After a promising win Friday night against the Stanley Cup champions, the Seattle Kraken collapsed against the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks, losing 5-4 at the United Center on Sunday.
The Blackhawks (3-2-0) scored twice in the third period to erase a 4-3 Kraken lead and move ahead. Seattle (2-3-2) dominated the first 15 minutes of play, but poor special teams allowed the Blackhawks to get back in the game.
“Disappointing loss,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We did a lot of things that get you beat on the road. You look at our faceoffs and specialty teams early, including a short-handed goal that really feeds them and gives them life in the hockey game, down to most importantly just the way we checked and played without the puck in the last 45 minutes of the hockey game.”
Seattle outshot the Blackhawks 34-27, but the combination of the Kraken’s 0-for-4 power play plus Chicago’s 2-for-3 power play and a short-handed goal played huge.
Chicago was led by two goals from Tyler Johnson and two assists from Seth Jones. Alex Stalock made 30 saves for the Blackhawks who won for the second straight game.
“They pressured up ice which I thought, it was difficult to handle,” Matty Beniers said about the Seattle power play. “I think they were just in lanes, blocked some shots and had some good saves.”
Seattle took a 4-3 lead at 10:43 of the second period when Vince Dunn jumped in the zone and Jared McCann hit his tape with a pass. Dunn scored his first of the season.
Despite looking like Seattle may be in control, the Blackhawks scored twice in 13 seconds during the third period to tie and then take the lead.
First it was Johnson for his second at 12:57 of the period. After the Kraken threw the puck away behind the net, it found its way to Johnson in front. Dickinson would then score from the faceoff circle to give Chicago a 5-4 lead.
The Blackhawks scored those two goals in the third despite only having five shots on goal.
McCann had a goal and an assist, Beniers scored a goal, and Martin Jones allowed five goals on 22 shots.
“Our play was sporadic,” Hakstol said. “In the third period we had the game going the way we wanted to. It comes down to, we made two mistakes. One is on a breakout which is just a simple read for everybody, but we ad-libbed. And the game winner right after, it is just on a return to D-zone and getting to the right spot, and we didn’t do those things. Those are things that come back to haunt you and they do it quick.”
How it played out
McCann scored his third goal of the season and second in two games to make it 1-0 at 5:46 of the first period. McCann started the play by sending a pass to Karson Kuhlman who found Morgan Geekie in the middle of the ice on the rush. Geekie slid it over to McCann who scored on an open net.
Under two minutes later, at 7:31, Jordan Eberle stole the puck on the half boards in Chicago’s end and slid it to Andre Burakovsky who buried his third of the year to give the Kraken a 2-0 lead.
Chicago cut the lead to 2-1 with its NHL-leading fourth short-handed goal at 17:04 when former Everett Silvertips Jujhar Khaira tapped in a pass from Colin Blackwell.
Before the period was over, the Blackhawks tied the game, 2-2, on a power-play goal by the Spokane native Johnson.
The Blackhawks scored an early goal on the power play to take a 3-2 lead 32 seconds into the second period when Max Domi put back a rebound.
Matty Beniers responded just 19 seconds later to tie the game at 3-3 when Jaden Schwartz’s pass was deflected but still got through to the crease where Beniers banged it in.
“We’ve got to stay on the gas,” McCann said. “There’s no easy way to put it, we let off. They’ve got players who can make plays… you can’t let up on a team like that.”
In the numbers
By all accounts this should have been a game the Kraken won. They had a 54.5 percent advantage in unblocked shot attempts while playing 5-on-5 and enjoyed 58 percent of the shot quality.
Rookie forward Shane Wright was only on the ice for 5:51 of ice time, took no shots, but was on the ice for a goal. McCann and Dunn each had four shots on goal to lead Seattle, and Adam Larsson led the team in ice time with 22:24.
Tentacle Tales
McCann had multiple points for the second consecutive game. He scored multiple points 12 times last season, most on the Kraken roster.
Jordan Eberle had an assist Sunday on Burakovsky’s goal. It was career point 599 for Eberle, and he’s one point away from joining Steven Stamkos (981 points) and Erik Karlsson (665) as the third player from the 2008 NHL Draft class to reach 600 NHL Points.
Sunday was the third time this season that the Kraken have allowed five goals. They are 0-2-1 in those games.
Sunday was the second multi-goal comeback in a row for Chicago.
Jones started in place of Philipp Grubauer who was injured Friday night and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. Joey Daccord was recalled from AHL Coachella Valley.
The Kraken were without forward Yanni Gourde who was home with a ‘personal matter.’
That one might stick with us for a while. Few in the hockey world expected the Kraken to defeat the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in their barn Friday, but Seattle did just that and came away with an impressive 3-2 win.
The Kraken really deserved the victory, too, getting the better of the play in almost every statistical category. It was a real team win, from the goaltender(s) out.
Here are our Three Takeaways from an exciting 3-2 Kraken win over the Avalanche.
Takeaway #1: Stay cool, man! It’s Karson Kuhlman!
