penalty with 25 seconds left.
After moaning about that game for a bit, the guys consider what has been happening for the club in overtime, where it has been highly unsuccessful. They also consider Magnus Hellberg returning to the team, Gustav Olofsson swapping in for Cale Fleury, and the first live action of Seattle’s Reverse Retro jerseys.
It’s a fun new episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, which dives right into a disappointing Seattle Kraken loss to the Winnipeg Jets this past Sunday. John, Andy, and Darren break down that game that ended in frustrating fashion after Carson Soucy took a bad retaliation penalty with 25 seconds left.
After moaning about that game for a bit, the guys consider what has been happening for the club in overtime, where it has been highly unsuccessful. They also consider Magnus Hellberg returning to the team, Gustav Olofsson swapping in for Cale Fleury, and the first live action of Seattle’s Reverse Retro jerseys.
We bring you another round of Monday Musings, where we share a random collection of thoughts and observations about the last week from the hockey world with an emphasis on the Kraken and other Puget Sound teams. Enjoy.
Kraken thoughts
What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. At least let’s hope that is the case as the Kraken have lost the last two games at home in contests they easily could have won. I am not even close to hitting the panic button, but the last two losses sting. On Friday night the Kraken could not sneak one past Marc-Andre Fleury and lost 1-0 to the Minnesota Wild. Then Sunday night, Seattle let victory slip away with 4 seconds left when Blake Wheeler popped in an easy rebound on a Jets power play. Ugh… so close to snatching two points and a regulation win against a team the Kraken might find themselves competing with for a wild card spot come April.
The Kraken are still on pace for 97 points but have yet to establish a home-ice advantage. They are 3-4-2 at Climate Pledge Arena but 5-1-1 on the road. They are 1-1-1 on this homestand with another three games before hitting the road again. My hope is the Kraken can get four out of a possible six points in the remaining home games against the Rangers, Kings, and Sharks.
I am really looking forward to seeing how the Kraken fair against the Kings. As you might recall, Seattle handled the Kings 4-1 in LA in the second game of the season. The Kings are currently ahead of the Kraken in the standings, and as of Monday morning, have won four games in a row. The end of the Kraken-Kings game in LA featured a “spirited” ending, and I wonder how much of this will spill over on Saturday night.
The Kraken have only won one and lost eight overtime games in their history. Last year, it felt they did not have the high-end skill that favors teams in this area. They have the skill this season but have lost all three overtime games they have played.
The penalty kill allowed two power-play goals against on Sunday, but there was a season high of seven penalty kills in the game. Prior to Sunday, the Kraken killed off 16 PK’s in a row.
The seven penalty kills in the Winnipeg Jets game was a Seattle Kraken record of the most times shorthanded in a game. Hopefully that record sticks for a long time.
I said it a few weeks ago and will say it again; the Kraken are a playoff team.
On Sunday, Gustav Olofsson became the first Coachella Valley Firebird skater to get called up and play for the Kraken. His game against the Jets would mark his 60th NHL game and the first since 2019-20. He played well in the few games I saw him play with the Firebirds but what stuck out was his fun interactions with the young fans during warmups. I love that and will be rooting for him to score his first NHL goal soon.
Matty Beniers has not registered a point since his point streak was broken in the game against the Wild in Minnesota. That is his longest point drought of his career. There is obviously no room for concern there, but I would love to see him get it going again.
Matty also has just two power-play points on the season, which is a little surprising considering he is second on the team in power-play time on ice.
If you predict something long enough, eventually it will be true. Oliver Bjorkstrand is bound to get hot. He has just one goal, and his shooting percentage is a brutally low 2 percent. Over the last four seasons, his shooting percentage was 13 percent.
Will Borgen is getting more likeable every game. He plays a very physical style and never hesitates to get in the mix when there is any kind of dustup. Last season he played just 16 of the Kraken’s first 61 games, and it was not until after the trade deadline when the Kraken traded Jeremy Lauzon and Mark Giordano that Borgen would find himself as a regular in the Kraken lineup. He has really impressed me this season, and by the looks of it so far, has a future with the Kraken.
