By Charles Hamaker 

Seattle, WA – There have been numerous games over the course of the current season for the Seattle Kraken where the statement is made that they “aren’t far off” from beginning to find a rhythm. They’ve come oh so close to multiple wins that they should’ve had this season, including two nights ago against the New Jersey Devils to begin this homestand, and that was the case once again in tonight’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Kraken had a sloppy first period but found a sort of resolve after that first intermission to go ahead and have a lead into the third period. That lead evaporated late as Tampa Bay was able to take advantage of a lapse in Seattle’s defense, and the Lightning ultimately got the game winning goal in the overtime period off a rush. The Kraken take home the standings point for going into the extra hockey frame, but in another game this season they should’ve taken both away from this contest.  

Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer debuted a special mask for Indigenous Peoples Night, and was not fined by the NHL as he’s agreed to wear it for more than one game. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)

An ugly start nearly takes Seattle off the rails early 

Early into the Seattle Kraken season, the early trend for this group was to have a strong first 20 minutes, unfortunately not being able to get a goal or multiple out of it, but then fail to follow it up with a continued strong effort after that. That trend has shifted, and the most common thing to see from this Seattle group has been to have one bad period, most commonly the first frame, and then the Kraken will have to make the late push to find themselves truly back in the contest. The latter is what we saw tonight, but the effort was a bit of a mixed result with that strong early start trend. The Kraken had a relatively solid effort to begin the frame, but a penalty taken by Seattle would shift the ice against them, a bit.  

After some constructive offensive zone time to begin the game, the Kraken penalty kill was successful in warding off a power play caused by a tripping call against Ryker Evans. Philipp Grubauer, starting in net tonight for the Seattle, was largely the team's main penalty killer as they warded things off. The Lightning continued to press offensively, and that sustained zone time would eventually net them the first goal of this contest. 46 seconds after their first power play had ended, Tampa Bay used a nasty tip in front of the crease from forward Anthony Cirelli to score. With three skaters, two for the Lightning and one Kraken defenseman, in front of Philipp Grubauer to screen him, there was little to no chance to stop that goal, let alone the way that the tip moved. Tampa Bay added insult to injury, especially considering that this game was headed into the first intermission, as they added a second goal with under a minute left in the frame. The Kraken had been caught in a change, and three of their five skaters on the ice were in the immediate vicinity of the puck that was in their defensive zone. The Lightning took advantage of the chaos unfolding, with Brandon Hagel finding Nikita Kucherov who was waiting wide open on the backdoor for an easy tap in. Kucherov found himself so wide open, because those three Seattle skaters were puck watching and went to defend Hagel instead of marking the two-time Stanley Cup Champion.  

The Tampa Bay Lightning built a two-goal lead going into the first intermission, with goals from Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)

The push back comes again, but the Kraken eventually falter 

As mentioned previously Seattle has been able to get a big push as the game has gone on, finding themself back into these games as they make the strong effort to right the wrongs that they’ve created in the first place. That came almost immediately tonight for the Kraken, as nearly four minutes into the middle frame, Seattle forward and recent call up (for the second time this season) Devin Shore had a tricky tip in beat Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy, or so it seemed. Tampa Bay used their coaches challenge on the goal for a potential offsides, and the would-be tying score was taken off the board, something that has happened often at home for the Kraken this season. Having that goal taken away didn’t hinder Seattle’s ability to push forward, as at the ten-minute mark, forward Oliver Bjorkstrand sent a laser of a snipe past Vasilevskiy’s glove to tie things up and give “The Maestro” his 300th career point. Bjorkstrand, taking the puck away as Tampa Bay tried to cycle things, didn’t waste time as he sent a snapshot on goal immediately and it helped cut into the Lightning advantage.  

Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand celebrates his second period goal, and 300th career point, with linemates Eeli Tolvanen and Yanni Gourde. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)

The positive momentum swing only further continued for Seattle as that second period went on, as the Kraken made a fiery push to get the tying goal. Less than two minutes later, Matty Beniers was able to get behind Vasilevskiy with the puck amidst some chaos but failed to put it in the net and instead had it skirt along the goal line. The effort shown by the Kraken was on full display, as Jordan Eberle was able to maintain the puck in the Lightning zone despite being pestered amidst a Seattle change. Eberle found teammate Jamie Oleksiak jumping into the play, and the Big Rig unleashed a big slapshot that seemed to catch the Tampa Bay goaltender off-guard and score on his stick side. They’d come back, and they weren’t done quite yet. Even with Tampa Bay getting a power play, the Kraken pushed forward and created dangerous opportunities against the Lightning, and they’d carry that into the third period. Before we reached that though, Seattle goaltender Philipp Grubauer went to make a save on a breakaway, but as he pushed from side to side in the crease, he appeared to hurt himself and had to be gently helped off the ice. Joey Daccord was the goaltender on the ice to begin the third period, and Grubauer wasn’t seen again after he left for the second intermission.  