You have to love when a grinder ends up the hero. That’s what happened Friday, as Karson Kuhlman skated into a perfectly placed high flip from Jaden Schwartz, then fought off all 233 pounds of Kraken Expansion Draft selection Kurtis MacDermid and snuck the puck between the pads of Pavel Francouz.
STAY COOL MAN, IT’S KARSON KUHLMAN!
Schwartz with the high flip, and Kuhlman with a nice finish.
“I think it starts with a good wall play there,” Kuhlman said. “Schwartzy makes a good play, puts the puck to space, let me skate into it… I saw a little opening and was able to put it in the net.”
Schwartz had a great game too and has continued to be an important piece for the Kraken since returning from the various maladies that cut his 2021-22 season short. He scored a power-play goal in the second period after a great setup by Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle on a slick high-low-high play.
On Kuhlman’s game winner, Schwartz said, “We just needed to change and I knew he was fresh. Just looked up quickly and he had a lot of speed, so just tried to get it somewhere in his area, and he made a heck of an individual play there.”
It really was an impressive play by Kuhlman, who said MacDermid was “draped all over” him, but he battled through and got enough of a shot away to beat Francouz.
It was a heck of a game by both Kuhlman and Schwartz, who ultimately connected to give Seattle the win.
Takeaway #2: Grubauer plays great, exits with an injury
Philipp Grubauer was a big reason Seattle had a chance to win this one. The Kraken remarkably outshot Colorado 38-20 and had 58.6 percent of the expected goals for, but Grubauer was a big factor. He looked dialed in from pre-game warmups, and he stood tall against several point-blank shots in the first period.
“I thought Grubi was outstanding, right from that first shift,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “They had a couple opportunities the first couple of shifts, and he was rock solid. Looked really calm, really confident, and that feeds through the rest of the group as well.”
His best save of the night came on an early partial breakaway by Alex Newhook, when Newhook dangled through Seattle’s defense and appeared to have Grubauer dead to rights. The German gentleman was moving to his right, and Newhook deked back the other way. Somehow, Grubauer stopped his momentum and flared out his left pad to get his toe on the puck and keep the Avalanche off the board in the opening frame.
The lone Avalanche goal of the second period was a backdoor tap-in for Evan Rodrigues after Valeri Nichushkin threaded the needle under Jamie Oleksiak’s stick. The second goal against was painful both literally and figuratively. With Seattle on the power play in the third period, Andre Burakovsky lost the puck along the wall in the offensive zone. The Avs went down three-on-one, and Bowen Byram finished to level the game at 2-2.
Avs tie it with a short-handed goal. Burakovsky lost it in the offensive zone, and COL went 3-on-1. Byram finished it with a snipe.
You can see in the video, Grubauer immediately seized up. He stayed down for a moment, then went to the bench to talk to the medical staff. He did stay in the game initially, but Martin Jones came in at the next whistle and finished out the game. Ironically, Jones earned credit for the win as the goalie of record, his 200th career win, despite stopping just one (!!) shot.
Jones played 9:43, so the fact that he faced just one shot is a testament to how well Seattle was playing defensively, especially in the closing minutes of the game.
Hakstol did not have an update on Grubauer after the game, but we do not think the injury is terribly serious. We will see if he is able to dress in Chicago Sunday.
Takeaway #3: Bend butdon’t break
The win wasn’t entirely flawless. We talked in Takeaway #1 about Seattle conceding a short-handed tying goal, but to its credit, the team didn’t allow that to be a backbreaker. Instead, the Kraken stuck with it and found a way to earn the two points it deserved.
“That’s a little bit of a benchmark right there,” Hakstol said. “We played a real good hockey game. We made a mistake, and that can rattle you, especially in this building when momentum gets rolling. But we didn’t [get rattled]. We just went right back to work, and the next couple shifts were solid shifts.”
Having watched a lot of Kraken hockey, it really felt to us like the defending Stanley Cup champions were about to find a game winner after they got the equalizer. Seattle flipped the script, though, and came away with an impressive victory.
That’s a big-time win. Are the Seattle Kraken on the way up?
The latest “.5” episode features an AWESOME interview with Coachella Valley Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma. With Dan, the guys talk about everything from his Stanley Cup win with the Pittsburgh Penguins to his hiring by the Kraken organization and what he sees from his team so far.
It’s a very fun interview that will absolutely get you laughing by the end.
Plus, a little discussion from Darren about the new Kraken Reverse Retro jerseys (more to come on that).
After the way Seattle played in its first two home games Saturday and Monday, having the Kraken of old back against the St. Louis Blues was refreshing. When we say “Kraken of old,” we’re referring to the version we saw last year, the one that would often fall behind in the first period, rally back in the second, and ultimately come up just short in the third and/or overtime.
That’s exactly what happened Wednesday, but salvaging a point against a good Blues team and getting back to their tenacious ways was a positive result for the Kraken.
Here are our Three Takeaways from a 4-3 overtime Kraken loss to the Blues.
