Seattle Kraken at Columbus Blue Jackets 4 p.m. Pacific time Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio TV: ROOT Sports Radio: 950 AM KJR
The Seattle Kraken are in Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets after a historic first 4-3 win in Nashville two days ago. The biggest news out of morning skate for Seattle is that Vince Dunn, who helped turn the tide of Thursday’s game with a big hit that led to a fight, has been ruled out and is day-to-day with an injury, according to coach Dave Hakstol. In his media availability, Hakstol was non-committal on whether the injury happened in Dunn’s fight with Yakov Trenin, but he did confirm it happened in that game.
Dunn’s exclusion is a big loss, as the shifty offensive defenseman has proven to be an impactful player for the Kraken. The good news for Seattle, though, is that it has plenty of depth on the blue line and other bona fide NHLers waiting to slot in. Haydn Fleury was scratched Thursday in favor of Carson Soucy, so both Fleury and Soucy will play Saturday, while Dunn recovers from his injury.
Philipp Grubauer will start his third game in a row and with good reason, as he was outstanding on Thursday, facing an onslaught of shots from the Predators, who were pushing hard in the third period to find an equalizer.
Alex Wennberg returns to Columbus where he spent the first six seasons of his NHL career. He did visit the Blue Jackets as a member of the Florida Panthers four times last season, but with no fans in the stands due to Covid restrictions. He knows the Blue Jackets and new coach Bard Larsen well. “They’re a skilled team right now,” Wennberg said Saturday morning. “They have a bunch of new assets that’s going to be really good for them, but it’s the same every night. You’re playing a team that has a lot of skill, a lot of good players, but you just have to play your game and focus on that.”
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets are 1-0-0 after beating a bad Arizona Coyotes team 8-2 in Columbus’ home opener Thursday. That game was an emotional one for the Blue Jackets, who memorialized Matiss Kivlenieks, the Columbus goaltender who passed away in a tragic fireworks accident during a 4th of July party over the summer.
Kivlenieks’ good friend and fellow Latvian, Elvis Merzlikins, looked excellent Thursday and stopped 36 of 38 shots, including a ten-beller on Lawson Crouse. Merzlikins appears poised for a huge season as the No. 1 for the Blue Jackets and will get the nod this evening.
Max Domi was outstanding Thursday as well, notching a goal and two assists, after returning sooner than expected from a shoulder injury. Remember, Domi was exposed to the Kraken in the Expansion Draft in July, but Seattle passed on the 26-year-old center.
As always, don’t sleep on Patrik Laine, who has as good a shot as just about anybody in the league.
Thursday was a night to remember for Seattle Kraken fans, as their beloved new team got the first victory in franchise history against the Nashville Predators in their hostile barn. It was a tale of two games, as Seattle had the better of the play through two periods and absolutely deserved the 3-2 lead that it took to the dressing room prior to the third. But when the third started, a switch had flipped.
Gone was the aggressive Seattle forecheck and present was a team completely in its proverbial turtle shell, just doing everything it could to minimize the danger of the shots Nashville was getting, as the Predators pushed to level the score.
As the old adage goes, a win is a win, and this particular win is huge for many reasons. Here are our three takeaways from the first victory in the history of the Seattle Kraken.
Takeaway #1: Alex Barre-Boulet can play
We really didn’t know what Seattle was getting from Alex Barre-Boulet, claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. The smallish 24-year-old forward came to Seattle with just 15 games of NHL experience under his belt, but we couldn’t help wondering if the fewness of opportunities was simply a product of the unmatched depth of the Lightning organization.
After all, Barre-Boulet put up huge numbers in the AHL, notching 136 points in 144 games with the Syracuse Crunch over parts of three seasons. AHL success doesn’t always translate to NHL success, though, so we were reserving judgment.
What we saw from ABB on Thursday indicated that the Kraken may have stolen away a very talented young forward. He was fast and aggressive, fitting nicely with Seattle’s systems in the offensive zone, and he quickly seemed to find chemistry with Alex Wennberg and Joonas Donskoi on the second line.
Barre-Boulet also showed off his creativity when he found Wennberg standing wide open on the backdoor for an easy tap-in at 9:54 of the second period.
He ended up with just 9:05 of ice time, but coach Dave Hakstol noted after the game that the team was defending in the third, and he realized that Barre-Boulet probably didn’t have a full grasp of Seattle’s defensive systems yet. So Nathan Bastian got a lot of the time with Donskoi and Wennberg in the final 20 minutes.
The relatively low usage was not a slight on the way Barre-Boulet played. In fact, Hakstol called his game “rock solid” and noted that he had a big impact on the outcome.