Despite the injury that could’ve changed the trajectory of their previously carried momentum, Seattle kept things up as a Jared McCann power play goal 14 seconds into the final frame gave the Kraken their first lead of this game and in 17 days. On the power play, and in his somewhat signature left flank spot, McCann came down hill and sent a slapshot on goal. Alex Wennberg’s screen in front of Vasilevskiy helped things out, and Seattle had a lead. With an upwards trajectory and how they’d been playing offensively, it appeared that the Kraken were getting things to go their way even as they’d lost Grubauer to a lower body injury after he’d been playing such a solid game. It was just up for Seattle to be able to hold onto a lead, which was something that they’d struggled to do for the large majority of this season. Tampa Bay’s Nicholas Paul got behind the Kraken amidst a rush in transition, left unmarked just outside of the crease, and just needed to tap in the puck on a pass from Anthony Cirelli to see this game all tied up. Despite a power play opportunity shortly after and one within the final minute, Seattle failed to get back ahead, and we headed to the extra frame. 

The Kraken entered overtime with 1:45 of a man advantage to play but failed to do anything with it as the Lightning and their aggressive penalty kill handled business. It was yet another example of Seattle failing to take advantage of opportunities that sat in front of them in this game, as seen in the third period when it came to adding to their lead or retaking it late, and Tampa Bay made them pay for it. Brandon Hagel brought the puck from end to end as Seattle made a change, and despite the Kraken have the numbers advantage as the Lightning brought the puck to the net, Hagel was able to find a cutting Nikita Kucherov with more than enough space to get a shot on net against Joey Daccord before he could push across from the other end of the crease. The Lightning had struck at the right time and taken advantage of Seattle’s mistakes to deal the Kraken their seventh straight loss, tied for the second-worst stretch in franchise history.  

They must break through at some point, right? 

The Kraken continue to show positive signs in the games that they’re playing, but they’re failing to add the final piece of the puzzle to these contests. The biggest trouble for them has been that the final piece to the games isn’t always the same. Sometimes it’s the fact that they’ve blown a lead, others it’s that they need to climb out of a hole. The effort level hasn’t been where it needs to be at a consistent level to be able to stack wins or even string a few together. The loser point has kept Seattle somewhat in the playoff race, as they still really aren’t even that far off from being in a postseason spot. The talent level isn’t abysmal for the Kraken, there are good and skilled players on this roster, that isn’t an issue. The group has routinely failed to complete games/close them out, and the injury bug has wildly hurt their forward depth. Take those two primary factors and add the fact that Seattle really hasn’t gotten the puck to bounce in their favor hardly ever this season, and you get what we see: a Kraken team fighting adversity and themselves. It’s essentially impossible to beat the opposing and yourself in a game, unless you’ve got ridiculous luck, and Seattle hasn’t had that. With the way that the games are going for this group, and how it doesn’t appear as though there luck may change (because it should have already), we may be approaching big change territory for this team. That could mean a firing (Dave Hakstol) or a big trade, and I'd prefer to not see either because this team isn’t really that far off.  

Quick notes 

• Tonight was Justin Shultz's 100th game as a member of the Kraken. 

• With his second-period goal, Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his 300th career point, becoming the 12th member of the 2013 NHL Draft class to do so. 

• With his goal tonight, Jared McCann now has four points (three goals, one assist) in his last four games against Tampa Bay. 

• With the primary assist on McCann's goal, Vince Dunn is Seattle’s leading scorer when playing at home this season, totaling 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 13 games 

• Eeli Tolvanen has four points (two goals, two assists) in his last four games played at Climate Pledge Arena. In all, he has nine points (three goals, six assists) at home this season, which ranks third on Seattle’s roster. 

• Tonight's game was the Kraken's final game against the Lightning this season. Both games went to overtime ending with a score of 4-3, with the Kraken winning on Oct. 30. 

• The Kraken have not allowed a power-play goal against in the last four games they have played at Climate Pledge Arena, going 9-for-9 on the penalty kill during that span. 

Seattle Kraken forward Devin Shore had his goal taken off the board after the Tampa Bay Lightning used their coaches challenge and it was disallowed for an offsides. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)

What’s next? 

Following tonight’s overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Seattle Kraken won’t have much time to rest and turn things around. They’ll play the second game of a back-to-back tomorrow, Sunday, December 10th, as they host the Minnesota Wild for the third game of a six game homestand. The Kraken and Wild, both riding losing streaks (Minnesota’s two to Seattle’s seven), will battle at Climate Pledge Arena with a 6PM PST puck drop that’s going to be broadcast on Root Sports locally, and ESPN+/NHL PP nationally. The Kraken, in dire need of a victory but still somehow in reach of a playoff spot, will be in an interesting place roster wise following the injuries to goaltender Philipp Grubauer and defenseman Justin Schultz. With there unlikely to be a morning skate ahead of tomorrow’s game, we likely won’t get any clues to a lineup or changes to it until closer to game time.  

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

Cover photo by Rio Giancarlo