Takeaway #1: The boys are back
Kraken fans’ hopes may have been elevated after the first two games in Southern California, contests that Seattle largely dominated. But those hopes came crashing back down to earth when the Kraken laid two consecutive eggs against Vegas and Carolina and lost those first home games of the season by a combined score of 10-3.
The typically raucous crowd inside Climate Pledge Arena was largely silent both nights, and there were early races to the exits upon realization that the games were well out of reach.
On Wednesday, the Kraken got back to showing the identity they worked so hard to develop last season.
“We played a good hockey game,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “There’s two or three minutes in the first period where we gave up a couple of quick ones, but we regained our composure, played a hell of a hockey game.”
Seattle fell behind 3-1 in the first period. Just over a minute after Will Borgen had scored his first goal of the season, Martin Jones made too soft of a pass to Vince Dunn behind the net. Dunn had a chance to pass behind the net to Adam Larsson, but he failed to get it past a forechecking Robert Thomas. That led to Brayden Schenn punching it into an open net.
Another miscue behind the net, and Seattle gives the lead right back.
Then 17 seconds later, after Jordan Eberle had fumbled a puck in the neutral zone, the Blues quickly transitioned and sent Justin Faulk in for his first of two goals on the night (the second was the game winner in overtime).
Oh, no. Right after the face-off, the Blues come right down and score AGAIN. Faulk.
Even after that first period, though, the effort felt very different than it did against the Golden Knights and Hurricanes.
The Kraken scored two in the second with a breakaway goal by Ryan Donato, created by a fantastic outlet pass from Brandon Tanev, and an own goal by Torey Krug that got credited to Adam Larsson.
Kraken are back within one!
Tanev hits Donato with a sick pass. Binnington makes the initial stop, but Donato kept digging and eventually poked it in.
After 40 minutes, the Kraken exited the ice to a standing ovation, something they certainly wouldn’t have deserved from the home faithful in the previous two games.
“I thought we played a tired hockey game against Vegas,” Hakstol said. “I don’t like at all the way we played the other night against Carolina and handled things. This is our hockey team tonight; the way we battled, competed, executed, the pace and the tenacity that we played with… Tonight is a good standard to go off of and continue to build from.”
“That just shows the resiliency in this room,” Borgen added. “We never thought we were out of it. We were gonna keep coming at ’em, and we got ourselves back into it a little bit.”
That resiliency has been missing for a couple games, so it’s good to see Seattle can battle back when it gets down.
Now, if only the Kraken could figure out how to get ahead in games…
Takeaway #2: Big games by Ryan Donato and Will Borgen
Donato came off a healthy scratch Monday and—as we saw after he was scratched on several occasions last season—played like he never wants to spend another game in the press box. Not only did he score a big goal off a breakaway, Donato also got into his version of a scrap with Ivan Barbashev in the first period.
Barbashev laid a punishing welcome-to-the-show-type hit on Shane Wright, and Donato, not known for his physical play or feistiness, didn’t think twice about jumping to the rookie’s defense.
WHOA! Wright just got DESTROYED by Barbeshev, and Donato immediately jumped Barbeshev.
“I didn’t really get to see the hit,” Donato said. “I just heard him go down hard, and no matter what, I think any guy would stick up for the teammate if they’re in that position. I happened to be the closest guy to him, and I think it’s a blessing that I didn’t get hurt and he didn’t get hurt.”
Wright was thankful for Donato jumping to his aide and joked after the game that he might owe Donato a dinner for that.
Similarly, Borgen scored a goal of his own and made a huge defensive stop on Jake Neighbours in the third period. On the play, Neighbours kept driving and ran right into Martin Jones, earning himself a goalie interference penalty. Borgen took offense to an opponent touching his goalie, and went right after Neighbours, creating a big skirmish behind the net.
Combining offensive output with solid defensive play and a willingness to stick up for teammates made for a good night for two relatively unsung players.
Takeaway #3: Shane Wright shows progress
Hakstol’s lack of usage of No. 4 overall pick Shane Wright was the talk of the town after Seattle’s ugly loss to Carolina Monday. Wright ultimately played similar minutes Wednesday, but he was far more noticeable. After two periods, he was on pace for a higher time-on-ice total, but with the game tied in the third period, Hakstol shortened his bench. Predictably, Wright’s fourth line didn’t get much time in the final 20 minutes. Still, he got credited with his first NHL point and missed scoring his first NHL goal by mere centimeters.
On Donato’s goal, Wright deflected a cross-ice pass in the defensive zone. Tanev scooped up the puck, found Donato behind the Blues’ defense, and hit him with a perfect stretch pass, sending Donato in for the eventual tally.
Wright was not initially credited for the point, though. It got added during the second intermission and announced to a large ovation from the crowd in the third period. He found out that he was on the scoresheet at the same time as everybody else in the building.
“I didn’t know,” Wright said. “I kind of thought on the play that maybe I would have gotten an assist there. I thought I touched the puck but didn’t know in the room until they announced it. So, obviously a pretty cool moment for sure.”
