By Charles Hamaker 

Seattle, WA – The hits continue to come for the Seattle Kraken as their third season in franchise history nears it’s painful end, and there doesn’t necessarily seem to be an end in sight. The Kraken, kicking off a four-game homestand with tonight’s defeat, looked beaten by the end of the first period as Montreal tallied four unanswered goals through the first 18 minutes of the game and never really had to do much to try and prevent a Seattle comeback attempt. Following two back-to-back tight road losses after an 0-4-1 homestand, the Kraken didn’t at all look like they’d have the necessary momentum in this game to pull themselves back into the fight as they’re struggling offensive attack and defensive mistakes had them in a hole just about all night long. With calls from fans for change, whether it’s with the players or coaching, something must give soon for the Kraken. 

Montreal Canadiens starting goaltender Cayden Primeau stands at attention during the Canadian national anthem and the Seattle Kraken come out for player introductions ahead of the Sunday, March 24th, 2024 game between the two teams at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)

Poor start, and another goalie pull 

While there should have been some excitement for this game on a few levels, with the Kraken wearing their nice Winter Classic jerseys again and the team returning for a four-game homestand, there were a few disappointing parallels to look at from the last time the team had these special sweaters out at Climate Pledge Arena. Just like the first time they wore these Winter Classic jerseys following the game itself, a 5-2 defeat on February 24th against the Minnesota Wild, the starting Seattle goaltender struggled out of the gate and had to be pulled early on. To Philipp Grubauer’s credit, the first three goals against tonight really weren’t his fault as Seattle’s poor defensive mistakes were on display, but the fourth goal against was clean and Dave Hakstol gave him the hook in favor of Joey Daccord. On the first goal, Jamie Oleksiak tried to block a shot with his stick that redirected past his own goaltender, on the second goal Grubauer was screened by a Canadien and his own teammate (Brian Dumoulin), and on the third goal he was left all alone in a two-on-one as the defensemen on the ice at the time were caught biting up into the play. 

After the Montreal Canadiens fourth goal of the night, Seattle Kraken head coach opted to give starter Philipp Grubauer the hook and put in Joey Daccord. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)

Failure to turn the tide in their favor 

Shortly into the second period after that nightmare of a first frame, Seattle did show some signs of life as Jordan Eberle fired a wrist shot on the rush from a faceoff circle that beat Primeau cleanly in net, tucking a shot into the top corner just about the Montreal goaltenders left shoulder to get the Kraken on the board and break any bad thoughts about the team getting shutout. It seemed as though Seattle was going to be able to take that spurt of energy and turn it into something, as Seattle had a power play just a few minutes after the Eberle goal. Oliver Bjorkstrand sent a point shot towards goal that Matty Beniers redirected to beat Primeau, and it looked like the Kraken had cut the Canadiens lead in half to begin the second period. Immediately after the goal, Montreal used their coaches challenge on a potential offsides and were successful to wipe away that hope and momentum, and Seattle never lit the lamp again in this game and really didn’t come all that close either. A goal scoring opportunity did come on what was left of the Kraken power play following the review, as Canadiens’ defenseman Mike Matheson jumped on a pass through the slot and took it the entire length of the ice, beating Tomas Tatar at the point and deking Joey Daccord to give Montreal their fifth goal of the game, stamping an official end to any hope of a comeback for Seattle.  

A short handed goal by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson in the second period, putting the score at 5-1, was ultimately the final main piece of action in the game as the Seattle Kraken failed to show any real fight after that. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)

There must be some semblance of pride shown 

If you had any lasting hope or thread of it that the Kraken were going to somehow make the playoffs, I’m sorry to tell you this, but dash it. Wipe it away, squash it, yeet it into the Sound, whatever you need to do, it’s over. Now the focus shifts to some things that aren’t as fun when you’re rooting for a professional sports team. Seattle is focused on finding a way to finish strong for a few reasons, unless you’re hoping for their draft stock to improve, which includes trying to have some positive momentum moving into the offseason and also attempting to keep fans engaged. While the season itself was different on a few levels, this year's end of the campaign has similar messages from the players that year one did. Largely what I mean is that Kraken forward and alternate captain Jordan Eberle had a similar sort of point during the inaugural year in saying that this end of the line stretch is when players show who wants to earn a new contract or come back next year, and while it is quite different this season, the point remains the same. You’re either showing why you want to be around again next season in Seattle, or you’re showing your qualities to the scouts in the building and the film that will be watched ahead of free agency.  

Looking at the fan engagement side of things, there’s a couple aspects to this as well. With the Kraken having specific season ticket packages (three years, five years, seven years), there are some fans coming to the end of the final year of their plan that are unlikely to renew due to their frustrations with results in two out of the three seasons they’ve had so far. Pressure to bring in season tickets sales, plus the potential impending Seattle NBA team (the NBA is likely to expand in 2025 when their current media rights deal expires, with Seattle and Las Vegas likely to get the two expansion bids) looming, plus trying to generally ensure that the sports market here pays attention to you are all things that must be considered from a business standpoint by this franchise. Those aspects may not be as openly talked about as the results themselves on the ice, but they are things that are factored into some decisions that the organization makes all around. The pressure to win is real, on many different levels.  

Seattle Kraken forward and Washington state native Kailer Yamamoto was playing in his 300th career NHL game in the loss. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)

Quick notes 

• The Kraken have gone 16-for-17 on the penalty kill against the Canadiens since the start of the 2021-22 season for a 94.1 percent success rate – their best mark against any opponent. 

  • The Canadiens are the only team that the Kraken have an even goal differential against on the penalty kill. 

• Kailer Yamamoto played in his 300th NHL regular-season game tonight becoming the 13th player from the 2017 draft class to play in 300 regular-season games. 

  • Yamamoto was 4-for-8 at the faceoff dot tonight for a 50 percent win percentage. The eight faceoffs he took tonight are the most in his career in a single game. 

• With an assist tonight, Will Borgen tallied his 24th point of the season, already a career-high. 

  • Borgen is on pace to finish the year with 28 points, which would be an eight-point, or 40 percent, improvement from last season. 

  • Borgen's six shots on goal tonight are a single-game career high for the defenseman. 

• Jordan Eberle's goal tonight makes him two goals shy of 300 career NHL goals. 

  • When he reaches the milestone, he'll be the second player from the 2008 NHL Draft class to score 300 goals only following Steven Stamkos (544). 

What’s next? 

Following tonight’s dismal defeat to the visiting Montreal Canadiens, the Seattle Kraken will continue a four-game homestand when they get back in action on Tuesday. That game is the first of two consecutive games against the Anaheim Ducks, as the teams will also meet on Thursday, March 28th. The Tuesday, March 26th contest against Anaheim is a 7PM PDT puck drop that will be broadcast on Root Sports Northwest within their market (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska) and on ESPN+/NHLPP nationwide. The first 10,000 fans into Climate Pledge Arena will receive a Jared McCann bobblehead, the final bobblehead giveaway of the season for the team. The Kraken, currently sitting at sixth place in the Pacific Division, will host an Anaheim team that sits just below them in the standings and has lost eight of their last nine games.  

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

Cover photo and photos in this article taken by Rio Giancarlo.