Kraken grind out thrilling win against Penguins behind stellar defensive effort
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – With both teams coming off of frustrating losses to the Vancouver Canucks, the contest between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Seattle Kraken proved to be a bounce back for someone. It proved to be the less likely Kraken, who put out one of their strongest defensive performances to date. With some unique offense that saw two goals called off due to challenge and only one goal allowed, this game shows what the Kraken can be if they put in a 60-minute effort. The victory gets Seattle back on track before a week on the road, and ties them for third place in the Pacific Division with their next opponent, the Calgary Flames.
Seattle defensemen Adam Larsson recorded a +3 +/- tonight, representing excellent value on the ice (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Tribute to D’Vonne Pickett Jr
Prior to tonight’s game, it was announced that the Kraken were set to honor the life of D’Vonne Pickett Jr, with the newly introduced Kraken Unity Fund, highlighting heroes in the Seattle community. Honoring a man who touched the hearts of many, a true community builder, the Kraken organization are currently auctioning off game worn jerseys from both themselves and the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. This is the first time that Seattle and the One Roof Foundation have received items from the opposing team, as several Penguins stars such as Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin and more gave their jerseys to the cause.
The auctioned off jerseys will benefit causes important to Pickett Jr., such as Community Passageways, Build 206, and the CD Panthers. A memorial will be held for Pickett Jr. Several of these jerseys are already climbing the bid totals, as Sidney Crosby’s game worn jersey has hit $20,000 as of midnight. Inside of Climate Pledge Arena on November 10th.
Photos of D’Vonne and his wife, plus his family at the game are shown on the “twins” (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Martin Jones and the D-Unit freeze the Penguins
As has been noted throughout the entirety of this teams' playing existence, the Kraken defensive units and goaltending have drawn the frustration of the fanbase. The team's primary weakness and issue number one to address going forward seemed like a thing of the past in this matchup with Pittsburgh, as the Kraken held the likes of Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, and crew to just the one goal. A breakaway goal by Jake Guentzel with Kraken defensemen on his back put Pittsburgh on the board first, but Seattle was locked in after that. Seattle netminder Martin Jones reflected on the game.
“It’s been a roller coaster, just trying to wrap my head around playing hockey today. Sometimes, when you’re not thinking too much, things work out for you. That might have been the case today,” Jones remarked in regards to playing just hours after his son was born.
Martin Jones making one of his 32 saves on the night (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Dad strength and staying resilient
Both Jordan Eberle and Martin Jones welcomed a new member of their family into their lives in the form of the newborn prior to today’s game, so the term “dad strength” came into play. While Jones held it down between the pipes for Seattle, Jordan Eberle and the Kraken attack stayed resilient to beat Pittsburgh goaltender Casey DeSmith twice. While two potential goals for Seattle were called off for offsides and a high stick respectively, the Kraken remained undeterred by the bad luck. A little over midway through the second period, the line of Jaden Schwartz, Matty Beniers, and Jordan Eberle found each other in succession to end the play with an Eberle goal. Eberle discussed the day, postgame.
“This is special. Something you’ll always remember. I’ll be able to tell him I scored after he was born, but I think more importantly, we got the win... After having a couple of goals disallowed, the resilience to continue to go at it and find a way to win — that was big,” Eberle said of his newest son, Deacon.
Daniel Sprong and Vince Dunn celebrate one of Seattle’s two disallowed goals (Photo by Liv Lyons)
A flash of what this team can be
This game was an excellent example of the sort of potential that this Seattle hockey team has, if in fact they play out the entirety of the three periods. The Penguins are solid club year in and year out, and it would be a tall task to shut them out, so allowing a goal is fine. To hold them to one, while staying patient and battling through some bad luck on challenges to score twice and then add an empty netter, shows the toughness this team has. With top talent such as rookie Matty Beniers, free agent addition Andre Burakovsky leading the attack, getting goals from fourth liner Morgan Geekie tonight displays the depth this team has.
Jaden Schwartz looks for a pass (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Quick notes
New dad Jordan Eberle scored his first goal of the season in the second period tonight. Jordan and wife Lauren welcomed son Deacon yesterday.
Eberle’s goal came 1:15 after Guentzel’s, which is the fifth time this year the Kraken have scored a response goal within two minutes of their opponent, according to Kraken broadcaster Alison Lukan.
Fellow new dad Martin Jones secured the win with a season-high 31 saves tonight. Martin and his wife Alex welcomed son Rory yesterday.
Matty Beniers extended his point streak to four games with an assist on Eberle's goal.
Beniers now leads all rookies in scoring with eight points (four goals, four assists) on the season. After tonight's assist, he surpasses Shane Pinto (OTT), who trails with seven points.
The assist was his 17th point in his 20th career game – the most by any skater through their first 20 contests with the Seattle Kraken according to NHL PR. He ranks ninth in most points scored through first 20 games as a teenager, among all active players in the league.
Jaden Schwartz's empty-net goal secured his second multi-point game of the season and first at home. Earlier this season he had a two-point game in Colorado.
Former Penguin Daniel Sprong earned an assist on Morgan Geekie's goal, and now has five points (two goals, three assists) in his last four games against the Penguins.
What’s next?
The Kraken will get a few days before their next game, on Tuesday, November 1st. Seattle will head on the road to battle their Pacific Division rival Calgary Flames. With a relatively new look roster, the Flames and free agent addition Nazeem Kadri will host Seattle inside of the Scotiabank Saddledome with a puck drop of 6PM PST. The winner of this matchup will likely take temporary hold of third place in the division.
