One: Kraken Scoring Committee
When Jordan Eberle drew back into the lineup last Wednesday, he faced a teeming crowd of Edmonton reporters who wanted to talk to the former Oiler. After some discussion of Eberle recovering from being accidentally cut in practice and how he dodged a more serious injury, the media throng inquired about the Kraken’s up-and-down fortunes to date.
“We win by committee,” said Eberle, matter-of-factly. Then Eberle went out to assist on the first Seattle goal, which resulted in the Kraken earning a standings point on the road. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored too and so did Alex Wennberg, who tallied his first goal of the year.
In Thursday’s win, Matty Beniers opened the scoring for his second goal of the season (a stat headed for better days considering he is currently shooting 10.5 percent below his 16-plus shooting percentage he compiled in the first 90 games of his career. Wennberg scored again and Kailer Yamamoto pushed the game to overtime with a power play goal and won the night by scoring in the eighth round of the shoot.
Great committee work, same for Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz trading places at the top of the scoring leaders list while Schwartz, McCann, and Oliver Bjorkstrand vie for the top spot in goals. The Kraken coaches are running four lines and Dave Hakstol’s defensemen are expected to jump into the offensive flow, all with the idea this team prospers when the scoresheet is dotted with multiple and different contributors in both goals and assists.
Two: Bounce-Back Mentality
The Kraken are embarking on four divisional games in the next seven days, a prime opportunity to make up some ground on Pacific rivals. Coming out of back-to-back games in which his squad earned three of four standings points, Dave Hakstol said he liked how his squad responded on the second night, showing a bounce-back mentality (likely to be a handy trait for the divisional showdown in the week unfolding). After the Kraken lost a late lead in Edmonton but did earn the standings point, Thursday at home, the Islanders jumped out with an early goal but Seattle answered with two in the first 20 minutes then, after NYI edged ahead 3-2 early third period, the Kraken answered and outlasted the visitors in the shootout.
“[Wednesday] was a disappointing loss because we felt like we did so many really good things there,” said Dave Hakstol in the Kraken locker room after Thursday’s win. “But true to the group in here, we addressed a couple of things that we felt like we could do better and then we just said, ‘let's turn the page, we get to tonight, that's three out of four in a back-to-back and that's a real successful two-game run.”
Hero Kailer Yamamoto, who scored the game-tying goal and the eighth-round shootout winner, said Thursday that he and his teammates know third periods have to be better: “I liked the way we came out in the third. feel like we've been struggling in the third, tied or down, and kind of let it slip away. Tonight, just to be able to get that win is a plus.”
Three: Know the Foe: Canucks’ Fast Start
The top three scorers in the NHL going into weekend play, with 27 points each, are the same top three scorers for Saturday night host Vancouver: J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes. Plus, Canucks forward Brock Boeser is one of four NHLers topping the league with 13 goals. Things are clicking for VAN (12 wins already). The Canucks will be Climate Pledge Arena to face Seattle next Friday. It’s never too early to stack up some divisional wins.
