Seattle Kraken versus Los Angeles Kings 7 p.m. Pacific time Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington TV: ROOT Sports Radio: AM 950 KJR
There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home. We figure if we go full Dorothy mode and say that enough times, the Seattle Kraken will start believing it, and we will manifest a losing-streak-snapping victory against the Los Angeles Kings.
Yes, it’s been eight straight losses for the Kraken, though to their credit, they really did put forth good efforts in two of their three games on this recent road trip and perhaps even deserved better outcomes in Colorado and St. Louis. What’s tough is that this team has to be close to perfect for 60 minutes to get a result, and their letdowns have been just robust enough that better teams are able to break through when the game is on the line.
This is another tough matchup against a surprisingly good team that has won three in a row. Can the Kraken play a full 60 to snap out of their miserable streak and beat the third-place Kings?
Chris Driedger back in net for Kraken against Kings
Coach Dave Hakstol officially anointed Philipp Grubauer as the team’s No. 1 goalie several weeks ago in a press conference, though we already knew this to be true based on the team’s deployment of its goaltenders. We still expect Hakstol to default to Grubauer moving forward, but it sure is interesting to see Chris Driedger demanding more time.
By playing the way he played in St. Louis on Thursday and in several of his starts over the last couple months, Driedger really is leaving Hakstol no choice but to use him more. Sure enough, Driedger will be the starter for the Kraken Saturday against the Kings.
“[Driedger’s] performance is one part of it,” Hakstol said of the decision to use him again. “A little bit of the thought process is around the team we’re playing as well. Then, you know, it’s a real busy stretch here, so we will need both guys … This can give him [Driedger] an opportunity tonight to build some momentum for his game and for our team.”
Hakstol followed that up with, “Grubi, you know, he’s our guy. I’ve said that he’s our No. 1 guy. But Chris has carried a load in this league before.”
So, Hakstol essentially doubled down on his position with regard to which goalie is the top dog, but also left the door open to additional starts for Driedger if he continues to play well.
Driedger stopped 25 of 27 shots Thursday, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. He made some unbelievable saves that he frankly had no business making, and if the team deserved a better outcome, Driedger certainly deserved better than an ‘L’ on his record.
Some cool stuff coming for pre-game
If you’re attending the game, we would recommend getting to your seat a few minutes early. We are sworn to secrecy on what will happen before the game, but we did see it this morning, and it’s worth your time.
The next chapter of our pre-game show will send shivers down your spine.
For those attending tonight's game, make sure to be in your seats by 6:55pm – you won't want to miss what The Deep has in store. 🦑 pic.twitter.com/yo3mLfem2V
Aside from the top line of Jared McCann, Jordan Eberle, and Marcus Johansson, the forward lines were all shaken up at morning skate.
This includes a partial splitting of the Yanni Gourde/Colin Blackwell/Calle Jarnkrok line, despite that trio showing well in its games together. Hakstol wouldn’t say too much on the thought process, but Gourde has been quiet of late.
We have a theory that he was sneakily elevating the games of Blackwell and Jarnkrok—hence the line looking good as a whole—but because of that, he was becoming a bit less noticeable individually. He sticks with Jarnkrok, but now he will be flanked by Joonas Donskoi instead of Blackwell, while Blackwell will skate with Ryan Donato and Alex Wennberg.
Alex True is taking Max McCormick’s spot on the fourth line with Riley Sheahan and Mason Appleton. Remember, McCormick took a penalty 200 feet from the Kraken net on Thursday, and Pavel Buchnevich scored the game-winning goal for the Blues on the ensuing power play. With that in mind, we were not surprised to see McCormick skating with the healthy scratches on Saturday morning.
On the back end, we do like the balance of having at least one of the more shutdown-focused guys (Mark Giordano, Jamie Oleksiak, or Adam Larsson) on each of the three pairs, rather than pairing them together, like what we’ve seen with Giordano and Oleksiak.
The guys are back in BarrDown Studios for Episode 170 of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, which brings the shenanigans up a notch!
The Seattle Kraken are in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, and John, Andy, and Darren are recording fresh off of Thursday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues. But despite the miserable spiral of the Kraken, the guys are feeling surprisingly optimistic about the future of the team. So, if you’re a Kraken fan needing a lift, this is the podcast for you!
This episode starts with some Wes McCauley silliness, followed by discussion about Kodak Black taking the hockey world by… storm. It then shifts to the outlook of the Kraken for quite a while, before turning to the hockey world as a whole.
Plenty of discussion about the Team USA Olympic roster (which includes Matty Beniers), Tuukka Rask returning to the Bruins, and Evander Kane somehow still being pursued.
Segbits include Goalie Gear Corner, Serious Business, Bad Boys, Weekly One-Timers, and MORE!
The guys are back in BarrDown Studios for Episode 170 of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, which brings the shenanigans up a notch!
The Seattle Kraken are in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, and John, Andy, and Darren are recording fresh off of Thursday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues. But despite the miserable spiral of the Kraken, the guys are feeling surprisingly optimistic about the future of the team. So, if you’re a Kraken fan needing a lift, this is the podcast for you!
