Last rodeo: Kraken fail to generate enough offense in game seven loss to Stars
By Charles Hamaker
Dallas, TX – To end an almost storybook second season in franchise history, the Seattle Kraken fell in a tightly contested game seven in Dallas against the Stars. Game seven Grubauer made another appearance, keeping his team in the game with numerous big saves and denials. Unfortunately, like many great pitchers for our Mariners, Grubauer couldn’t get any support in terms of the offense in front of him and mistakes eventually were the downfall of the Kraken. Dallas took advantage of a turnover by Seattle defenseman Jamie Oleksiak and caught the Kraken defense playing aggressively to result in a two-goal hole that proved insurmountable. A magical season comes to an end for the second-year franchise, an incredible turnaround from being the third-lowest point team in all the NHL. With a largely in-tact core and a bright future in terms of draft capital and prospects in their system, Seattle will be primed to win for years to come.
On their heels out of the gate
Unlike their games one, three, and six starts, the Kraken failed to get out on the front foot with pressure and physicality against the Stars in this series deciding game seven. Dallas brought the pressure early and often after a small initial surge from Seattle, forcing Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer to make numerous saves while the skaters sacrificed their bodies with numerous blocked shots. On the road, against a deep and talented team like the Stars, it makes sense that Seattle was going to get pushed a bit, but it was disappointing considering the capability of this team displayed throughout these Stanley Cup Playoffs. Although the shot total through the first 20 minutes was tied at nine, the Stars had generated far more dangerous opportunities than the Kraken had and were getting whatever looks that they wanted. It wasn’t at all how you wanted things to begin, but because of Grubauer, things remained scoreless.
Slipping when they needed to hold steady
Two critical mistakes resulted in goals for the Dallas Stars, and those mistakes ended up being the dagger driven into the Seattle Kraken season. The first of those two came as Dallas had been applying merciless pressure to Grubauer, as the goaltender was forced to make numerous big saves in different situations to keep things level as we approached second intermission. Stars defenseman Esa Lindell had cleared a puck from his own zone up the ice, where it found a retreating Jamie Oleksiak. The puck took on odd first bounce, dying upon impact and not sliding to the back-skating Oleksiak, catching the Kraken defenseman off guard. The ball of energy he’s been all series, Roope Hintz had kept an eye on the play and pursued, swooping the puck away from the stick of Oleksiak and wristing a shot past Grubauer all in a few quick motions. A quick play in only a matter of seconds, that unfortunate situation may could have broken the back of Seattle as the game was winding itself towards second intermission and the Kraken were frustrated to not have scored yet.
Seattle pressed on, getting some danger in their opportunities, but nothing was getting by Dallas netminder Jake Oettinger. Despite the goal against, Grubauer remained locked in as the Stars searched for the insurance goal that could get them into the Western Conference final. With seven minutes left, Dallas’ search was over, in a play that went the full length of the ice. Stars forward Evgenii Dadonov retrieved a puck that the Kraken had sent around the boards, finding a teammate down the ice and through a few Seattle skaters. The puck bounced cleanly off the boards to Dallas rookie Wyatt Johnston, who used a wicked backhand shot to sneak up the shoulder of Grubauer and in. Although Seattle forward Oliver Bjorkstrand found a goal with 17 seconds left, Johnston’s score had nailed Seattle into a coffin they couldn’t bust out of. The voyage had ended, running ashore in Big D.
Moneypuck.com and NaturalStattrick.com both display how Dallas had the more dangerous opportunities and were able to generate more pressure as opposed to Seattle.
Grubauer can’t generate offense, too
Like he’s been nearly all postseason, Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer did all that he could and more to keep Seattle in this game and give them a great opportunity to win and advance. Game seven Grubauer made his return to excellent form between the pipes, playing in “steal a game mode” like his performance in game seven of the first-round matchup against his former team. The Stars presented an early pressure like what we’ve seen in games four and five, applying heat to the Kraken defenseman pairs and challenging Grubauer often. The Seattle starting netminder did all he could with his glove, blocker, and poke-checking ability to keep the zero on the board while the Kraken attack sputtered out of the gate. Dallas was able to score on two one-on-one opportunities that would be tough for any goaltender to contest, and Seattle failed to respond back on the other end.
Going into year three, any sort of debate or thought about the level of play that Grubauer brings between the pipes for the Kraken needs to be shutdown. While yes, he isn’t the perfect goaltender, he’s been a rock and workhouse in net for Seattle through the first two years of his big contract. The general struggles of the team in year one were lumped into his play by many, which is unfair, but after returning from injury this past season he was fully up to the task. When the team needed him most down the stretch and as the goals dried up from their early season hot stretch, Grubauer delivered and found the next gear. Thoughts that Martin Jones was the starter during a mediocre stretch carried by the Seattle offense were silly, as his underlying numbers were nothing special and Jones was only ever meant to be a stopgap until Chris Driedger returned from injury. Philipp Grubauer, the German Gentleman, has proven he is the starter and fully capable goaltender of this Kraken team, and that’s a good thing.
A heartbreaking end to a hope-filled second season
It’s perfectly normal to feel sad or upset following this game seven loss. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are an incredibly tense, stressful, exhilarating ride and Kraken fans got to experience two full rounds of it in their teams second year of existence. Seattle was more than capable of the success that they achieved, and outside media needed to be shown numerous different ways in which the Kraken could achieve that success. Whether that be a historic sweep of a long road trip, depth that set records, career seasons for players like Vince Dunn, taking down the best teams in the league. Seattle earned the respect of the league repeatedly but was still somehow disrespected by the national media until the Stanley Cup Playoffs began, and even then, were still not treated with the same respect and devoted coverage as other teams. This franchise is trending upwards and was just minutes away from reaching the Western Conference final in only their second year. With that sort of trajectory, Seattle will be hoisting the cup much sooner rather than later.
What’s next?
Seattle heads into only their second offseason ever, with plenty to be happy about and numerous different angles to look at in a positive light. The first order of business that may come to mind could be upcoming free agents, most notable being Vince Dunn who had a career year for the Kraken. Some of the names that Seattle will have to make decisions on include Joonas Donskoi, Carson Soucy, Ryan Donato, Will Borgen, and Daniel Sprong the most likely to be pondered over the most. Awards season will come, with Matty Beniers likely taking home the Calder trophy, and then the NHL Draft will come around in a time that brings potential to add you with selections or the possibility to trade those picks for proven commodities. With mostly the same group coming back, draft capital, and exciting prospects; the future is bright for the Kraken as a franchise.