Takeaway #2: A change in style and a change in personnel
Through preseason and in these first couple games, the Kraken have quickly developed an identity as a team that is aggressive on the forecheck. They showed this Tuesday in Vegas, and they showed it through the first two periods Thursday in Nashville. That style makes for exciting hockey, but also leaves Seattle susceptible to quick strikes and counters, which the Golden Knights definitely took advantage of in the opening game.
We were curious, though, what would happen when Seattle went into the third period with a lead. Taking chances to create offense in the earlier stages of a game is one thing, but coaches generally don’t like firewagon hockey, especially when their team is ahead late.
What we saw from Seattle in the third period Thursday indicated that there is a different gameplan that will be executed when the Kraken are in position to win.
Lines were shuffled for a more defensive posture (we previously mentioned Bastian replacing Barre-Boulet), and Jamie Oleksiak and Adam Larsson got big minutes. The team collapsed around Philipp Grubauer to keep shots to the outside as much as possible and were hellbent on not overcommitting to take themselves out of position.
Despite the puck hardly leaving Seattle’s zone during the entire third period—and the Kraken not even registering a SINGLE SHOT before Brandon Tanev’s empty-net goal—there weren’t that many prime scoring chances for the Predators. Those shots that did get through were stopped by Grubauer, who looked especially dialed in late.
“At times there’s things we want to do better and a little differently in that period,” Hakstol said after the game. “But at the same time, one thing we didn’t do is we didn’t give up a whole lot. We spent too much time in our own zone. We didn’t have the puck as much as we would like, but sometimes the stress of the moment plays into things.
“There was none of that chaos on our bench. It was very calm, guys were talking, doing the right things, and at the end of the day, we kept things to the outside and got the job done.”
Takeaway #3: Fighting can still impact the outcome of a game
No, we are not referencing this Kraken fan and this Predators fan duking it out in the stands for what we believe to be the first fan fight in franchise history.
On the contrary, we are talking about the pugilism that happened on the ice when Vince Dunn threw a big hit on Colton Sissons deep in the Kraken zone with about five minutes left in the first period.
The hit was squeaky clean, but Yakov Trenin for some reason didn’t like it and challenged Dunn. Comically, Jeremy Lauzon tried to jump in and handle the business on Dunn’s behalf. But Dunn—who also showed in preseason that he can handle himself in these situations—didn’t hesitate. In a flash, his gloves were off and fists were flying. Trenin threw more punches, but headed straight to the dressing room for repairs after, as Dunn skated with gusto straight to the penalty box.
Adding a dash of salt to Trenin’s wounds, he got an extra two minutes for going after Dunn.
From the box, Dunn watched as Seattle took control of the game late in the period and scored the first two power-play goals of the season.
For his physical contribution, captain Mark Giordano named Dunn the player of the game in the dressing room after the win.
The debate about fighting will rage on as long as it exists in hockey, but Thursday night, it had a big role in turning the tides for the Kraken.
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.
It’s cliché to say a team ‘hung on to win,’ but there’s no other way to describe the Seattle Kraken’s victory against the Nashville Predators. It would be the first win in Seattle’s franchise history.
Seattle was in control over the first two periods.
The Kraken owned the puck, building a 3-2 lead, and looked like they were going to sail their way to a win. Things took a turn in favor of the Predators over the final 20 minutes, however, as Nashville controlled everything and outshot the Kraken 13-1. Philipp Grubauer stood tall for Seattle and made great save after great save to turn away the tying bid. The goalie ended the night making 27 saves.
Brandon Tanev would score an empty net goal – for Seattle’s only shot in the period – to preserve a 4-3 victory as Seattle is in the ‘W’ column for the first time.
“I know the guys were really excited to be able to get the first win,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “When it sinks in it’s the first win in franchise history, it’s a big deal for everybody.
Over the first two periods, Seattle held a 25-17 shots on goal advantage, a 5-on-5 shot attempt lead of 31-17, and 58 percent of the scoring chances. In the third period, Nashville held a 21-2 shot attempt lead and produced 11 scoring chances to Seattle’s one.
Grubauer simply was a monster in net and the difference during the third period. He stopped 10 of those scoring chances, only allowing a six-on-five goal to Mikael Granlund with 40 seconds left which added more drama to an already tense finish.
The Kraken weren’t generating offense but defensively collapsed in front of Grubauer and weathered the storm.