In the third period, Wright found himself with the puck on his stick in a dangerous area after Donato found him from below the goal line. Wright got a good shot off and cleanly beat Jordan Binnington, but he hit the base of the post.
A third-period winner would have made Wednesday an unforgettable night, but for now, Wright and Hakstol are both happy with the progress.
“I think every game, I feel more comfortable, feel more confident out there,” Wright said. “I think that’s part of the learning experience and part of the learning curve.” He also recognized it is taking him a couple games to get used to the pace but knows that’s also part of the process.
“Getting his first point is awesome, I think that’s a great step,” Hakstol said. “He deserved to score his first goal tonight. That line did everything right on that shift. Now, I gotta get him on the ice for a couple more minutes a night and just continue to let him grow.”
We thought that last comment by Hakstol was especially interesting, given the Twitter storm about his lack of minutes on Monday. Will Wright start seeing his ice time increase now?
On this latest Sound Of Hockey episode, the guys take a temperature check on the Seattle Kraken after four games and determine that the vibes are, in fact, weird.
Not sure what to make of the team that looked dominant in the first two games and dismal in the next two, John, Andy, and Darren dig into the good and the bad of what they’ve seen so far. They also discuss what’s been happening with Shane Wright and his limited minutes, as well as the goaltending.
From there, it becomes a rather segbit-heavy show, as the guys dive right into Down on the Farm to discuss the first two Coachella Valley Firebirds games. They then shift to Bad Boys, You Don’t See That Every Day, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
On this latest Sound Of Hockey episode, the guys take a temperature check on the Seattle Kraken after four games and determine that the vibes are, in fact, weird.
Not sure what to make of the team that looked dominant in the first two games and dismal in the next two, John, Andy, and Darren dig into the good and the bad of what they’ve seen so far. They also discuss what’s been happening with Shane Wright and his limited minutes, as well as the goaltending.
From there, it becomes a rather segbit-heavy show, as the guys dive right into Down on the Farm to discuss the first two Coachella Valley Firebirds games. They then shift to Bad Boys, You Don’t See That Every Day, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
Teams across the National Hockey League have exclusive clubs embedded within them. The privilege of joining those clubs requires a level of tenure, panache, and… well… hair product.
Curious about the unwritten rules of ditching the helmet in warmups, we asked the members of the Seattle Kraken chapter of the No-Bucket Warmer-Upper Club (that’s what we call it here at Sound Of Hockey) how they decide whether to protect their noggins or let the locks flow. Their answers taught us a lot and gave us some good laughs along the way.
Here’s what we learned about the longstanding NHL tradition of the bucketless warmup.
It’s all about the hair, for most
Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson—two frequent but not entirely consistent members of the NBWUC—shared similar sentiments about deciding whether to don a helmet or not. For the defensive partners, it’s actually quite simple.
“For me, it’s how good my hair looks,” Larsson said.
“Yeah, me too,” added Dunn. “It’s how fresh my haircut is.”
Brandon Tanev is the most committed member of the club and one of the Seattle chapter’s founding members. We can’t recall a time when we’ve seen him wear a helmet in warmups. In fact, in a game early last season, he took a puck to the forehead and hustled off the ice to get stitched up before the opening face-off. The following game, he was right back out there without a helmet, forehead stitches and all.
Brandon Tanev got hit in the head with a puck during warmups in a game against the Sabres last season. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Tanev, coincidentally, has perhaps the best flow on the team. But he says it isn’t so much about letting his hair down, rather a privilege that comes with tenure and experience. “The more games you play in the league, you’re able to do it, so you do it.” Fair enough.
Alex Wennberg’s approach is a bit more nuanced. “The warmup is to get prepared mentally,” he said. “It still doesn’t change the way you play at all, so every now and then you switch it up. And I mean, sometimes— it’s not like you’re superstitious, but sometimes it feels like the routines are working and sometimes you want to switch it up.”
Product is paramount
As Larsson and Dunn suggested there are external factors to consider, namely what hair products are available to the players on a given night. Larsson, for example, says he doesn’t travel with product, so what he uses is reliant upon what is provided in the locker room. If there’s no gel to give him the “wet look” that he prefers, you better believe he’s wearing a helmet that night.
Dunn also noted that Larsson’s gameday grooming routine can factor into the Swedish defenseman’s decision. “I know for Lars, if he conditions his hair, he’s probably not going to go no bucket because his hair is too soft; it’s not styled enough.” For the record, Dunn’s product of choice is paste.
And although Wennberg leans on how he’s feeling on a particular night, he too admits product can play a role in the decision. “I will say that if I don’t have any product in the hair, there is no way I’m going out without a bucket.”
The No-Bucket Warmer-Upper Club tonight features Alex Wennberg and Brandon Tanev.
Those that are not regular members of the NBWUC have their own reasons to stay helmeted. Morgan Geekie tried it once, but it was under specific circumstances. “My buddy was in town, and he bet me 20 bucks that I wouldn’t do it.” So, that was easy money for Geekie.
