Shorthanded, Streaks End

The Kraken’s upward mobility of nine straight wins and a 13-game standings point streak to return to Stanley Cup Playoffs relevance stalled just a bit in Pittsburgh. Future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby and recently hot goaltender Tristan Jarry led the hometown Penguins to a 3-0 shutout win in an afternoon game that allowed all local eyes to watch the beloved Steelers face Buffalo in a postseason road matchup (postponed from Sunday) that started less than two hours after this game ended.

The scoreless first period was another plus in Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord’s elite hockey equation as a 27-year-old rookie. He stopped 12 shots in the opening 20 minutes, highlighted by late-period monster saves on Crosby’s linemate, Rickard Rakell, and then Sid Playing Like the Kid before the teams went to the dressing rooms for the first intermission.

The Pens came out just as energetic to start the middle stanza, but this time solved Daccord with a first goal from forward Drew O’Connor on a back-door score that didn’t offer much chance for the Kraken goaltender. O’Connor scored 29 seconds into the period.

Then, a couple of shifts later, Crosby notched his 25^th goal. It’s the 14^th time he has scored at least 25 goals (and he has two more seasons in which he tallied 24). Crosby has an opportunity to top his career-high of 51 goals in the 2009-10 season. Crosby nearly scored his 26^th to make it 3-0 in the third period but only for Daccord making another big stop to keep his squad within striking distance with more than 10 minutes remaining. He ultimately scored his 26^th on an empty net goal just seconds after Joey Daccord skated off with about three minutes remaining.

As it turned out, Seattle ran out of time and victory comebacks, with Pittsburgh perfecting the art of shutting down their half of the ice with a two-goal lead. The Kraken have a chance to get right back in the win column with a Tuesday night contest against the New York Rangers before facing the ultra-hot Edmonton Oilers (10-game winning streak) Thursday to complete this road trip.

“We had some guys that were a little bit under the weather,” said coach Dave Hakstol, not making excuses (never his style) but indicated that ironman defenseman Adam Larsson didn’t return after the first period due to illness and not injury. “That affects some of the players in the lineup with [lower] energy. It doesn't affect everybody in the lineup. We didn't manage the puck very well in the first period.

“This is a team [Pittsburgh] that pressures pretty well. They pressure hard, they have good sticks. We didn't come out of our zone as well as we needed to and we definitely didn't enter [effectively] into their zone. We didn't manage the puck well enough in the first period. That's where a lot of a lot of the opportunities for them came from. They came right off our tape. A couple of mistakes early in the second period and we’re chasing the game from there.”

Next up is a back-to-back game versus the Metropolitan Division-leading New Yorker Rangers Tuesday.

“We looked a little tired at times,” said alternate captain Jaden Schwartz post-game. “Just didn't have that same jumpand energy. We weren’t able to make passes and get to the inside enough.

“It kind of nice [Monday] was an afternoon game. We will be able to get get to bed at a decent time. We'll be better tomorrow ... a little sloppy. That's gonna happen sometimes.Wwe don't want to let that happen back-to-back games.”

Ryker On

Going into the last-minute matinee in Pittsburgh, fans expected Kraken standouts Matty Beniers and Andre Burakovsky (bonafidely hard-luck) to be out of the lineup on this fourth game of a six-contest road trip. But over coffees and whatever MLK Day breakfasts might materialize, the injury list fattened to include Kraken leading scorer Vince Dunn (eight goals, 27 assists) and his 35 points in street clothes.

No issues, impressive rookie Ryker Evans, who worked some first-pair minutes in the preseason, jumped the depth chart to work alongside Adam Larsson. He nearly earned an early assist, quickly getting a puck to the neutral zone where Jaden Schwartz and Oliver Bjorkstrand nearly converted a 2-on-1 break. Evans last played Dec. 27, finishing his NHL debut month with four assists in nine games that featured his poised defensive skills.

Injury List Grows

The aforementioned Dunn, Beniers, and Burakovsky are all deemed “day-to-day” on the injury list, joining goalie Philipp Grubauer (lower-body) and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (lower-body), the latter two on injured reserve. To all Kraken family's dismay, stalwart defenseman Adam Larsson did not return to the bench and ice for the second period. After the game, Dave Hakstol had no updates on Dunn, Beniers, and Burakovsky and reiterated Larsson left Monday’s tilt due to illness. The Kraken finished the game with just five defensemen dressed.

.

Notables From the Notebook

Kraken D-man Brian Dumoulin played nearly 600 games in a Pittsburgh uniform, winning a couple of Stanely Cups in 2016 and 2017. The Penguins played a commemorative video of Dumoulin during the first TV timeout of the afternoon. All fans and even the Pittsburgh bench gave “Dumo” a standing ovation. Dumoulin couldn’t help but grin before getting back to work.

Along with Dumoulin, other Pittsburgh alums include his defensive partner, Justin Schultz (who won two Cups too), Brandon Tanev (the Kraken’expansion draft choice), Jared McCann (Crosby is mimicking his stick blade curvature this season), and Jamie Oleksiak.

Jaden Schwartz registered points in the first three games of this Eastern swing, but his best road work has been as the rock-solid two-way forward he has been since breaking in with St. Louis in the spring of 2012. His breakups of potential scoring chances by opponents in the last four games would require more than two hands. He disrupted a pair of prime looks by Pittsburgh in the first 20 minutes.

If you’re wondering, Crosby is one of four Pittsburgh veterans who have won at least two Stanley Cups and now still prosper in their later 30s. Crosby is 36 and so is defenseman Kris Letang, who was drafted in the third round of the 2005 NHL Draft when Crosby went No. 1 overall. Evgeni Malkin is 37 and has won three Cups with those two teammates. Jeff Carter, 38, a fourth-liner with three game-winning goals this season, won two Cups with Los Angeles.