“Players on the bench managed it very well,” Hakstol said. “When you’ve got a captain like [Mark] Giordano, he’s calm as can be. We spent too much time in our own zone, we didn’t have the puck as much as we like. Sometimes the stress of the moment plays into things. There was no chaos on our bench. Guys were talking and doing the right things.”
Grubauer’s third period heroics allowed Seattle to get the puck down ice with 1:21 left in the game. Jared McCann raced it down in the corner and quickly sent it to Tanev in front for what ultimately would clinch the win.
It wasn’t easy but it was as memorable as a franchise’s first win can be.
“It’s huge, it’s something we’ll always remember,” McCann said. “We’ve got the [game] puck right now and we’ll do something nice with it.”
Everyone is scoring
For the second straight game, the Kraken got scoring up and down the lineup. Yes, the McCann, Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Eberle line was good and McCann scored a power-play goal in the first period to tie the game at one.
But it would be Tanev who scored next when he crashed the net on another power play. He found a rebound in the slot and buried it for his first of the game and the season. The goal gave Seattle its first lead in franchise history.
In the second period, Nashville’s Roman Josi scored on a five-on-three power play to even the game up at 2-2. The Kraken would take the lead later in the period when newcomer Alex Barre-Boulet slid a perfect pass to Alex Wennberg who was all alone at the side of the Nashville net. Wennberg easily scored his first of the season to go along with an assist on the night.
Seattle will be a stronger offensive team if it can get scoring up and down the lineup, and for the second game, it got two or more goals from players not on the top line.
Welcome to the Kraken, Barre-Boulet
The Kraken picked up Barre-Boulet off of waivers Monday afternoon from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
At 24 years old, Barre-Boulet had appeared in 15 NHL games prior to Tuesday. He’s posted 34- and 27-goal campaigns in the AHL and has some skill. He arrived to the Kraken with barely enough time to learn some names and faces, but you wouldn’t have known by his play.
He was on a line with Wennberg and Joonas Donskoi, and they came up with the go-ahead goal.
“He made a key play in the game,” Hakstol said. “That was a hell of a play to find Wennberg on the back door. I thought he was rock solid.”
By the numbers
Seattle was a perfect 2-for-2 on the power-play Tuesday which is remarkable considering how little time they’ve had together as a group. So far, they’ve kept the formula simple. Get traffic and get pucks to the net.
Morgan Geekie led the Kraken with four shots on goal in just over 19 minutes of ice time. His line, with Tanev and Ryan Donato, didn’t produce goals, but despite the one-sided third period ended the night with 64 percent of five-on-five shot attempts while they were on the ice.
McCann added an assist Thursday and has scored in both games Seattle has played.
The Kraken continue their road trip with a matchup Saturday with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Seattle Kraken at Nashville Predators 5 p.m. Pacific time Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee TV: ROOT Sports Radio: 950 AM KJR
Thursday night’s game shall live on in the minds of Kraken fans everywhere as the first glimpse they got of Alex Barre-Boulet… maybe. Those fans are also hoping for a more favorable outcome in Game 2 than they saw in Game 1, when the Kraken battled back from 3-0 down to level the score with the Vegas Golden Knights, only to concede a questionable game-winning goal just seconds later.
Barre-Boulet, claimed on waivers earlier in the week from the Tampa Bay Lightning, is slotting in for Marcus Johansson who is out indefinitely with a lower body injury. Apparently the Johansson injury happened in the Vegas game, but it’s hard to say when it happened as he played the whole game. It’s also a tough blow for Seattle, because the second line with Johansson, Alex Wennberg, and Joonas Donskoi really did look good Tuesday.
What the Kraken have in 24-year-old Barre-Boulet remains to be seen, but the undrafted forward has three goals in 15 career NHL games and has posted outstanding numbers in the AHL.
Nashville Predators
Tonight is the first game for the Nashville Predators, so you know the atmosphere at Bridgestone Arena will be pretty intense, much like Seattle saw in Vegas. There wasn’t a ton of turnover in Nashville’s roster over the offseason, but the Preds did trade away Viktor Arvidsson and Pekka Rinne retired.
Pregame video
Projected lineup
Since coach Dave Hakstol indicated in his availability today that Barre-Boulet would “take [Johansson’s] spot,” we are assuming that means his spot on the line with Wennberg and Donskoi. The top line was excellent in Vegas, and Morgan Geekie and Ryan Donato both scored, so we don’t envision the other lines getting shuffled. Here’s what we’re projecting.
UPDATE: Carson Soucy is replacing Haydn Fleury in the lineup. Fleury had a couple glaring mistakesagainstVegas, but we also expect the blue line to be a bit fluid for a while, at least until Seattle really knows what it has.