This episode starts with some Wes McCauley silliness, followed by discussion about Kodak Black taking the hockey world by… storm. It then shifts to the outlook of the Kraken for quite a while, before turning to the hockey world as a whole.
Plenty of discussion about the Team USA Olympic roster (which includes Matty Beniers), Tuukka Rask returning to the Bruins, and Evander Kane somehow still being pursued.
Segbits include Goalie Gear Corner, Serious Business, Bad Boys, Weekly One-Timers, and MORE!
If hindsight is 20/20, then foresight is a superpower. The Seattle Kraken are firmly planted in last place in the Pacific Division and look like a more traditional expansion team than many expected. With that in mind, there have been a lot of folks trying to figure out where the team’s front office went wrong with the work it did in building the inaugural roster.
While we’re disappointed that things have gone sideways in this first season, we always knew this was a possibility. Assembling a group of mostly spare parts from other teams could have produced a winner, as it did in Vegas, but with so many unknowns entering 2021-22, we were braced for a tough on-ice start for the franchise. Sadly, that is what we’ve gotten, as any cautious optimism has been quashed.
In hindsight, we’re thankful that the Kraken front office had the foresight to also recognize that a bad first season was plausible. We still believe general manager Ron Francis and his staff built a good foundation for sustained success in the future, but they also were clever in leaving themselves an escape hatch in case this first season didn’t pan out the way they hoped.
That escape hatch came in the form of selecting players with minimal term left on their respective contracts and signing free agents to one-year deals. As it stands currently, the Kraken only have 15 players under contract for 2022-23, including those on their taxi squad and those with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. That number does not include the 10 players set to become restricted free agents, with whom the Kraken have exclusive negotiating rights, assuming they extend qualifying offers.
For context, NHL teams are allowed to give out up to 50 contracts at any one time, so even if they sign all 10 of their RFA’s to extensions, the Kraken still would only be halfway to the maximum number of allowable contracts.
Also worth taking into account, the Kraken currently share their AHL affiliate with the Florida Panthers. The Coachella Valley Firebirds are supposed to begin play in 2022-23 and are expected to be the exclusive AHL affiliate of the Kraken, so many more players will have to be added to the system in the relative near future.
With all this in mind, the Kraken are poised to look drastically different in 2022-23, as the front office has a mountain of decisions to make in the coming months. We figured this would be as good a time as any to look at the current roster and get an idea of which players could return next season and which could be on the move.
Players under contract
Let’s get this group out of the way quickly. These are the players that are under contract through next season and are currently on the Kraken’s NHL roster. Assuming no trades of these players, they are expected to still be Kraken in 2022-23.
Not currently on the NHL roster are Luke Henman, whose contract expires after 2023-24, and Joey Daccord, who is signed through next season. Both of those players will become RFA’s after their contracts end.
Unrestricted free agents
Here’s where decision making will have to come sooner rather than later for the Kraken brass. There are five players on the team’s current NHL roster that are set to become unrestricted free agents after this season. If the Kraken don’t re-sign these players before free agency officially opens in July, they are free to sign anywhere they want.
Do any of these players offer enough value to contending teams to fetch trade offers prior to the March 21 trade deadline? Do the Kraken want these players back after this season? If so, is there mutual interest from these individuals in continuing their respective tenures in deep-sea blue sweaters?
It’s just our hunch, but with the team struggling as much as it has, we would expect Francis to listen to any offers he receives on what would be rental players for other teams.
Mark Giordano
Current cap hit: $6,750,000
Surely the Kraken wouldn’t name a captain in their first season, only to trade him at the deadline, would they?
Well, if one player can bring value on the rental market, it’s Giordano. He’s a former Norris Trophy winner, he’s a leader, and he does the kinds of things teams salivate over for deep playoff runs. We also knew all along that with his age, his captaincy would be relatively short lived, even if he ended up playing in Seattle beyond this season.
One challenge is that Giordano has a modified no-trade clause, so he will have some control over where he goes. Still, at 38 years old, we have to think he would be open to a move to a contending team.
Calle Jarnkrok
Current cap hit: $2,000,000
Two-way forward, Calle Jarnkrok, 30, had a tough start to his Kraken tenure. He began the season by getting COVID-19, then went without a single point in his first 12 games. He finally broke out with a goal and an assist on Nov. 21 against Washington, only to get injured the following game against Carolina and miss two more weeks.
Jarnkrok has turned it on of late, though. He looks like a different player now and has averaged a point per game over Seattle’s last nine contests. He could end up having a pretty good statistical season if he can stay healthy, especially if coach Dave Hakstol continues playing him with Yanni Gourde.
He also has 63 career playoff games under his belt with Nashville, so with his affordable cap hit, we think teams could inquire about Jarnkrok.
Marcus Johansson
Current cap hit: $1,500,000
Marcus Johansson was one of those later-in-the-summer free agent signings by the Kraken, as they looked to fill out the rest of their roster prior to training camp.
On a one-year deal, we saw Johansson as a depth addition at the time. But the veteran forward has played a more significant role than we anticipated, including getting plenty of power play time—he’s been a big contributor as the net-front guy—and playing in the top six for a lot of the season.