The one-time payout wasn’t enough to prod Geekie into the club permanently, though. He says growing up, he thought one of the coolest things about the NHL was seeing guys warm up without helmets on, yet even for him, the decision to typically stay helmeted comes down to follicles. “I don’t have nice enough hair to not wear it,” he said. “Earlier last year, I maybe could have when I had long hair, but Wenny, Tanev, all those guys that do it with no helmet, you can tell there’s a reason why they do it.”
A privilege reserved for veterans
It was borderline shocking to see Shane Wright take his traditional rookie lap Wednesday without a bucket, though that action was likely demanded by Seattle’s veterans to add to the moment. Aside from that situation, in which veterans are mandating a bucketless warmup, it would be unheard of and unacceptable for a rookie to try to join the NBWUC.
Shane Wright gets a THOROUGH no-bucket rookie lap prior to his NHL debut for the #SeaKraken.
To determine when a player can begin shedding his protective lid, Tanev doesn’t have a specific point in mind for when that would be tolerable. “It’s at the discretion of the older guys,” he says. “The older guys when I was playing— when I was younger, you have a certain amount of games, and you’re able to do it, and that’s about it.”
Larsson and Dunn thought the threshold was a bit more cut and dried, putting the minimum for NHL service time at somewhere between 200 and 250 games played.
Wennberg, meanwhile, didn’t try it until he was with the Florida Panthers and playing his 400th career game. “This is just how I came into the league,” he said. “When you’re a rookie or a couple years in, you’re not really going out without a bucket. It feels like more of a veteran thing, and in Columbus we weren’t allowed, so for me, I tried it first in Florida when I had the opportunity.”
A decision rarely discussed in advance
You might think the decision to show the hair would be something that gets discussed nightly by players in the dressing room, but that isn’t the case. It’s typically an under-the-radar, personal decision that is made quietly.
“I’m more of a guy who shows up, and when you walk the line [to go onto the ice] and you don’t wear your bucket, that’s when people will see it,” explained Wennberg. For him, it’s almost like a surprise reveal.
He adds, though, that there are rare occasions when teammates push each other to ditch the dome.
“If a bunch of guys on the team are saying, ‘It’s got to be a no-bucket night for you, your hair’s on point,’ yeah. I get that comment every now and then, but I don’t really spread the word.”
So far we’ve seen two different Kraken teams this season; the one that controlled its first two games in Southern California (though it fumbled the first one away in overtime), and the one that has looked almost outclassed in two home games since. We’re hopeful Seattle can figure it out, but man, this could be a long season if what we’ve seen these last two games is what this team really is.
Granted, the Hurricanes are expected to again be Stanley Cup contenders this season, but if the Kraken want to be a playoff team, they need to be able to skate with the Carolinas of the world. On Monday, it seemed like every time the Kraken touched the puck, a Hurricane player was on them, forcing them to make the wrong play. Meanwhile, Carolina did not get that kind of pressure from the Kraken, and the result was a dominant 5-1 win for the Hurricanes.
Here are our Three Takeaways from a second uninspiring home Kraken loss in a row.
Takeaway #1: Let’s talk about Shane Wright
We may have fueled the fire a bit with our tweet after the second period that Shane Wright had only gotten 2:58 of ice time through 40 minutes. After sending that, we heard folks loud and clear that they were frustrated with Wright’s usage through four games. We get it, and we too would love to see him play more.
Here’s the thing, though… He’s 18 years old, and he just jumped from the OHL to the NHL, which is a massive step for any player to take. From the Kraken’s perspective, of course they want him to develop, and him being around the team, even if it’s just to practice and play a few minutes here and there, can help with that development process.
To us, Wright looks like he’s able to keep up, but he’s not quite ready to be a guy that pushes the pace or be a centerpiece of Seattle’s offense. He should be that with time, but the Kraken do also want to win now, which means relying on the guys they think will create (although, to be fair, nobody did much creating on Monday).
Coach Dave Hakstol was asked about Wright’s usage after the game, and he said, “That’s the way the flow of the game went. That’s partly the special teams and partly the flow of the game.” We think that means Hakstol leaned on his trusted guns to try to get the Kraken back in the game, and Wright hasn’t gotten to trusted gun status yet. Fewer penalties in the third resulted in more ice time for Wright, and he finished with 6:50 in total with one shot on goal.
If you’re concerned this minimal usage is stunting Wright’s development, remember too that Seattle still has the option to send him back to the OHL and can keep him for up to nine games played before burning the first year of his entry-level contract. So, playing him two games and scratching him the other two means they’ve only used up two of his nine games thus far. If they are still considering returning Wright to Kingston, by spacing out his usage, Seattle gives itself more time to keep him around and get him used to the NHL pace.
Give it time, folks. Minutes and development will come.