The Los Angeles Kings assigned 19-year-old Brandt Clarke to the AHL for a “conditioning assignment” this week. Per the transfer agreement with the CHL, Clarke is not eligible to play in the AHL this season apart from this “conditioning assignment” clause. The clause states that under 20 years old, a player can be assigned to the AHL on a conditioning assignment for no more than 14 days, provided that the player was scratched for five games in a row. The Kraken can do the same with Shane Wright this season and Sunday marked his third scratch in a row.
On Thursday last week, the Kraken claimed Magnus Hellberg on waivers and sent Joey Daccord down to Coachella. This was a strategic defensive move. Daccord had been called up from the Firebirds since Philipp Grubauer’s injury on Oct. 21. Because Daccord cleared waivers earlier this year, he does not require waivers again unless he is on the NHL roster more than 30 days. He was coming up on that milestone, so strategically, the Kraken sent Daccord down and will use Hellberg as the backup to Jones until Grubauer returns.
Speaking of Grubauer, the Kraken also added him to the long-term injured reserve list retroactive to Oct. 22. This is another strategic move to bank some salary cap space. I will not get into it here, but this gives the Kraken some flexibility down the road to spend above the cap number should they need it later this season. Grubauer has been on the ice and appears to be nearing a return.
Not Kraken related, but don’t forget about the USA-Canada Rivalry Series game coming up this Sunday at CPA. That game will be intense, and I am hearing that it might set a US record for the highest attendance for a female hockey game. I would love to see Seattle own that record.
Coachella notes
Since flying south from their Seattle residency, the Firebirds are 2-0-0, winning both games in a two-game set against the Tucson Roadrunners. The Firebirds are now 7-3-0 and have the highest point percentage in the AHL’s Pacific Division.
The points leader for Coachella is Andrew Poturalski. He has 18 points in 10 games so far this season. The 28-year-old center is in his eighth year of pro hockey. He has four NHL games in his career.
I don’t know if there are any of you that might head to Palm Springs for the holidays, but the Firebirds home opener is set for Dec. 18 against the Tucson Roadrunners at the brand new Acrisure Arena.
Top player performances
Jordan Eberle – After a slightly cold start, Eberle is starting to heat up. He has three goals in the last three games.
Martin Jones – His record might be 1-1-1 over the last three games, but he is giving the Kraken every opportunity to win games with a save percentage of .934 over that span.
Jack Eichel – Four goals over his last three games, including a hat trick against his former team, the Buffalo Sabres, in Buffalo.
New York Rangers – Thursday, Nov. 17, at Climate Pledge Arena
Another great test for the Kraken and a benchmark for how they stack up. The Kraken have only played four games against the Eastern Conference and have a 3-1-0 record. The Rangers are proving last season was not a fluke and will be a challenging opponent. The Kraken have never beaten the Rangers.
Rangers Current Record: 8-6-3
Players to watch:
Adam Fox – Fox is the new breed of defensemen making an impact on the league. He has eight points in his last four games. He had the game winner against the Kraken last season when the Rangers visited CPA.
Mika Zibanejad – Let us hope we don’t see much from Mika on Thursday night, but he can put up some monster games and is generally a pretty fun player to watch.
Los Angeles Kings – Saturday, Nov. 19, at Climate Pledge Arena
Going into the season, I figured the Kings were set to regress this season, and if there is a 2021-22 playoff team from the Pacific that would not make the playoffs this season, I thought the Kings would be that team. The Kings have won four in a row and have points in eight of their last 10 games. They are currently ahead of the Kraken in the standings so a win would be very encouraging on the playoff prospects for the Kraken.
Kings Current Record: 10-6-1
Players to watch:
Brendan Lemieux – Not the most skilled player, but he and Yanni Gourde got into it all night last time they played in October. Expect more of the same on Saturday night.
Gabriel Vilardi – After splitting the season with the Kings AHL affiliate last season, he is a prime reason for why the Kings are on the upswing. He has 10 goals in 17 games which is a bit crazy considering he is known for his passing ability.
The Kraken shot themselves in the tentacle against the Jets Sunday. Actually, they shot themselves in all eight tentacles, with each of their eight penalties representing another wounded appendage.