Johansson has 97 career playoff games, and folks seem to remember his impressive performance during Boston’s 2018-19 Stanley Cup Final run, when he had 11 points in 22 games.
Still, despite getting plenty of opportunity, Johansson only has nine points on the season. So, will we see him back in a Kraken uniform next year?
This one could go either way. If Seattle can get him back on a similar contract for another year or two, we think they’d take him. But we also think Francis will be able to replace Johansson if other teams come calling, or if they can’t find a team-friendly extension.
Colin Blackwell
Current cap hit: $725,000
Forward Colin Blackwell had something of a breakout season with the Rangers in 2020-21, registering 12 goals and 10 assists in 47 games. That led to his selection by the Kraken in the Expansion Draft.
He has had a similar first half to Jarnkrok, though. He started the season on injured reserve after missing all of training camp with a nagging lower-body injury. He then got COVID and missed most of December. He also has found himself in the press box as a healthy scratch on several occasions, but now on the line with Jarnkrok and Gourde, Blackwell seems to have found a home.
We don’t expect too many callers for Blackwell at the deadline. But if he can continue to build and be a regular player on a contributing line, we don’t see why the Kraken wouldn’t bring Blackwell back, especially if they can get him for around $1 million.
Riley Sheahan
Current cap hit: $850,000
Depth forward Riley Sheahan has been exactly what we expected him to be. A good soldier and a responsible two-way center, Sheahan plays a simple and quintessential fourth-line game. There are probably players out there with more offensive upside that can replace Sheahan, but it doesn’t hurt the Kraken to keep him around beyond this season.
He did pass through waivers and had a brief stint in the AHL this season as well, so if anything, he can provide some veteran leadership to the Firebirds in 2022-23.
Max McCormick
Current cap hit: $750,000
Max McCormick is another player like Riley Sheahan. He has filled in well on the fourth line when given the opportunity, but there isn’t a ton of offensive upside. He’s in a similar spot to Sheahan in that he has played his role admirably, but if he doesn’t return, there are other players out there that can replace him.
Restricted free agents
With restricted free agents, the Kraken hold most of the cards. Assuming Seattle wants these guys back, it can keep them; it’s just a matter of how long and for what price.
To keep their rights, Seattle just has to extend qualifying offers to these players. This means something equal to or higher than their previous salary, with some slight variations in the rules depending on what they made before.
The player can either reject or accept the qualifying offer, but once the qualifying offer is made, the player can really only sign with Seattle.
All of the Kraken players set to become RFA’s do have arbitration rights, but even if negotiations get to that point, it becomes guaranteed that a deal will get done for one more year. Arbitration hearings are rare, as most negotiations get settled before getting to that contentious stage.
Here are the players that will be RFA’s after this season:
Jared McCann
From this list, we want to focus on a few individuals, with the first being Jared McCann. Talk about a guy who has flourished with an expanded role, McCann appears to be the steal of the Expansion Draft for the Kraken. He has already set a career high for goals and has more than three months of hockey left to play in this campaign. He leads the Kraken in that category and is nipping at Jordan Eberle’s heels for the team scoring lead.
McCann was already getting paid relatively well, but what if he stays healthy and pots 30 goals this season? What kind of a number could he command from Seattle to keep him around long term?
Working in Seattle’s favor on this front, McCann seems to love it here. Every time we ask him about what this season has meant, he gushes over how much he appreciates the opportunities he’s gotten. With this in mind, we’re confident Francis will be able to keep McCann around for years to come. We just wonder how much he’ll have to pony up to get the budding star to remain here beyond next season.
Morgan Geekie, Mason Appleton, Jeremy Lauzon
We believe these three will be extended, and none of them should break the bank. They’ve all played admirably in their roles and have solidified themselves as regular players for the Kraken. We like Geekie’s offensive upside, Appleton’s two-way play, and Lauzon’s physicality.
Ryan Donato
The case of Ryan Donato is an interesting one. We spoke to him before the season about the bumps in the road that he had experienced in his pro hockey career, and how Seattle could provide an opportunity for him to finally take a big step forward.
He has seized that opportunity for the most part and has earned Hakstol’s trust as an every-day player. Donato is on pace to set career marks in pretty much every category, including games played, goals, and points. After bouncing from Boston to Minnesota to San Jose, we think Donato may have found a home in Seattle for the foreseeable future. Keep an eye on this one, though.
Haydn Fleury
Unless something changes with his usage in the second half of the season, we wonder if Haydn Fleury could be moved either via trade or via Seattle simply letting him get on with his career elsewhere. Stuck in a logjam on the Kraken blue line, Fleury has found himself scratched far more often than he could have anticipated entering the season.
Back on Nov. 23, Fleury was asked how his career has progressed. With a downtrodden look, he said, “Umm… I think it got better in Anaheim, and… I don’t know. I’ll leave it at that.”
So, we don’t get the sense he’s particularly thrilled with his situation.