Takeaway #2: Second lopsided loss is cause for concern
We hate to be ringing any alarm bells this early in the season because there’s still some jelling that needs to happen for the Kraken. But seeing the team get smoked by a combined score of 10-3 in its first two home games is absolutely cause for concern.
Thinking back to last season, for as bad as the team’s record was, and for as many painful losing streaks as they endured, there weren’t that many nights where—from start to finish—the Kraken looked overmatched by an opponent. They’ve looked that way for two games in a row, though, and on Monday, Carolina seemed like it could do no wrong, while the Kraken couldn’t create much offensively.
Heck, even when Seattle got a power-play goal at 13:06 of the second to get back within one, it gave it right back with a penalty and then a Carolina power-play tally, all in just 18 seconds. That was just how the night went, and it was a reminder that the Kraken could have a long way to go, while the Hurricanes are looking to make a deep run this season.
“They were tight on us,” Andre Burakovsky said. “Every time you got the puck, it felt like there was somebody right on top of you right away.”
Burakovsky, who scored Seattle’s lone goal for his 300th career point, does think Seattle could have done things differently to give itself more of a chance. “We have to recognize how we find success. I think the second period, we find some good shifts when we chip it down, and we’re hard onto the pucks and skating toward the puck and second guy is tight on the first guy. We were winning that battle and come up with the puck and play o-zone. It’s way more fun to play o-zone.”
Takeaway #3: Penalties were a factor
Unsurprisingly, the Hurricanes had the better of the puck possession in each of the first two periods. When the other team has the puck, it’s easy to take penalties as you try to get it back.
In the end, each team got called for five infractions, but Seattle took four of its five in the second frame. It’s no coincidence that the wheels came off the wagon in the second period.
“You’re playing with fire when you put those guys on the power play that often,” Hakstol said. “It came back to get us on their second goal, the Aho goal. We missed a rotation on that… Then the high-stick penalty [on Vince Dunn] right after our first goal, we actually broke the play up, but they got a bounce and made a play on it. That’s the fire that you’re playing with.”
The rotation Hakstol was referencing on the Aho goal was a shift between Brandon Tanev and Jared McCann, in which—instead of forming the top of a four-man box—they ended up in a vertical line with McCann standing behind Tanev. That left Aho alone at the top of the left circle with plenty of room to get his lethal shot off.
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Things won’t get any easier for the Kraken the rest of this week. After a day off Tuesday, Seattle will welcome the St. Louis Blues to Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday before traveling to Colorado to face the Cup-winning Avalanche on Friday.
We are introducing a new feature on Sound Of Hockey called Monday Morning Musings. It will be 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 Puget Sound teams. If you have suggestions or feedback, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them to us directly on twitter.
Kraken thoughts
After three games, but we still do not know how good this team is going to be this season. If you told me the Kraken would capture three out of six points in the opening three games to start the season, I would have been happy. But how they got the points leaves me scratching my head. They looked great in Anaheim and Los Angeles and then laid an egg in the home opener against Vegas, so it is hard to get a good read on what this team is capable of this season.
I am not sure the next three games will give us any more clarity. This might be one of the tougher three-game stretches of the 2022-23 campaign. Carolina, St. Louis, and Colorado were a collective 159-87 last season and 6-2 versus the Kraken. Getting at least three points in these next three games would be very encouraging.
Speaking of encouraging, the Kraken power play looks much better this season with power-play goals in each of the first three games and a power-play success rate of 38 percent compared to last season’s 15 percent. It is still early, but let’s celebrate positives where we can.
Shane Wright was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row Saturday. Obviously, if the team is going to scratch him more often than play him, they should send him to the OHL, but let us see how the next couple weeks play out before we start demanding he be sent down. Over the last three seasons, only Cole Sillinger played more than 70 games in the season immediately after his draft. With this in mind, yes, Wright could be sent back, but we should be patient here instead of immediately grabbing our pitchforks.
It was a little surprising to see Martin Jones get the start in net for the home opener on Saturday night. He did have a good game against the Kings on Thursday, and although not overly tested, he did make some timely saves when the boys needed it. On Saturday night, Jones did allow a few bad goals, but he is not the reason the Kraken lost. Regardless, I expect Grubauer to get most of the starts over the next week to settle into his crease.
After an injury plagued 2021-22 season, it is great to see Jaden Schwartz back on the ice. He has two power-play goals in the first three games and hopefully he can keep it rolling.
The Coachella Valley Firebirds played and won their first game in franchise history on Sunday afternoon. It was a little sketchy, but it is always better to win ugly than lose pretty. The Firebirds had a 5-1 lead halfway through the second period, only to see the Calgary Wranglers claw back to make it a one-goal game with five minutes left in the third. Joey Daccord kept the Wranglers out of the net for the last few minutes and clinched the first ever franchise victory. As a reminder, the Firebirds will have four games in the Seattle area but only two of them will have regular tickets available: Sunday, Oct. 23, at Climate Pledge Arena and Friday, Oct. 28, at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.