Often times, when a team takes a point out of a game for losing in overtime, it’s easy to find moral victories. But after the Kraken had Sunday’s game against Winnipeg in the bag and let it slip out the bottom thanks to an outrageous number of penalties, the mood in the Seattle dressing room was somber.
“For me, it’s about the third period,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “We put ourselves in position to win a game, and three minor penalties are probably the thing that stands out the most. When you do that during the third period, right down to the last 30 seconds, that’s a tough way to close out a hockey game.”
Seattle took a whopping eighth penalty of the game with 25 seconds left in regulation. Blake Wheeler tied the game with just five seconds left, and Mark Scheifele won it just 54 seconds into overtime.
“Those are the ones that really sting,” Jordan Eberle said. “You never know what point is going to get you into the playoffs, and when you make mistakes and keep giving good teams like that opportunities, that’s what’s going to happen.”
Here are our Three Takeaways from a miserable 3-2 Kraken overtime loss to the Jets.
Takeaway #1: Never retaliate, especially with 25 seconds left
The Kraken were playing with fire all night, taking penalty after penalty. Their PK, which entered the game with 16 consecutive successful kills, finally gave up its first goal against since Oct. 27. The streak-snapping tally came in the second period when Sam Gagner intentionally shot wide of Martin Jones and got a great bounce off the lively Climate Pledge Arena end boards. The puck caromed right to Scheifele on the other side, who had a yawning cage and an easy goal.
The PK streak is snapped at 18. Scheifele gets a very friendly bounce off the end boards, and it’s 1-1. pic.twitter.com/a8sbz4wOcr
Even with the unfortunate bounce, Seattle looked poised to have another mostly successful night with the manpower disadvantage. It killed off Winnipeg’s sixth power play after Eberle had been nabbed for hooking Nate Schmidt at 16:39 of the third period. That was a dominant kill at a big moment.
Surely Seattle wouldn’t get another penalty after that, right?
With the clock ticking down and Jets goalie David Rittich off for an extra attacker, the Kraken looked fully content to bleed out the clock and take their two points. But in front of the net, Pierre-Luc Dubois gave Carson Soucy a nasty two-handed slash across the calves. Soucy responded with a punch to the back of Dubois’ head. The referee immediately blew the whistle and—we could have sworn—motioned as if he was taking both players to the box.
That’s not what happened, though. Instead, only Soucy went off, giving Winnipeg its seventh power play of the game.
“It’s an undisciplined penalty on our part,” Hakstol said. “We just need to close that game out. We don’t need to settle any scores at that point in time.”
While we recall seeing the referee motion as if both players were going off, Hakstol was further confused by the timing of when the play was whistled down. “I am a little confused at how that whole sequence happened and why the play was blown down when it was if both guys weren’t going to the box.” The whistle went when the Jets had the puck, which would have indicated the refs intended to take both players off.
So, there’s something fishy there. But the moral of the story is you never retaliate, especially in the waning seconds of a game when you’re holding a tenuous lead.
“Myself included, it’s just not understanding the situation,” Eberle said. “And that hurts.”
The ill-advised Soucy penalty doomed the Kraken in the end. Kyle Connor ripped a one-timer from the right circle that Jones stopped, but the rebound sat in the crease for Blake Wheeler to bang home.
The tying goal came with under four seconds to play. After that, you just knew things would go Winnipeg’s way in overtime, and they did.
Takeaway #2: “A wasted performance”
Jones continued his red-hot stretch of play that dates back to Oct. 29. He deserved another ‘W’ on his record Sunday, stopping 28 shots along the way, but his mates made some bone-headed decisions that made things unnecessarily tough on their netminder.
“Jonesy was unbelievable,” Brandon Tanev said. “He made some great saves for us and kept us in the game, and obviously, he played great. We want to have a better result for him next time.”
Jones’s best save of the game—and maybe the season—came late in the second period. Scheifele shoveled a shot into his pads, and Dubois pried it loose. Dubois then had what appeared to be an easy tap-in, but Jones fired out his left pad and somehow robbed Dubois on the goal line.
“Kind of a pass out and a rebound, and they were just kind of banging away,” Jones said. “I was kind of sliding out of the net, and just threw my leg back there and got a piece.”