What do you think, folks? Who stays and who goes? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
There was a brief stretch of this season—following the Kraken’s first six-game losing streak—when Seattle showed that it was capable of winning games. On the nights they were victorious, they played complete 60-minute contests for one another. They did seemingly everything right with every individual contributing, selling out to block shots, and paying close attention to detail to prevent giving up prime scoring chances. On Monday against the Avalanche and on Wednesday against the Stars, the Kraken showed flashes but did not bring sufficient effort for the full 60 minutes to come away with ‘W’s.
On Monday, the Kraken looked good in the first and second periods, but fell apart in the third. On Wednesday, the opposite happened, and a slow jump out of the gate was enough to send the Kraken to their seventh consecutive loss, a streak that dates all the way back to Dec. 14.
Here are our three takeaways from a 5-2 Kraken loss to the Stars.
Takeaway #1: Slow starts are still dooming
After the way the Kraken played in Colorado on Monday, we were hopeful that they would build off that performance against the Stars. After all, they very well could have beaten a much better Avalanche team that night, so there were some positive vibes coming from the players after the game, despite the sixth consecutive loss.
Instead, the Kraken came out flat as a pancake on Wednesday against a Stars group that was absolutely flying from the jump. When the dust settled on the first period, Seattle trailed 3-1, buoyed slightly by a nice power-play goal by Calle Jarnkrok, set up by Jared McCann and Marcus Johansson.
“I don’t think anyone was happy about that first period,” Jarnkrok said. “I don’t think anyone had to say anything about that. Everybody knew, and we came out in the second period as a new team.”
The Kraken did look like a different team in the second period, and would have been a stone’s throw from tying it after the frame if not for a late breakdown that ended in Joe Pavelski’s second easy tap-in goal of the night.
Said coach Dave Hakstol, “I had no issue at all with our effort and compete in the second and third period, but we didn’t match them in the first.”
We’ve certainly seen this kind of start before from the Kraken, but after they played so well on Monday, we were hopeful they could skate with a Dallas Stars team known for getting off to hot starts in their own building.
It didn’t happen on Wednesday, and the pushback was too little, too late.
Takeaway #2: We tried to warn them about the Dallas top line
We pointed out in our preview of Wednesday’s game that the Dallas top line of Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, and Pavelski has been having a great season, combining for 83 points. 20 minutes into the game Wednesday, that trio each had a goal. So, apparently the Kraken didn’t listen.
Kidding aside, in the end, Pavelski skated away with five points (3-2=5), Robertson had two (1-1=2), and Hintz had three (1-2=3).
It’s an interesting shift to see who is leading this team now. For years, the Stars were paced offensively by Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, who were often on a top line together. They’ve now slid into more of a second-line role, while Robertson, 22, and Hintz, 25, have emerged as offensive powers playing with an ageless wonder in Pavelski.
Perhaps it’s because Dallas is currently outside of the playoff picture, but we don’t hear much about this club. It is a good team that should get back in the hunt.
Takeaway #3: Jared McCann is awesome
We remember a press scrum with Brandon Tanev at the Expansion Draft. Turbo talked about McCann and how excited he was to play with his old Pittsburgh teammate again, knowing what a great player and person he was.
Well, Tanev wasn’t messing around. McCann has proven to be perhaps the best pick from the Expansion Draft in terms of the value he has brought to the team versus what was expected of him. His goal on Wednesday was his 15th as a Kraken, already setting a new career high for a season, and Seattle has 47 games left to play.
McCann’s latest tally came off a beautiful saucer pass right through the crease by Jordan Eberle. McCann found a quiet spot on the ice, sneaking down the right side, and Eberle—who continues to show his exceptional playmaking ability—found McCann, who buried it.
In addition to his goal, McCann also assisted on Jarnkrok’s power-play marker and tried to return the favor to Eberle in the third period when he put a perfect pass on his linemate’s tape in the slot. Eberle deked to his left, but Jake Oettinger sprawled and made his best save of the night.
McCann leads the Kraken in goals and is just one point behind Eberle for the scoring lead. He is one of those players that has truly flourished with a more significant role with an expansion franchise and should see a nice raise on his $2.94 million contract, which is expiring after this season.
By the way, we received a Twitter question asking if we think he’ll re-sign with Seattle. McCann will be a restricted free agent after this season, so as long as the Kraken extend him a qualifying offer, they retain his rights. So, yes, we expect him to re-sign with the Kraken.
It took less than a minute in Dallas on Wednesday to realize it wasn’t going to be the Seattle Kraken’s night. The Dallas Stars scored early, built a first period lead, and held on to win 5-2, sending the Kraken to a season worst seventh straight loss.
Joe Pavelski had a big night for Dallas (18-13-2) by scoring two tap-in goals to go with three assists, Jake Oettinger kicked out 23 Kraken bids, and the stars improved to 14-3-1 at American Airlines Center.
Seattle (10-21-4) got another strong night from Jared McCann who scored his career best 15th goal of the year and added an assist for his second straight multi-point game. Philipp Grubauer got the start and made 20 saves but didn’t get a ton of help from the guys in front of him.
“Enough’s enough here,” McCann said. “Everybody’s getting pretty frustrated. We know, in order for us to win, we have to play a full 60 minutes and it hasn’t been the case lately.”