There are no moral victories in the NHL, but… One could argue that there were some moral victories for the Seattle Kraken in their first-ever game Tuesday, a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights.
We at Sound Of Hockey came into the game cautiously optimistic, especially when we learned that Marcus Johansson, Jamie Oleksiak, Jared McCann, and Joonas Donskoi had remarkably cleared Covid protocol and arrived in Vegas in time for the game. But the cynical side of SOH was also bracing for a crushing defeat, because frankly, Vegas is good. Seattle could end up being good as well based on the small sample of exhibition hockey we had seen, but a successful preseason does not a regular season make.
So, like we said, we were bracing.
We braced even harder when the Kraken found themselves down 2-0 just 6:36 into the first period and then down 3-0 before the midway point in the second. To Seattle’s credit, it battled back, and in the end lost by one very questionable goal.
“I saw what I saw,” said coach Dave Hakstol of Chandler Stephenson’s game-winning goal, and what he saw was a distinct kicking motion propelling the puck past Philipp Grubauer.
Losing on a goal that probably shouldn’t have counted after the Kraken battled back from being down three is a real… kick… in… the… tentacles.
Takeaway #1: Better starts needed for Seattle
We saw this a couple times in the preseason as well, where the Kraken come out making sloppy plays with the puck and quickly find themselves in a deficit. That is exactly what happened on Tuesday, after an immediate 30-second buzz from McCann’s line that led to a power play.
Once that game-opening penalty ended, the Kraken were getting decent zone time and some pucks through to Robin Lehner, but it was Vegas that got higher quality chances in the first 20 minutes and went to the dressing room with a two-goal cushion.
We try to avoid making excuses, but Seattle did have a frenzied 36 hours leading up to Tuesday’s contest and was playing the first game in franchise history in one of the most hostile buildings in the NHL on opening night.
So if ever we were to make an excuse for a slow start, this might be the opportunity to do so. There was a lot happening off the ice for Seattle before this one.
Captain Mark Giordano said before the game that the team wasn’t looking for excuses, though, so let’s stick with that line of thinking. No excuses. Seattle needs better first periods moving forward.
Takeaway #2: Morgan Geekie can shoot the puck, allegedly celebrate
A wise man once said, “You can’t out-pizza the hut.” That wise man was Morgan Geekie in a press conference while he was still with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Geekie’s theory looked to be holding true 12 minutes into the third period Tuesday when he took a pass in the neutral zone and skated up the right side. He looked for a teammate to pass to, but learned he was all alone on what would surely turn out to be a nothing play, right?
Recognizing he was all alone with nowhere to go, the 23-year-old center loaded up and fired his heat-seeking missile of a snapshot from the top of the right circle. Vegas netminder Robin Lehner looked caught off guard by how quickly the puck got to him. It beat him cleanly over the glove, hit under the crossbar and went straight down to level the score at 3-3.
We didn’t see the celebration (we were tweeting in all caps), and ESPN did not capture it on the broadcast. SinBin.Vegas did see it, and said it was akin to the stick twirl and sword sheathing that Geekie did when he scored against Vancouver in Seattle’s first preseason game.
The Vegas bench noticed the celebration and apparently didn’t love it. With renewed vigor, the Golden Knights retook the lead 35 seconds later.
Hakstol responded Wednesday.
Dave Hakstol on how Vegas reacted to Geekie’s goal celebration: “I know Morgan really well and that’s not his personality… I looked at it on tape just to try to confirm or see it, and there's really nothing there. There’s certainly no intention, there never would be.”
So in a way, it turns out you can out-pizza the hut after all.
Takeaway #3: Control what you can and give nothing back
The “give nothing back” portion of this takeaway title is superfluous, but there was a very Pirates of the Caribbean flavor to a lot of the Vegas game presentation Tuesday, and we wanted this one to sound as plunderous as possible.
The “control what you can” chunk refers to the fact that the Kraken may have gotten hosed (depending on your bias) by NHL officiating for the first time in franchise history, a true milestone in the journey.
One thing newer hockey fans will learn as we go is that the sport is inherently chaotic. Some nights the puck will bounce your way, and some nights it will not. Similarly, calls will sometimes go your way, but usually they will not.
All you can do is work to be the better team every night, and when you do that, you will win more often than you lose, chaos be damned. Seattle showed tenacity by climbing out of a 3-0 crater, but Vegas had the better of the chances in a sloppy first period for the Kraken and dominated the beginning of the second.
Even with that tenacity, every bounce and every call had to go Seattle’s way in the second half of the game for the Kraken to come out on top. That surprisingly almost happened, but chaos ultimately reigned supreme.