Player Performances
Former Tri-City American and current Detroit Red Wings center Michael Rasmussen kicked off his 2022-23 season in style with a three-point night in the Wings game against Montreal on Friday night.
After missing the entire pre-season, former Everett Silvertips standout goalie, Carter Hart, saved 35 of 37 shots in the Philadelphia Flyers’ first game of the season.
We are all rooting for Mason Marchment this season after the hockey world tragically lost his father, Bryan, right before the NHL Entry Draft in July. Mason has three goals in two games with the Dallas Stars.
On the docket
As mentioned above, the Kraken have a challenging three games coming up this week. Here is the rundown.
Carolina Hurricanes – Monday, Oct. 17, at Climate Pledge Arena
The Canes are a legitimate cup contender this year and will be a benchmark game for the Kraken. Seattle will need to get Saturday night’s game out of its system and what better way to do it than beating a team that is widely considered one of the best in the league?
Hurricanes Current Record: 2-0-0
Players to watch:
Brent Burns –traded to Carolina from San Jose this offseason, Burns continues to be a fun player to watch. He is not afraid to jump up in the play and create offense…for both teams. Burns plays fast and loose, which makes his time on the ice entertaining to say the least.
Seth Jarvis – The 20-year-old former Portland Winterhawk and friend of the Sound Of Hockey podcast is an up and comer in this league with a bit of flash. Jarvis plays the bulk of his minutes with Sebastian Aho and is capable of creating highlight-reel goals.
St. Louis Blues – Wednesday, Oct. 19, at Climate Pledge Arena
The Blues are coming off a 109-point campaign in the 2021-22 season with very few changes to the roster. Most analysts have them as a lock for the playoffs for 2022-23. The Blues went 3-0 against the Kraken last year and outscored them 11-2 in those three games.
Blues current record: 1-0-0
Players to watch:
Robert Thomas – strong two-way player that can score and dish the puck. He is coming off a career season in 2021-22 with 77 points (20G/57A) over 72 games.
Jake Neighbours – 2022-23 will be the former first-round draft pick’s rookie season. Neighbours had 45 points in just 30 games last year with the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL. Along with Thomas, Neighbours is projected to be one of the future cornerstones of the Blues.
Colorado Avalanche – Friday, Oct. 21, at Ball Arena, Denver
They are the reigning Stanley Cup Champions and a favorite to win it again this season. The Avalanche did lose Andre Burakovsky to the Kraken and Nazim Kadri to the Flames, so that is 50 goals lost in the offseason. Still, they should be just fine.
Avalanche current record: 1-1-0
Players to watch:
Cale Makar – there are about eight players on the Avalanche worth focusing on, but Cale Makar is one of the best, if not the best defenseman in the NHL. He is so exciting to watch on both ends of the ice and is truly an innovative player that is changing the position.
Alex Newhook – only 21 years old, Newhook spent last season bouncing around the third and fourth lines. With the departure of Kadri, he will get more opportunity this season including some power-play time. Newhook might be a year or two away from a breakout, but the foundations are there, and he has the capability to make some dazzling plays.
Chart of the week
Three games is not a big sample, but if the Kraken expect to be more competitive, the power play is one area it must improve over last year. Early signs are encouraging.
Beyond the NHL
Outside of the Kraken organization, there are quite a few Pacific Northwest teams that are playing good hockey in their respective leagues. In the WHL, the Seattle Thunderbirds, Everett Silvertips, and Portland Winterhawks are a collective 21-2 and are outscoring their opponents 115-69. If you want to circle a game on the calendar, you might want to consider the Nov. 5 game when Portland visits Seattle for the first time this season.
The Thunderbirds look pretty stacked right now with five NHL-drafted players on their roster, but another name people should keep an eye on is Gracyn Sawchyn. Sawchyn is eligible for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and is off to a fast start with 11 points in 7 games. Some say he could be drafted in the first round of the draft in July.
Finally, the Seattle Totems (USPHL – Junior A) and Washington Huskies (ACHA) are off to hot starts. The Totems, who play out of Olympic View Ice Center in Montlake Terrace are 7-3 and have outscored opponents 50-36. Meanwhile, the Huskies, who play out of Kraken Community Iceplex are 4-2. If you are looking for some fun and affordable hockey to watch, consider supporting these players in what should be entertaining hockey.
That was a truly miserable home opener for the Kraken. After a bad start put them behind the Vegas Golden Knights 2-0 in the first few minutes, Seattle didn’t find its way until the third period when the score was 5-0 and well out of reach.
It was disappointing for fans, surely, who so badly wanted something to cheer about Saturday. By the time the devastating 18-inning Mariners game ended on the other side of town, the Kraken were already down and mostly out. Things largely stayed quiet inside the typically raucous Climate Pledge Arena, as the Golden Knights took care of business and improved their all-time record against the Kraken to 5-0-0.
Here are our Three Takeaways from a tough home opener for the Kraken against the Golden Knights.
Takeaway #1: Are bad starts still a thing?