Trailing 3-1 in the second period, McCann gave the Kraken some life when he buried a shot after Jordan Eberle made a nice cross-crease pass to him. After a lackluster first period, the Kraken continued to push after cutting the lead, but an ill-advised pass along the boards was intercepted, and the Stars found Pavelski for a tap-in goal at 18:37 of the second to make it 4-2.
“It sucks to lose,” Calle Jarnkrok, who scored a goal Wednesday, said. “You play this game to win games and winning games is fun. We’re pissed off tonight but we have a new chance tomorrow to win a hockey game and hopefully we can get two points tomorrow.”
Bad first period put Kraken behind the eight-ball
“Number one, this team starts really good in their building,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We didn’t match that in the first… It’s tough to come back from behind in this league.”
The good Dallas start came in the first minute when Jason Robertson’s shot at 50 seconds was deflected by Roope Hintz and Kraken defender Mark Giordano into the net to make it 1-0 early. Hintz was credited with the goal, but Robertson extended a point streak to 12 straight games with the assist.
Seattle got a push back and tied the game at 1-1 at 8:25 with a power-play goal by Jarnkrok.
The period was all Dallas after that, however.
Pavelski knocked a rebound off the end boards into a wide open net to make it 2-1 at 11:00. On the play, Grubauer was screened by Jamie Oleksiak and Hintz. He never saw the original shot and was not able to react to get over on Pavelski.
At 13:01, Pavelski got it to Robertson in close and he would score with a backhand on a 5-on-3 power play to make it 3-1.
“There’s always momentum shifts in hockey games,” Hakstol said. “There’s going to be back and forth. They won the first period and that’s on us. We know this team comes out hard in the first and they beat us in the first period.”
How bad was the first for the Kraken? Dallas took 60% of five-on-five shot attempts and created six even-strength scoring chances to none for Seattle.
The Kraken found their legs in the second period. McCann’s second goal in as many games cut the lead to 3-2 at 5:38.
Seattle got looks but couldn’t find the equalizer and then were done in by a mistake. Ryan Donato’s blind, backhand pass around the net and up the boards was picked off by Esa Lindell, which set up Pavelski’s second to make it 4-2.
Jani Hakanpaa scored on the empty net at 18:18 to erase any doubt and make it 5-2.
“Our second and third periods were, effort wise, real good,” Hakstol said. “We turned the game, made a mistake at the end of the second to give the two-goal lead back. I have no issue at all with our effort and compete in the second and third periods, but we didn’t match them in the first.”
Grubauer’s night not as bad as the numbers look
When you look at his stat sheet, you see that Grubauer allowed four goals for the second straight game. But, those numbers are misleading when you look at how the goals were scored.
The first two Dallas goals came after the Kraken were guilty of icing the puck and setting up face-offs in the Seattle end. The first goal deflected off two players, including one of his own, and in. The second goal he was screened, partially by one of his own players, and was unable to see the shot.
Dallas’ third goal was on a 5-on-3 power play and the fourth came after a bad pass by Donato that caught the Kraken defense out of position.
There’s no question that Grubauer has struggled this season, but it’s on nights like Wednesday where it’s evident that not all the goals are completely his fault.
Tentacle Tales
+ Shots were even at 25 apiece Wednesday.
+ The Kraken were without center Morgan Geekie who is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Max McCormick stepped into the lineup.
+ Joe Pavelski became the first NHL player age 37 or older to record at least five points in a game since Teemu Selanne (40 years, 268 days) on March 28, 2011 (3-2=5).
+ Seattle has little time to lick its wounds and will be back in action Thursday against the St. Louis Blues.
Seattle Kraken at Dallas Stars 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time American Airlines Arena Dallas, Texas TV: ROOT Sports Radio: AM 950 KJR
We’ve heard Kraken players say that no opposing teams have overwhelmed them this season, and if ever there were a team that could—in theory—overwhelm the Kraken, it would have been the Colorado Avalanche in their building on Monday. That didn’t happen, as Seattle looked good in the opening two periods, but eventually caved in the third and dropped their sixth consecutive game. And while players and coaches have also been careful to avoid using “silver lining” language of late, that does feel like a game from which this team can build. Let’s see if the Kraken can snap out of their losing streak Wednesday as they take on the Dallas Stars.
Morgan Geekie injured
The news out of morning skate in Dallas was that Morgan Geekie will be replaced in the lineup by Max McCormick, who was recalled Wednesday morning from the taxi squad. Coach Dave Hakstol said Geekie is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
With Jaden Schwartz out, Geekie had gotten some time on the top line with Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle, but was replaced by Marcus Johansson during the unanticipated layoff last week. Geekie is the third forward out of the regular Kraken lineup due to injury, joining Brandon Tanev (out for the season with an ACL injury) and Schwartz (out four to six weeks with a hand injury).
One thing we’ve seen from injury reporting with this Kraken team is that players are sometimes ruled to be day to day, but then end up on injured reserve and miss significant time. Let’s hope Geekie’s issue really is a minor one and that he will return sooner rather than later.
The injuries are certainly testing the depth of the Kraken (no pun intended). As an expansion team that splits its AHL franchise with the Florida Panthers, there simply aren’t as many bodies that Seattle can plug in to replace injured or sick players compared to other teams.