That save was memorable, but Jones saved the Kraken’s calamari repeatedly, especially in the second period when he stopped 16 of 17 shots.
“We wasted a good performance there,” Hakstol said. “His performance was good enough to get two points.”
Takeaway #3: Some different looks for Seattle
Seattle came in with a modified lineup Saturday, as Hakstol shuffled his top three left wings, subbed Karson Kuhlman in for Daniel Sprong, and gave Gustav Olofsson his first NHL action since Dec. 3, 2019.
Hakstol explained at morning skate Sunday that the adjustments to the forward lines was an attempt to find a spark after the Kraken came up empty against Minnesota. Asked about his impressions of the new look after the game, Hakstol said, “We didn’t see much of it. We had nearly 20 minutes in specialty teams tonight, so we really didn’t get into any type of flow throughout the entire hockey game.”
So, the jury is out on if he likes this new mix.
As part of the shakeup, Oliver Bjorkstrand was moved to the third line with Tanev and Yanni Gourde. Bjorkstrand scored in Seattle’s first game of the year in Anaheim but hasn’t found the back of the net since.
“Bjorky had a couple of real good looks tonight,” Hakstol said. “Once one goes in him, things are gonna start going his way.”
Bjorkstrand did assist on Tanev’s go-ahead goal in the third period and hit a post late in the first.
This is a fun “.5” episode, featuring a one-on-one chat between Darren and BEST friend of the pod, Alison Lukan. It’s a very Kraken-centric discussion that really digs into what has been happening with the team lately.
Topics covered include the win streak, the loss to Minnesota, and what Jamie Oleksiak’s injury means for the defense corps. Additionally, Alison shares her thoughts on Seattle’s special teams, what the organization might need to do at the trade deadline, and who is her least favorite Sound Of Hockey host.
Finally, she shares opines on Buoy and talks about her own experiences of being a mascot.
After the Wild and Kraken played a snoozer in St. Paul last week, we were unsurprised to see a tight-checking, mostly low-event game Friday in Seattle. This time, the goalies were both sharp, and the outcome was a 1-0 drab affair. The result cost Seattle its winning streak, which was snapped by Minnesota at five games.
While both goalies were good when needed, Marc-Andre Fleury was excellent for the Wild, earning a 28-save shutout and racking up a bunch of saves in the waning minutes, including three in the last two seconds before the final horn.
28 saves was an appropriate number, as the Kraken became the 28th team Fleury has shutout in his career. The veteran netminder didn’t think anything of it, though, saying, “I think it just means I’m old, maybe. I’ve been playing for a while I guess.” The Kraken didn’t test Fleury as much as they have other goalies this season, but still, he came up big on a number of occasions.
Here are our Three Takeaways from a 1-0 Kraken loss to the Wild.
Takeaway #1: Can’t win ’em all
The first five-game win streak in Kraken history was memorable. As we look back on this stretch, let’s all be sure to cherish the good times we had along the way. Sadly, losses eventually have to come, because that’s just how sports work, and Seattle experienced that Friday after a slogfest.
The way the loss happened was frustrating, as both teams played suffocating defense that made the game look eerily similar to the one played between these two teams in Minnesota last week. The difference between the games was that Fleury didn’t play particularly well on his team’s home ice but was dialed in at Climate Pledge Arena.
Little was happening offensively Friday, yet it always felt like the Kraken were on the verge of breaking through. They just didn’t do enough to find an equalizer, and one Mats Zuccarello snipe was all Minnesota needed in the end.
“We gotta find more shots on the inside,” Yanni Gourde said. “There was definitely a lot of outside plays. Even the shots we were taking— we gotta find second [chances], find rebounds, we’ve got to be netfront. If that goalie sees the puck, most likely he’s going to make the save.”
Give credit to Minnesota, though. While the Wild also didn’t generate much in Seattle’s end, there was a visible determination to hold onto their tenuous lead in the later stages. “They don’t give you much out there,” said Justin Schultz. “They’re a heavy, big team, and they made it tough on us.”