Bad starts were common for the Kraken last season. So far, in three games, they’ve twice had what we would consider bad starts, giving up a goal 51 seconds into the Anaheim game on Wednesday and one-upping themselves Saturday by allowing Vegas to score just 12 seconds in.
On Wednesday, the Kraken righted the ship quickly against what may be a bad Ducks team, but against the high-flying Golden Knights, Seattle couldn’t figure things out quickly enough to make a real game of it.
“We weren’t sharp with the puck right from the start of the hockey game,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “We were stuck in quicksand for the first 10 minutes of this game and couldn’t get our feet going.” By the time the Kraken registered a shot on goal, they were down 2-0.
Just after the opening face-off, Yanni Gourde was back to retrieve a puck, fanned on his pass and put it onto the stick of William Carrier. Before you could blink, Keegan Kolesar had scored, and the Kraken were chasing the game.
Could have done without that! 12 seconds in, and the Kraken trail the VGK’s 1-0. 🤦♂️
“Obviously, first shift, I got to do a better job,” Gourde said. “I lose that puck, it’s in the back of our net, so kind of killed our legs there a little bit. I’m supposed to be on the ice to bring energy to this team and make the right play. This can’t happen the first shift.”
Vegas followed that up with a Jonathan Marchessault power-play goal three minutes later.
“That kind of set the tone for the game in my opinion,” Jordan Eberle said. “But you should be able to rebound off that and be a mature enough group that if things go wrong, especially in the first eight seconds or whatever it was, we still have three periods pretty much to come back from it, and we just didn’t really have an answer.”
We saw the Kraken bounce back from those starts on a number of occasions last season and on Wednesday, but they didn’t have it Saturday. Being able to overcome an early deficit is really addressing the symptom, though, and not the problem. The problem that needs to get fixed is giving up goals and committing horrendous turnovers seconds into the game.
Takeaway #2: Odd-man rushes galore
When the second period started Saturday, it seemed like the Kraken had abandoned playing to their usual level of structure, and they started turning pucks over constantly. The result for Vegas was too many odd-man rushes to count.
Typically when there are a lot of odd-man rushes at one end of the ice, it means the game has opened up, and there are plenty of counter-attack rushes the other way. But that wasn’t the case Saturday, as Vegas really had the bulk of those opportunities with only a handful going against them.
Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy gave a good explanation for why his squad was so successful at generating those chances. “We were good on the walls,” Cassidy said. “I think that’s where we have the advantage; we’re a bigger team than Seattle. We won our wall battles, and they were pinching down on us. We were able to support from underneath, which is the next part of that. Win your wall battle, support from underneath, now you’re in attack mode. If your D is able to activate, you get some numbers on the rush.”
With the Golden Knights coming in waves, Martin Jones, who was relieved after Seattle had fallen behind 5-0 at the end of the second period, actually did well to keep the Kraken in the game through most of that frame. The wheels came off, though, after Reilly Smith gave the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead on the power play, and that led to two more not-so-good goals against Jones.
From the Seattle perspective on the odd-man rushes, Gourde said Vegas was doing a good job of getting players behind the Kraken’s defense. “They like playing three forwards behind, flip pucks, and they’re off to the races. We got caught having three guys kind of reading what the forecheck was going to be, and when you’re doubting a little bit, you’re slow, and that’s what happened.”
Too many odd-man rushes against is a fixable problem, but it does need to get resolved quickly.
As an aside, this doesn’t quite deserve its own Takeaway, but face-offs were also a big problem Saturday. Seattle won just 29.8 percent of the face-offs, and Hakstol pointed out the team had lost the first nine draws in a row. A bad night in the face-off circle can be overcome with good forechecks and winning battles, but Seattle was nowhere near good enough in those areas of its game to make up for rarely starting with the puck.
Takeaway #3: Any positives?
Always the optimists, we wanted to see if we could come up with any positives to take away from this otherwise stinky pile of a home opener. We did manage to think of a few.
The Kraken looked better in the third period, and they scored a couple goals to give fans a little something to cheer about. It’s possible Vegas had just dialed it back by that point, but still, it’s good to see the team go down fighting in the end.
Justin Schultz scored his first goal as a Kraken, Jaden Schwartz continues contributing—a great sign after he dealt with major injury issues last season—and Matty Beniers got an assist, giving him 13 points in 13 NHL games.
We also liked the play of Philipp Grubauer, who came on in relief in the third period. Grubauer stopped all six of the shots he faced, including a nice right-to-left save to deny a quality two-on-one opportunity. We know six shots isn’t a lot, but it is important that the Kraken get him on the right track, and we aren’t convinced that happened in the first game in Anaheim.
By the way, if you’re wondering if Hakstol regretted handing this start to Jones, he was pretty straightforward when asked about the goaltending after the game. “The right guy started tonight. In fact, he gave us a chance to steal this game with the number of saves he made through the second period. The Marchessault goal obviously is one that he wants back, but Jonesy made a number of saves— had we been able to get one and get going— he kept us in a position to win this hockey game.”