Thankfully, there are no players in COVID protocol for the Kraken… at least for now.
Philipp Grubauer getting the nod again for Kraken against Stars
There’s always some debate to be had on how to deploy goalies for back-to-back games. Hakstol will stick to the more traditional route of playing his No. 1 goalie in the first game Wednesday and turning to Chris Driedger on Thursday in St. Louis.
Grubauer really did play well against the Avalanche on Monday and made a couple ten-bell saves down the stretch that held the lead for the Kraken for a while. Eventually he got hung out to dry, and the Avs capitalized with a debatable goal off a skate and a two-on-one snipe by Nazem Kadri.
Dallas Stars
It’s been an up-and-down season so far for the Dallas Stars, who are currently five points out of the last wild card spot in the Western Conference. They had six consecutive games get postponed before returning with wins against Florida and Pittsburgh on Thursday and Saturday. They then lost to the Blues on Sunday, and that game also costed coach Rick Bowness $25,000 for smashing a stick and yelling some obscenities.
Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin—the typical drivers of the offensive bus for Dallas—have not had particularly monstrous starts with 17 and 13 points respectively. Watch out for the top line of Joe Pavelski, Roope Hintz, and Jason Robertson, though, as all three of those players have had impressive campaigns. Combined, the trio has 83 points on the season.
The Stars have gotten good goaltending from starter Braden Holtby, but he is currently in COVID protocol, so Jake Oettinger will get the crease for the Stars against the Kraken. The 23-year-old Oettinger has also been good, posting an 8-2-0 record with a 2.22 goals against average and .923 save percentage.
For two periods Monday it looked like Philipp Grubauer would be the belle of the Ball Arena in his return to Denver, but two third-period goals would give the Colorado Avalanche a 4-3 win against the Seattle Kraken.
After 40 minutes, Grubauer and the Kraken had built a 3-2 lead. The third period would be their undoing.
Nazem Kadri scored what would turn out to be the game winner at 14:17 of the third period. The play started with the Kraken letting the Avalanche skate through the neutral zone, creating an odd man rush, and was finished with Kadri beating Grubauer with a top-shelf shot on the short side.
“I think we played a decent game, in the first two especially,” Grubauer said. “I think we let them off the hook a little bit. Then in the last period they kept pushing. They’re a really good team at home. They’ve done it enough times. I’ve been at the other end where we came out in the third period and just crushed at a team, so I feel like that [happened] a little bit to us.”
Kadri added an assist, giving him points in 12 straight games, Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored twice for Colorado (21-8-2) who won for the fifth consecutive time and 12th in a row at home. Pavel Francouz stopped 23 Kraken shots in his third start of the season.
Grubauer made 31 saves for the Kraken (10-19-4) who have lost six straight for the second time this year. Jared McCann had a goal and an assist, as did Marcus Johannson.
“It’s about winning the hockey game, and we were in position to do that,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We obviously did a lot of real positive things to put ourselves into that position. We’ll obviously address those and those are good things. There’s also two or three things that we have to address that cost us this hockey game when we’re in position to walk away with two points.”
How it played out
One of the things that Hakstol means to address with the team is odd-man rushes. They proved costly again on Monday and it started early.
At 5:50 of the first period the Kraken got caught without a third forward high in the offensive zone which gave the Avalanche a three-on-two rush. They cashed in as Aube-Kubel found the back of the net while Grubauer was run into by Carson Soucy. It was Aube-Kubel’s third of the season and second against Seattle.
The Kraken answered to tie the game at 1-1 thanks to a power-play opportunity. Jordan Eberle took a shot that Johansson deflected in for his third goal and first since Nov. 24.
McCann fired a shot from the half boards at 4:49 of the second period to give the Kraken a 2-1 lead. It was his 14th goal which matched his total last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 14 goals tie his career high, and he did it in 15 fewer games.
“It’s a huge honor,” McCann said. “I’ve been getting a great opportunity here in Seattle. And it’s been awesome. I’m playing with some great players. I’ve got to give credit to a lot of my teammates.”
Seattle extended the lead to 3-1 at 14:20 when a Jamie Oleksiak shot was deflected in front by Colin Blackwell. Colorado brought it back to a 3-2 game on Aube-Kubel’s second goal when he knocked in a rebound off Grubauer’s pads.
The Avalanche made it 3-3 at 11:47 of the third when Devon Toews directed the puck off his skate past Grubauer for his seventh. The goal was reviewed by the officials and ruled a good goal as the referee said, “it deflected off the blue player.”
“I don’t know what the definition of kick in is,” Grubauer said. “You can answer that for me or maybe you can find an answer for me. I don’t know. But yeah, a lot of good things [tonight]. We got to build on that and get ready for Dallas.”
Overall, Seattle battled hard Monday and perhaps deserved a better fate. They held the high-flying Avalanche down for two periods, but ultimately the more talented team found a way. There are no moral victories, but the Kraken played one of their better games of late and will look to build off it as they head to Dallas on Wednesday.
“They’re a hell of a team,” Hakstol said. “I take nothing away from them in any way, shape, or form, but this is about us and that’s what we’ll really direct our attention to. There’s going to be a balance, you know, we’ll look at the good, look at the positives. Make sure we continue to talk about those and build off of those.
