When Defense is the Best Offense

It’s easy to wave off wins and losses in the NHL preseason, especially with most Kraken veterans getting their first game action in Thursday’s home game, which finished as a 4-3 shootout Seattle win to send the home crowd home happy. Matty Beniers, who assisted on two third-period goals to tie the game, pairs with roommate Berkly to supply two shootout goals. Philipp Grubauer made two big stops to seal the win.

But what does matter is what coaches like to call compete level. Nobody can fault the Kraken energy and ardor here at Climate Pledge Arena. The first period was a solid 1-1 outcome, with Philipp Grubauer keeping the score even with two close-in saves in the early minutes and later withstanding a flurry of Flames scoring attempts with five minutes remaining in the first frame.

The second period was all about the bouts. Check below for details, but it will be a while before Seattle racks up that many penalty minutes, fights and bodies in the penalty box. Let’s just agree four geared-up Kraken in the home penalty box is a tight fit. In other news, Calgary did score twice, the third goal coming on a 5-on-3 situation. It was encouraging to see teammates sticking up for teammates.

“We’re going to stick up for each other because we’re all very close,” said Ryker Evans, who tied the score in the third period on a move the coaching staff and teammates would love to see frequently in the year ahead. “That’s what we need in our game and also holding each other accountable, especially not letting other teams push us around.”

For his part, Lane Lambert was clear that he and the coaching staff want to see more of Evans’ offensive skills shine through this year. He commended Evans passel of skills and moves on the offensive end while Evans said playing alongside a similarly offensively gifted D-partner won’t dissuade him from jumping into plays when the opportunities arise.

The third period? Ah, that’s when the good vibes of training camp manifested into goal scoring. The defensive pair of Brandon Montour and Ryker Evans (see a below item on that too) both scored on a favorite feature of the Lane Lambert systems of play for both coaches and players. With an assist from Matty Beniers, Montour moved up in the offensive zone to whip a shot past Calgary goalie Devin Cooley to make it 3-2 in the first 90 seconds of the third frame. It was sweet revenge (or replay) for Montour since his “goal” late in the second period generated Climate Pledge Arena-familiar high decibels only to be doused by a successful Calgary challenge for offsides.

Six minutes later, Evans took his own assist from Beniers to take the puck all the way to the Calgary crease and past Cooley despite pushback from Calgary defenders. Both scoring plays are a good sign for the team and fans, especially if Evans con

Second to Long

Five minutes into the middle period in what was already a chippy affair,  this game got more real in its own way between two squads who face it each for real-real in the season opener at Calgary next Thursday.

The second period here at Climate Pledge Arena was possibly the longest in pedestrian time ever witnessed by the Kraken faithful. The preseason affair puck-dropped 20 minutes earlier than the usual 7 p.m. start, but that time was consumed and surpassed by referees and off-ice officials sorting the penalties from not one but two multiple-fight sequences.

The first group included two Flames players in the penalty box, one receiving a double minor for roughing and another five minutes for fighting. On the Seattle, defenseman Josh Mahura was whistled off for a roughing double-minor while forward Bobby McMann took a seat for a five-minute fighting major. D-man and alternate captain Vince Dunn joined a crowded penalty box for two minutes on a roughing call.

The result of that clamoring on ice and the scoresheet was a Calgary goal during 5-on-3 play, giving the visitors a 3-1 lead after scoring an even-strength goal early in the second period to break a 1-1 deadlock at first intermission.

Just a few minutes later, the referees and off-ice officials were back at sorting and sending players to the penalty box during more fists flying. Flames forward Brennan Othmann, who was riling things up in last Sunday’s youth-laden Seattle 4-2 victory in Alberta, drew a two-minute charging penalty plus a 10-minute misconduct. On the Kraken ledger, 2021 fourth-round pick Ville Ottavainen was sent to the locker room with two minutes for instigating, five minutes for fighting and a game misconduct. Free agent signee Curtis Douglas was called for a two-minute roughing minor plus a 10-minute misconduct. The referees spent several minutes discussing the unraveled game with both coaches and benches.

“Let’s say there was a lot of ‘together’ in the second period,” said Kraken head coach Lane Lambert. “There was a little bit of everything [in the whole game], other than we didn’t have a 5-on-3 or 4-on-3, but there was everything else in that game [including Calgary getting the aforementioned looks on power plays]. It was a good opportunity to take a couple of looks at [systems of play] we’ve been talking about. I didn’t like the breakaway during overtime; we’ll have to correct that.”

Philipp Grubauer stood tall during that breakaway and made two vital shootout stops to deliver the win after the youthful duo of Beniers and Catton notched the two goals needed. Grubauer faced 33 shots during the three periods and OT, many Grade A.
“I thought he was our best player by far,” said Lambert about his goaltender on the night.  “I thought he was fantastic.”

All That Raz

Veteran defenseman Brandon Montour and young D-man protégé Ryker Evans sit next to each other in the spacious yet close-enough-to-see-faces locker room. They raz each other plenty, though no fan will be surprised that Montour carries the conversation. But you know there is mentoring of the best kind going on after every game day.

The two have played together a bit, sort of in fits and starts, because Evans endured illness and injury during their time on ice together. Both players were clearly happy at the prospect of pairing together in this third of four preseason games and for real when the team opens on the road next Thursday at Calgary. Their head coach likes the concept too, especially what he identified as “mobility.”

“The way we want to play, we think it suits them pretty well in terms of their skating ability,” said Lambert after Thursday’s morning skate. “I love the way they can move the puck. We need to spend less time in our zone, so we're anticipating their skating ability and their puck movement will be certainly welcomed.”

Back to the razzing: In a past regular season game against Calgary last season, Evans was battling netfront with a Flames forward, possibly a glove in the face involved. The Calgary player took exception, taking a body shot. The problem was, the Flames targeted Montour as Evans had slipped away. Montour was confused and ticked off with the opponent, who said, “Hey, you hit me first!” Montour proceeded to fight the foe and then realized later Evans started the whole thing. He hasn’t let his young, mobile partner forget it.

Workshopping the Penalty Kill

Due to the newly installed NHL collective bargaining agreement, veterans who have appeared in 100 or more games will only play in two preseason games. That means whatever adjustments need to be examined, explored and executed ahead of the 84-game season that starts Oct. 1 will be test-driven in Thursday’s home matchup with Calgary and a Saturday road game at Vancouver.

The penalty kill segment of the Kraken game package disappointed last season, a consensus opinion shared by Seattle coaches and players alike. To that end, assistant coach Aaron Schneekloth and Lambert exchanged plenty of ideas about improving the PK during the offseason. One idea that materialized at practices was adding forwards Mackie Samoskevich and Bobby McMann to the PK upfront mix. Neither has played during shorthanded minutes in their NHL careers.

“There are certain guys that maybe haven't killed penalties a lot that we're trying to implement, which is a hard thing to do at the National Hockey League level from a technical standpoint,” said Lambert. “I think we're getting there. We need to get there really fast. It’s always about compete level for me. We’re doing a good job of that. It's just a matter of some of our reads and some guys that maybe haven't killed penalties as much. We're trying a couple of different guys that, you know, we've got to get more reps for.”