Control more of the game and limit the impact of the chaos, because the chaos will be be ever-present.
Bonus Takeaway: What a night
I’m switching to first-person mode here, because I need to tell you about my own experience from Tuesday’s game.
I will never forget it.
I will never forget being on the plaza outside T-Mobile Arena before the game, surrounded by hundreds of partying Kraken fans, as Seattle’s players and coaches slowly trickled by en route to the arena. Seeing them react with surprise and appreciation as the revelers called out their names and urged them on was special to witness.
Inside the building, 18,000 jaws hit the floor when a three-dimensional Kraken rose out of the ice and was eventually burned back to the depths by a heroic knight in a show that locals called the best production ever by a franchise known for its over-the-top theatrics.
The gameplay was riveting. The atmosphere was intense. The night was unforgettable. Now imagine if Seattle would have completed the comeback.
That’s Game 1 out of 82 (and hopefully way more). Welcome to the NHL, folks.
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.
The first step is often the most difficult and the Seattle Kraken took a strong, yet clumsy, first step Tuesday night in Vegas against the Golden Knights. Seattle dropped the opener 4-3 thanks to slow first steps during the first and second periods.
After an early shift flurry right off the opening faceoff, the Kraken got sloppy defensively.
It led to goals by Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Marchessault just over a minute apart and before the season was seven minutes old the Kraken found themselves in a 2-0 hole. It could have been nerves or adrenaline, but the Kraken and goalie Philipp Grubauer looked out of sorts early in the period.
Seattle settled down after the two scores and carried the majority of possession the rest of the first period. Despite being down two, the Kraken led Vegas with shots on goal by 9-6 and by shot attempts at even strength by 19-12. Overall, the Kraken would hold a 51-43 shot attempt advantage on the night.
But the second period started much the same way the opening 20 started. Seattle took two penalties in the first three minutes and was on its heels. The Kraken killed off both penalties – ending the night 3-for-3 on the kill – but Pacioretty would score his second shortly after the second power-play to build an imposing 3-0 Golden Knights lead.
Twice in the preseason the Kraken came back to win games and it looked like they might do it again on Tuesday.
Ryan Donato would score for Seattle just after the midway point of the period to cement himself in franchise history with the first goal. More importantly, it gave the Kraken energy and life. Just over a minute later, Jared McCann would score after a slick passing play from the top line.
Heading into the third period, down one, the Kraken would tie the game on a Morgan Geekie snipe. The play looked rather benign as Geekie glided into the Vegas zone alone while his teammates changed behind him. Rather than dump the puck in and skate off the ice, he unloaded a deadly wrist shot that found the net over Robin Lehner’s shoulder.
The Kraken had come back to tie at 3-3.
Any momentum from that goal created was sullied 35 seconds later and it came with a bit of controversy. Off the rush, Vegas center Chandler Stephenson scored to put the Golden Knights ahead. Immediately, Seattle players looked to the officials and complained that the puck was kicked in.
It was reviewed and called a good goal as the replay judges ruled that while Stephenson turned his skate to have the puck deflect off it, he did not do it with a distinct kicking motion.
That would prove to be the game-winner and the Kraken fall to 0-1-0.
The good from the Kraken on opening night
There were things to like out of Seattle’s game Tuesday.
Erasing a 3-0 lead against a top team on the road is impressive. The Kraken aren’t built with dynamic scorers and falling behind by a trio of goals is tough to come back from. Seattle didn’t panic. They stuck with their systems and were able to walk the Golden Knights down. Early results indicate that this could end up being a resilient team.
The comeback was even more remarkable considering the club went through a COVID scare over the previous 24 hours. On Monday five players were put into the NHL’s COVID protocol and it was unclear if they would play. The players, including McCann, Jamie Oleskiak, Joonas Donskoi, and Marcus Johansson, were cleared with just enough time to get to Vegas and play.
After a shaky start, Grubauer found his legs and kept the Kraken within striking distance. Specifically, during the two early Vegas power plays in the second period. The Golden Knights had some of their best looks and Grubauer made six huge stops. He would end with 18 saves on 22 shots.
Seattle needs to find some secondary scoring and got it Tuesday. The top line with McCann, Jaden Schwartz, and Jordan Eberle did their thing to score but the Kraken also got goals from Donato and Geekie. It’s a great start for those two and the Kraken will need them as contributors.
Another potential source of secondary scoring played very well. Seattle’s second line centered by Alex Wennberg with Johansson and Donskoi logged 9:16 of ice time together at 5-on-5 and dominated. They were on the ice for 13 Kraken shot attempts and three from Vegas. Their expected goals (xGF) percentage was 89. They didn’t score but that kind of puck possession moving forward will lead to scoring.