“But you have to directly look at a couple of the individual and systematic things that ultimately led to us losing the hockey game here tonight.”
Johansson filling in for Schwartz
With Jaden Schwartz out with injury, Johansson filled in on Seattle’s top line. Playing with McCann at center and Eberle at the other wing, Johansson ended the night with 14:41 of ice time, the power-play goal, and an assist.
He missed a couple of shifts in the third period after being shaken up on a play, but he returned shortly after to finish the game. At five-on-five the top line was on the ice for 9:13 of ice time and took 57.89% of the unblocked shots, created six scoring chances to four against, and ended the evening with 68.82 percent of quality shots.
Kraken Tentacle Tales
+ With two points, McCann has five multi-point games this season, most on the Kraken.
+ Alex Wennberg came off of COVID-19 protocol Monday and played 11:37 of ice time.
+ The win Monday was the fifth in a row for the Avalanche, and in all five they erased a deficit.
+ Monday was also a homecoming for Joonas Donskoi who played the last three seasons with the Avalanche. Colorado thanked Donskoi and Grubauer with a video message.
If it feels to you like a decade has passed since the Kraken last played a game, you’re not alone. It has been a loooooong time since we watched Seattle lose 5-2 to the Vancouver Canucks at Climate Pledge Arena on Jan. 1. Plus, when you factor in the similar COVID-related break in the lead-up to Christmas, it makes this layoff feel even longer. Here’s hoping the most recent break—which allotted the Kraken oodles of practice time—was just what the doctor ordered for a group seeking its first win in almost a month against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
Yes, you read that right. The last time Seattle won a game was Dec. 14 in San Jose. There is some context to consider, of course, as the team has only played five games since that victory over the Sharks. But winning has become a distant memory, so finding success on Monday would surely do some good for this team’s psyche.
The Kraken face an especially tough test as they look to get 2022 rolling in the right direction against an electric Avalanche team.
A lingering COVID question
Jeremy Lauzon returned to Kraken practice on Sunday after being cleared from COVID protocol. That left Alex Wennberg, who has been away long enough to at least theoretically be cleared, as the last player on the COVID list. Wennberg’s participation would be a big help for the depth of Seattle’s forward lines, which look a lot thinner since Brandon Tanev was ruled out for the year and Jaden Schwartz injured his hand.
But even if he’s cleared in time for the game in Colorado, would coach Dave Hakstol throw Wennberg right back in? Remember, Vince Dunn was cleared prior to the Vancouver game, but he did not dress that night. Plus, the rest of the team has been practicing a lot lately, while Wennberg has not and could need some time to get back up to game speed whenever he does get the green light.
So, in conclusion… we have no idea if Alex Wennberg will be cleared or included in the lineup Monday.
Philipp Grubauer returns to Denver
Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer played three seasons with the Avalanche before leaving as a free agent to sign with Seattle. When these two teams faced each other the first time, Chris Driedger was given the nod initially but got torched that night, so Grubauer came on in relief after Seattle had already conceded four goals.
While nothing was confirmed or indicated by Hakstol on Sunday, we have a hunch we’ll see Grubauer get the start against his former mates on Monday.
There is a bit of an interesting wrinkle for a goalie facing his old team. You’re so familiar with how guys play, how they shoot, and sometimes when you notice that it’s an old buddy bearing down on your crease, it can be a bit distracting.
We asked Grubauer about how much it helps to know the opponent’s tendencies, and here’s what he said:
“It’s good to know, but it can also hurt you. Just because they always shot blocker in practice doesn’t mean they’re going to shoot blocker in the game now. It’s always based on the situation. It’s good to know sometimes the tendencies of the guys, but it doesn’t change my approach or my game plan… Whether I’m facing Mikko [Rantanen] or Sidney Crosby, you always got to read the situation.”
By the way, Grubauer has been spotted wearing his old CCM-branded pads from his Colorado days a couple times this week. The backstory is that famed equipment manufacturer Lefebvre was making CCM’s pro goalie gear up until last season, but the partnership between the two companies ended with a messy legal battle. A new deal was made between Lefebvre and TRUE, so Lefebvre now makes all of the TRUE pro equipment. That’s why you see so much TRUE gear around the NHL this season, and that’s also why Grubauer switched from CCM to TRUE when he joined the Kraken.
On why he’s worn his old pads a couple times this week, Grubauer said, “The old CCM’s are basically the TRUE’s. Lefebvre made them, so I put in another order, getting the old pads back. It’s just a different feel, different pads. I went back to the old ones.”
So, there are new pads on the way for Philipp Grubauer.
Colorado Avalanche
One challenge with a long layoff is getting back up to game speed. Unfortunately for the Kraken, they face an Avalanche team that can quickly punish opponents that come out flat, as demonstrated in the 7-3 Colorado win at Climate Pledge Arena on Nov. 19. Seattle did practice with a lot of tempo and energy during the layoff, but the Avs hold an obvious advantage here after playing four games during the time that the Kraken were static.