The Kraken got a couple looks in the closing minutes with Martin Jones pulled for an extra attacker. The first good look came when Andre Burakovsky made a pass through the seam to Jaden Schwartz, but Schwartz partially fanned on the shot. The other came with just a couple ticks left on the clock, as Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand traded off banging away at pucks in front of Fleury.
Nothing doing, though. On to the next one.
During the streak, the Kraken did a great job of limiting the damage when they gave up goals. They would get right back on their horse and start pushing the momentum again. Now, let’s see if they can limit the damage on the larger scale and get right back to winning.
Takeaway #2: Let’s talk about the Kraken penalty kill
Early in the season, Seattle’s penalty kill was quietly becoming a liability and had dropped to one of the worst in the league. The team has turned that around in a big way, though. Since giving up two power-play goals to Vancouver in a 5-4 loss on Oct. 25, the Kraken have not conceded a single power-play goal since. That’s 16 consecutive kills and six whole games, bringing the Kraken up to a 75 percent success rate on the season. Friday, it was 3-for-3 once again.
“I think we did a great job [on the PK],” Gourde said. “Our defensemen were blocking big shots. We made the [blue] line hard to get when they entered in as well. We know our pressure point, and we executed that pretty well.”
The Kraken had an especially impressive kill in the second period. After Burakovsky hooked Sam Steel to thwart a scoring opportunity at 15:11, the team’s killers completely suffocated every zone entry Minnesota tried on the ensuing power play. Seattle eliminated any opportunity for the Wild to get set up in the offensive zone, bleeding the clock with iced puck after iced puck.
“With Jamie Oleksiak out, that’s a big hole to fill,” said Hakstol. “Guys stepped into that and didn’t miss a beat so that’s a real positive for that group in terms of the way they competed and got us through penalty kills.”
Meanwhile, Seattle’s usually dangerous power play had a tough night, going 0-for-4 and often looking out of sorts against an aggressive Minnesota PK.
“I thought we could have been a lot better on the power play for sure,” Schultz said. “There were moments, but I don’t think we were close to what we have been this year. Definitely had our chances, but couldn’t be the difference maker tonight unfortunately.”
Takeaway #3: Keep an eye on Seattle’s blue line
Things are going to be a bit more interesting on the blue line for the foreseeable future now that Jamie Oleksiak is on injured reserve. The Kraken had found a nice balance of right- and left-shot defensemen, with a clear-cut first, second, and third pair. Now, things are suddenly murkier.
Cale Fleury played his first game of the season Friday, taking Oleksiak’s spot next to Schultz for most of the night. Being that both Schultz and Fleury are right-shot defensemen, there were moments against the Wild where Fleury looked unsure of himself trying to dig pucks off the boards on his off hand. In general, we thought Fleury looked uncomfortable in the early going, but he settled in as the night wore on. Despite Hakstol shuffling up the defense pairs in the closing minutes, Fleury was out for a shift very late in the game.
“It’s not easy for him, coming in with that much time off,” Schultz said of Fleury. “I thought he did a great job. Made it easy, made simple plays, and he’s a great skater. He was good tonight.”
“[Fleury] battled hard for us,” added Hakstol. “There’s gonna be some rough patches, and there was that, but he worked through it.”
The late-game shuffling of the D-pairs was interesting and a rare sight for what has been a steady three-pair defense corps this season. Though the team didn’t allow many great opportunities against Martin Jones, who stopped 20 of 21 shots, we will be curious to see if Hakstol tries any different looks on the blue line moving forward. After all Fleury has been through this season, watching the first 14 games from the press box, he deserves to stay in for a while. Hakstol does now have a left-shot available to him with Gustav Olofsson recalled from the AHL, though, and we can’t help wondering if Goose could get a look at some point.
On the latest episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, the guys consider an important rhetorical question, wondering which of the three hosts–John, Andy, or Darren–you, the listener dislikes. Once they’re done waxing poetic, they jump into Kraken talk, recapping Seattle’s last three games and discussing this current five-game win streak.
That talk leads to an interesting Hype-o-thetical about the Trade Deadline and how the Kraken might approach that.
Once they’re done with Kraken talk, the guys to a WHL Update, then dive into segments.
Segments this week feature Goalie Gear Corner, Bad Boys, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