What the Kraken need to clean up
Seattle struggled at times to manage the puck. Vegas’ second goal, scored by Marchessault was the result of a turnover by Vince Dunn deep in the Seattle end. The Golden Knights first goal was helped by a poor read on the forecheck by Nathan Bastian. Pacioretty’s second goal that made it 3-0 came after the Kraken threw it away in the neutral zone.
Giving the puck away not only leads to chances but results in Seattle chasing. When the Kraken chase, they can’t get into their forecheck which is a vital part to their attack.
Expect that to be a point of emphasis for Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol over the remainder of the opening road trip.
By the numbers
Defenseman Mark Giordano, who was just named team captain, led the Kraken with 23:20 of ice time. Jaden Schwartz led Seattle forwards with 20:20.
Donato will go down in history as the first goal scorer, but Vince Dunn will forever be known as the player with the first assist as he set up Donato’s goal.
Vegas had 10 takeaways to the Kraken’s five. Seattle led in giveaways 7-6.
The Kraken led in hits 33-26.
Up next for the Kraken is a Thursday night tilt in Nashville against the Predators.
Seattle Kraken at Vegas Golden Knights 7 p.m. Pacific T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada TV: ESPN, ESPN+, Sportsnet
It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here! Opening night for the inaugural season of NHL hockey in Seattle has finally arrived. It’s been an unbelievable journey to get to this point, and it really was surreal to be sitting in T-Mobile Arena Tuesday morning, watching Seattle Kraken players (specifically those who aren’t in Covid protocol) going through their morning drills and preparing to take on the Vegas Golden Knights.
Vegas is arguably the toughest Pacific Division test under normal circumstances, so to have five players in Covid protocol as recently as Monday feels a bit unfair to an organization that has worked so hard to prepare its roster and its players for this moment. But as newly named captain Mark Giordano said Tuesday morning, the players in the locker room aren’t looking for excuses. They are ready and eager to go, and some players are going to get opportunities that may not have expected them.
UPDATE: Jared McCann, Jamie Oleksiak, and Joonas Donskoi all cleared Covid protocol and will play. We spotted Oleksiak walking into the arena, so we figured there could be some changes coming from what we were projecting earlier. Apparently when Dave Hakstol said the lineup was a “work in progress” Tuesday morning, this is why.
Very slick, Mr. Hakstol! Very slick indeed!
#SeaKraken forwards Jared McCann and Joonas Donskoi plus D-man Jamie Oleksiak have all arrived in Vegas, confirms GM Ron Francis. Let's go, Game 1 puck drop in 90 minutes.
One other bit of welcome news in all of the chaos of the last 24 hours was that Marcus Johansson was cleared from Covid protocol just in time to make the team flight on Monday evening. He said he did not test positive, but he was a close contact, so he had to wait for clearance to be able to take the trip to Vegas.
Jamie Oleksiak, Jared McCann, Joonas Donskoi, and Calle Jarnkrok remain in protocol, though, so they were not allowed to make the trip, and coach Dave Hakstol gave no prediction for when they might be able to join the team.
So, what the Kraken have is what they get to work with tonight. They did claim Alex Barre-Boulet off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, and he is in Las Vegas but didn’t make it in time for the morning skate. Hakstol didn’t indicate whether or not they’d put him right into the lineup having never even skated with the team, but he is available. Our *guess* is that they’ll go with their more known quantities, but we shall see.
Vegas Golden Knights
All reports indicate that the Golden Knights had a lousy preseason and lost 4-0 to the Sharks in their last exhibition game, which was the team’s “dress rehearsal” for opening night.
Still, you know T-Mobile Arena is going to be electric on Tuesday, and the players will come ready.
Interestingly, Vegas is expected to play Dylan Coghlan, a 23-year-old defensemen, on its fourth forward line, as the Golden Knights have remarkably already found themselves in salary cap hell. That’s a fascinating predicament for a team that just ran into this last season.
Here’s what our friends at SinBin.Vegas see as the lineup for Vegas.
Thus, this is a guess at the lines today (definitely wouldn't say this is confirmed)
Here’s how the team is lined up in warmups. This looks a lot better than what we were projecting earlier.
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.
Also, disclaimer… Darren apologizes for forgetting to turn the volume on his mic down when the guys welcome TIM LEIWEKE, CEO OF OAK VIEW GROUP, THE ORGANIZATION BUILDING CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA onto the show! The Seattle Kraken never would have happened if it weren’t for Tim, and he’s here to share his story. It’s a good one, so tune in for this. He will get you SO PUMPED for opening night at Climate Pledge Arena.