Making things a bit scarier, Colorado won all four of those games, including a thrilling come-from-behind win on Saturday over the Maple Leafs. In that most recent victory, the Avs overcame two separate three-goal deficits and won 5-4 in overtime.
In the first meeting between the Kraken and Avalanche, Colorado’s best player wasn’t even in the lineup, yet the Avs still rolled to an easy win that night. Now, Nathan MacKinnon is back with a vengeance and has his team avoiding all sweets (maybe) and playing great hockey. He has points in 13 consecutive games and had a whopping five points just two games ago against the Winnipeg Jets.
Meanwhile, Cale Makar has been doing ridiculous things on the Colorado blue line, while Mikko Rantanen is up to 40 points on the season.
“You can go throughout their lineup, they generate with their forwards, but they generate an awful lot from the back end,” said Hakstol after practice on Sunday. “We got to be moving and skating, number one. Coming off a 10-day break, we have to skate against this team, and then from there, being able to spend some time in the offensive zone without being high risk.
It can be done, but beating the Avalanche is a tall task for the Kraken.
As mid-season training camp (that’s what we’re calling this week) continued for the Seattle Kraken on Friday, the team was all smiles. The players battled, scrimmaged, and celebrated their goals against one another. With all three of their games postponed due to opponents’ COVID-related issues this week, it’s been an interesting opportunity for the Kraken to reset and hopefully clear their minds before getting back into the swing of things Monday in Colorado.
Some 3-on-3 scrimmage action for your viewing enjoyment. Jamie Oleksiak with the 🚨🚨🚨. pic.twitter.com/eCXnul7wPS
Although the schedule has been segmented by postponements and an unexpectedly long holiday break, the Kraken are still actively on a five-game losing streak. You wouldn’t know that based on the mood at Kraken Community Iceplex, where things have been upbeat and energetic.
As the Kraken march toward returning to action, a key player in Jaden Schwartz has been noticeably absent.
Jaden Schwartz out four to six weeks
Since news broke that Brandon Tanev would miss the remainder of the season after having surgery on an injured ACL, the last thing Kraken fans would have hoped to see was Jaden Schwartz going on the shelf for four to six weeks. But that has indeed happened, as the team announced Thursday that the top-line forward will have hand surgery.
#SeaKraken forward Jaden Schwartz will have surgery on his hand. He is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks.
For a club that’s already struggling, these are two massive blows in a row. Schwartz is such an integral part of the lineup at both ends of the ice and has been a driver for this team all season long. And even looking at the line combos that coach Dave Hakstol employed at Friday’s practice, the absences of Schwartz and Tanev make the team look much thinner on all four lines.
Here are #SeaKraken lines at practice this morning…
Schwartz has six goals and 14 assists in 29 games this season and has registered more than 20 minutes of ice time on seven occasions.
Alex Wennberg is in COVID protocol, but there is a good chance he returns in time for the game against the Avalanche. That will have a significant trickle-down impact, as he likely will get inserted back into the top six. Nonetheless, somebody will need to step up to fill the new void of Schwartz, while Hakstol simultaneously looks for the right mix to backfill for Tanev.
The loss of Schwartz has perhaps the biggest effect on Jordan Eberle, who has been attached at the hip to Schwartz for much of the season. Marcus Johansson took Schwartz’s spot on the top line at Friday’s practice, skating alongside Eberle and Jared McCann.
“We’ve got JoJo with us now, and we’ve had a good week of practice here,” Eberle said Friday. “We’re going to get a lot of offensive zone chances and a lot of offensive zone shifts, so we have to find a way to create some offense, and that’s what we’re looking to do. When a guy goes down like Schwartz, you got to pick it up collectively. [There’s] not one guy [that] can do it.”
Said Hakstol, “Just as it always is with an injury, other players have to step in and do the job.”
Kraken embracing practice time
It’s downright bizarre to have this week-long break in the middle of the season, especially after the longer-than-usual holiday hiatus. The Kraken seem to be embracing the time off, though, as they have had longer on-ice sessions this week with plenty of battle and endurance drills.
“I think for us, we needed some practice time,” Eberle said. “I think you look at how the season’s gone and where we are, obviously we’re not happy with it. We’re out of a playoff spot and trending in the wrong direction. We’ve had this week to find some answers to what we’re doing wrong and obviously just get a little bit of a mental break more than anything and try to re-group as a team.”
It’s been a rare opportunity for Hakstol to really focus on fixing issues that have been plaguing his team.
“I didn’t like our last performance, so we want to leave that in the past,” Hakstol said, referring to Seattle’s Jan. 1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. “The biggest thing is our level of togetherness and compete. Going out with good detail and competing hard through 60 minutes and being a consistent hockey team, those are the things that I’m looking for.”
Starbucks loves Grubauer
The second ice sheet at Kraken Community Iceplex is visible from the Starbucks that is housed within the facility. In one of the windows, we spotted a sign Friday that read, “Gruby is our fave customer.”
We managed to snap a photo of said favorite customer with the sign in the background (you may have to click the tweet to actually see the full photo).
We asked the Starbucks employees what makes him their favorite, and they indicated that Grubauer is the only Kraken player that stops by regularly.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
