By Charles Hamaker 

Seattle, WA – A loser point it still a standings point for the Seattle Kraken, who desperately need to stack those points as they attempt to re-enter the NHL Western Conference’s Wild Card picture, but that word still rings painfully true for them after today’s contest: loser. The Kraken pushed hard, showed good positive offensive energy, got big stops out of goaltender Joey Daccord, and had the momentum of a shootout win against the Islanders plus a regulation win against the Bruins on their side, yet none of it mattered. Defensive lapses and an inability to get just one more past Detroit goaltender Alex Lyon, as he was rock solid and stood tall, ultimately saw Seattle come away with just the one point on a Monday matinee matchup against the Red Wings.  

Jared McCann throughout the Seattle Kraken overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Climate Pledge Arena on Monday, February 19th, 2024. (Photos by Liz Wolter)

The good: Jared McCann, energy early 

If there’s one constant throughout this 2023-24 campaign for the Seattle Kraken, let alone his entire career to this point with the team, it’s that Jared McCann will give you his 100% night in and night out. While he isn’t on the 40-goal pace that he had last season, McCann still remains a valuable winger to this team in his play overall, which includes the time that he spent filling in as a center as the teams dealt with numerous injuries throughout the course of the year. That includes a game like tonight, where his two goals helped to power this team forward and answer back on Detroit's first two goals of this contest. His shot is obviously one of the best in the world, but taking into consideration his 200-foot game, his effort every single game, and his consistent will for himself and this team to be better, it’s very hard to ever really be upset with the play of Jared McCann while he’s been in a Kraken sweater.  

The offensive energy that was shown by the Kraken early and largely throughout the rest of this game was a notable positive sign for Seattle. They don’t always come out of the gates hot or ready to strike, especially not this season, but when they do it’s usually a great sign for the Kraken and their fanbase. Being able to come out on the attacking front to begin games is something that would’ve benefited Seattle throughout the course of the season early on and they’ll need to be able to continue doing so as this season starts to wind down, if they want to make the playoffs. At points this year we’ve seen the sort of offensive buzz that the team can generate, the consistency at which they’ve been able to do so has been the notable issue, and it’s still one that they’re trying to crack the code on with a few months left in the regular season.  

The Seattle Kraken put an attack on the Detroit Red Wings, generating volume and quality, but couldn’t score enough of those chances to beat their opponent in regulation. (Photos by Liz Wolter)

The bad: Failing to beat Lyon more in regulation 

From the start of this game, the Kraken were buzzing and had an offensive energy that was apparent. Seattle was making a noticeable change from most of the season as they were sending shots on shots against Lyon, even doing well to try and create traffic in front of him, but they weren’t converting enough in order to not only tie things up, but to go ahead and take a lead against Detroit or pull away. Overall, Seattle generated more in five-on-five situations in terms of their overall shot volume and shot quality than Detroit, had more offensive zone time with the puck, and largely dominated the Red Wings in most offensive categories. We’ll talk about how Detroit ultimately took advantage of Seattle here in a bit, but it’s an obvious headache to see that the Kraken continue to generate offense, they’re doing well to mix the combination of quality and volume together, but they aren’t converting. With a few differences in situations here and there, this has been a problem for Seattle all year. The puck luck and shooting percentage from last season has not been there, and it may be too late for them to overcome the games they’ve been dropping because of the inability to create it.   

And the ugly: Defensive lapses, and no real chances in overtime 

A few defensive mistakes have been the differential in so many of their losses this season between wins and losses, and that came into play yet again today against the Red Wings. An accidental screen of his own netminder by Eeli Tolvanen, failure to clear a rebound out around Joey Daccord’s crease, giving up numerous odd man rushes (to which Detroit only scored on once, somehow), and allowing Ben Chiarot to come down the slot unmarked were all issues in the four goals that the Kraken allowed in this loss. They can seem like little to nothing in the moment or even in general to some, but the split-second mistake or lapse can be taken advantage of in an instant by players at this level.  

At times last season and even this season, which isn’t saying much considering just how many overtime games that they’ve played this year, the Kraken have shown that they can make the most out of the extra period in order to gain both points from a contest. The Seattle strategy for overtime has been relatively simple, at least as it’s appeared in game: gain possession and hold on to it for dear life until you find a look that you like and go from there. It’s worked to an extent, but there are two situations where it has failed: failing to maintain control of the puck and when the looks they like don’t result in a win. The first option happened in this game, as the Kraken had the puck for less than a minute in overtime and couldn’t do anything with it before Detroit gained possession and that was it.  

What’s next? 

Following today’s afternoon overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings, the Seattle Kraken will have a few days before their next contest in this six-game homestand to finish out the month of February. After a day off tomorrow and practice on Wednesday, the Kraken are back in action on Thursday, February 22nd when they host Pacific division rivals to the North, the Vancouver Canucks. Today, the Canucks lost a ridiculous game against the Minnesota Wild with a 10-7 scoreline, but Vancouver does still have the most points in the NHL at 80. Even so, the Canucks come into this game on a two-game losing streak and the Kraken are desperate for points considering that they’re currently out of a playoff spot, so Seattle will need to strike at this opportunity. That game on Thursday, February 22nd has a puck drop of 7PM PST and will be broadcast on Root Sports Northwest within their market (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska) and on ESPN+/NHLPP nationwide.   

https://www.whereweconverge.com/circling-seattle-sports

Cover photo and photos in this article by Liz Wolter