Plus, plenty of Kraken hockey talk to get you ready for the team’s first game in Vegas, a general (but focused) NHL season preview, and of course news from around the league.
Segments this week include Serious Business, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
With all the coverage and attention we are giving the Seattle Kraken these days, it is hard to believe there are other teams that play hockey in the NHL. To shed a little bit of light on the other 31 teams in the league, here are five non-Kraken NHL storylines that we are keeping an eye on for the 2021-22 NHL season.
2019 NHL Entry Draft class
The 2019 NHL Entry Draft class was loaded with talent and storylines. Some of the players have already been in the NHL for a while, but this is the year we can expect the 2019 draft class to make their presence felt. Jack Hughes (NJD) and Kaapo Kakko (NYR) have been playing in the NHL since they were drafted, but expect them to take a major step forward and showcase why they were drafted first and second overall.
The US National Team Development Program (USNTDP) had one of its biggest drafts in 2019 with eight players selected in the first round. Trevor Zegras (ANA), Cole Caufield (MON), and Spencer Knight (FLA) played limited NHL games last season and are a few of the preseason favorites for the Calder Trophy this season. All three of them are exciting to watch and even if they do not log a lot of minutes, they could show off some of their potential.
In addition to those three, keep an eye out for Alex Turcotte (LAK), Cam York (PHI), and Matthew Boldy (MIN). Those three might not start the season with their respective NHL clubs, but they are on the edge of breaking into the NHL.
There are also two Europeans from that draft class that are expected to be regular contributors to their respective teams this NHL season. There are huge expectations for Moritz Seider (DET) and Vasily Podkolzin (VAN) and both are expected to step in and contribute right away. The two played professional hockey in Europe and should have an easier time adjusting to pro hockey in North America.
We should also keep an eye on Alex Newhook (COL) who could center the third line on a very talented Colorado Avalanche team. He is exciting to watch and is my personal sleeper Calder Trophy candidate.
The Colorado goalie situation
It should be no surprise to Seattle hockey fans that the Colorado Avalanche lost their Vezina finalist goalie, Philipp Grubauer, via free agency to the Kraken this offseason. Enter Darcy Kuemper who was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes this offseason to fill the void left by Grubauer’s departure. Kuemper is a great goalie when healthy but has missed several games due to injury each of the last three years. If he goes down for any significant time, this could be an issue for the Colorado Avalanche who are a near consensus to win the Stanley Cup this year.
Pain for Shane
Shane Wright is the consensus first overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, and a couple teams have signaled they are going to tank this season to get a crack at him in the draft. Finishing in last place will not guarantee a team the first pick overall, but it will give them the best odds in the NHL Draft Lottery. Even for teams that don’t win the lottery, Ivan Miroshnichenko or Brad Lambert would not be bad consolation prizes.
The tank strategy seems to be in play in Arizona and Buffalo. Neither team added players of value this offseason and both teams got significantly worse in net. Buffalo is relying on the goalie trio of Craig Anderson, Aaron Dell, and Dustin Tokarski. Meanwhile, Arizona is going with the tandem of Carter Hutton and Karel Vejmelka. These teams are expected to be horrible.
What teams take a step back?
Some of the best teams in the past decade are due for a decline. The core players of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals have been aging for a while without a lot of young reinforcements waiting in the wings.
In Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby will be missing a few games to start the season, while Evgeni Malkin will miss a multiple months. Even when those guys are healthy, both are on the downward sides of their careers. Malkin and Kris Letang are also on the last year of their contracts and could be moved before the trade deadline to start the rebuild process in Pittsburgh.
The Capitals are facing a similar fate. The top-two goal scorers from last season, Alex Ovechkin and TJ Oshie are 36 and 34 respectively. Both continue to play well but Father Time will eventually catch up with them. They do have two young and promising prospects in Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre, but both need another year or two to make a real impact on the NHL team.
Chicago Blackhawks
As other teams step back, others will step up. The Chicago Blackhawks are primed to be one of those teams. The Blackhawks have not advanced beyond the first round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since they won the Stanley Cup in 2015. And apart from the expanded postseason of 2020, they have not qualified for the playoffs since 2017.
Last season they were without Jonathan Toews, and Kirby Dach spent much of the season on injured reserve. Both are starting is year healthy and ready to go. In addition to a healthy Toews and Dach, the Blackhawks will have the most recent Vezina trophy winner, Marc-André Fleury in net and elite defenseman Seth Jones on the blue line. This team might not be a Stanley Cup favorite, but they have loaded up to a point where they should be able to punch a ticket to the playoffs.
Every NHL hockey team faces adversity at some point in its seasonal journey. When it happens and the intensity with which it hits are the variables, because dealing with the unexpected is… expected. Adversity will happen. Of course, there’s the matter of how well the team can manage through those challenges. While adversity is always hiding around every corner, waiting to rear its ugly head, no coach expects to have it strike for the very first game in the history of a franchise. But that is what Dave Hakstol and the Seattle Kraken are encountering now, as five players have popped up on the Covid protocol list just one day before the team’s inaugural season opener in Vegas.
Five Kraken players in Covid protocol
Calle Jarnkrok had been missing from practice since Friday and was confirmed to be in Covid protocol. Since then, we began seeing more stringent procedures in place at the Kraken Community Iceplex. On Monday, when several more players were missing from practice, you just knew something was up.
Media availability after Monday’s skate was initially focused on the Kraken naming Mark Giordano as the first captain in franchise history, but the conversation was facilitated via Zoom—not in person—for the first time since the opening of training camp. Making things even more obvious that the Covid situation had worsened, the podium was being sanitized every time a player finished his availability.
When Dave Hakstol finally took his spot at the microphone, the first question was on the status of the players that were missing from Monday’s practice. That’s when he confirmed that Jared McCann, Marcus Johansson, Jamie Oleksiak, and Joonas Donskoi had joined Jarnkrok in protocol.
So, if you’re scoring at home, that’s five regular players in total that we don’t expect to be available for Seattle in its first-ever game Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights. Yanni Gourde and Colin Blackwell also remain unavailable due to injury, so the full-time NHL lineup that we expected to see for the first time Tuesday has been seriously impacted.
Hakstol indicated that the team had a lot of decisions to make, as it needed to determine which players to recall from AHL Charlotte on short notice. It’s also possible that Alex Barre-Boulet—claimed off waivers by the Kraken from Tampa Bay on Monday—could slot right in.
“We’ve already started working toward that plan,” Hakstol said. “Things happen quickly and sometimes at inopportune times. There’s different challenges you go through throughout the season. This is one of them for us, early on. We have some decisions to make as we go through the day. We’ll do that, and we’ll be ready to play as we get into Vegas [Monday night].”
We should have a better handle on who will and won’t play Tuesday morning, but for now, expect the roster for the very first game to have more of a preseason flair than we anticipated.
Simply fielding a whole roster for Game 1 was certainly not a hurdle Hakstol and staff expected to have to clear. We shall see how Seattle handles this remarkably early adversity.
Mark Giordano named captain, four players named alternates
Giordano being named the first captain in franchise history was supposed to be the biggest news on Monday. Yanni Gourde, Jaden Schwartz, Jordan Eberle, and Adam Larsson being named alternate captains was supposed to be the second-biggest news. Instead, here we are halfway through the story before we’re even really touching on it, thanks to the Covid bombshell mentioned previously.
Now, this really is huge news in the grand scheme of things. All of the players earning letters indicated in their Zoom pressers that they expect to lead to the best of their own respective abilities, and the alternates all sang the praises of Giordano.
“I think for me it was an easy decision,” said Eberle about Giordano being named the team’s captain. “I’m from Calgary, and live there in the summertime, and a lot of people don’t know… Obviously they see the work he puts in on the ice and the leadership capabilities that he has. But being from Calgary, I know firsthand the leadership role that he has in the community, whether it’s charities or- the little things that he’s doing inside of Calgary. So we’re lucky to have him, and it’s an easy decision in my mind.”
Eberle was referencing the nine seasons that Giordano spent with the captain’s ‘C’ on his Flames sweater. So, this certainly isn’t Giordano’s first rodeo, but this time is a little different for the veteran blueliner, as he now comes into the role with experience.
“I think a captain of a hockey team has to be a guy who brings the guys together but relays the message from management and coaching to the players,” Giordano said. “So I’m looking forward to it. Again, it’s a great responsibility, but I can’t be more thankful to the organization for placing that trust in me.”
Giordano always felt like the no-brainer, slam-dunk candidate for the captaincy based on his impressive credentials, but one can’t help wondering how long it will last. After all, he is 38 years old and is in the final season of a six-year contract. Will he be with the Kraken next season? What about beyond the trade deadline this season?
Clearly, his captaincy is not expected to be one that lasts forever, but making Giordano the official leader for the inaugural year makes all the sense in the world… for now.
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.
