Kraken Score First, But Fall in STL

The Kraken and St. Louis traded goals in Sunday’s matinee during the first period, then the home squad Blues pulled ahead for good by scoring just over a minute into the third period when forward Jordan Kyrou wristed on a Joey Daccord rebound.

St. Louis scored an insurance goal later third period when the recent unfortunate puck luck surfaced for the Kraken when Blues captain Brayden Schenn, tied up by Justin Schultz, managed a poor-angle shot that ricocheted off Daccord’s right skate blade and into the net. Daccord was sprawled forward, attempting a poke check. A late-empty netter made it a 4-1 final.

Seattle is now 33-34-13 with two games remaining in the regular season, Tuesday in Winnipeg and Thursday at Minnesota. The Kraken finished with 20 shots on goal and went zero-for-three on power play opportunities.

McCann Kickstarts

The Kraken stepped on the ice in St. Louis just 22 hours after Saturday’s puck drop in Dallas. The hometown Blues were knocked out of playoff contention Friday, losing to Carolina, while Vegas defeated Minnesota. It’s not surprising that both teams didn’t generate much offense in the early going of Sunday’s matinee.

But the Kraken’s leading goal scorer, Jared McCann, kickstarted matters with a solo goal 14-and-a-half minutes into the game. McCann, always a diligent backchecker, stripped the puck from Blues defenseman Marco Scandella high in the Seattle zone and quickly pivoted toward the STL goal on a breakaway with speed. Goalie Joel Hofer, familiar to WHL Portland Winterhawks as a solid performer from 2018 to 202, awaited McCann’s sudden arrival. McCann unleashed his elite wrist shot to beat Hofer short-side and upper right corner. It’s McCann’s 29^th goal of the year after scoring 27 in Year 1 of the Seattle and 40 last regular season.

Hakstol on Start and Momentum Shift

“We had good energy, we started the game well,” said Dave Hakstol when asked about the quick turnaround from playing a day game Saturday in Dallas. We gave up the late one late in the first [less than two minutes left in the period]. That probably gave them a little bit more energy. The momentum turned in the last five minutes of the second. It was an even game after two, but in the last three or four shifts of the second period, the momentum turned. Then they got the early one in the third.”

Kraken (Not So Good) Puck Luck Continues

At mid-game, the shots on goal count was 11-10 in favor of the visitors, with the Kraken leading in Grade-A scoring chances at five to two for St. Louis. Seattle’s recent trend of lots of prime scoring chances but little puck luck for a third straight game after ringing up five goals against Arizona last Tuesday. Late first period, Andre Burakovsky clanged a crossbar, and linemate masterfully tipped a Justin Schultz shot from the blue line that barely flew over the top of the crossbar. The second period ended 1-1, with St. Louis picking up the pace with 12 shots in the second period to five for Seattle. The Blues notched the last seven shots of the middle period, finishing with four Grade-A chances in the period. SEA goalie Joey Daccord, who clearly showed body language that he would like back the first-period mid-range shot and score by Kaspari Kapanen, kept his teammates in a tie game with standout saves.

Schwartz On Bounce-Back Next Season

Veteran forward Jaden Schwartz scored a dozen goals for St. Louis during the Blues' run to the 2019 Stanley Cup title. His then-and-now teammate Vince Dunn did not make the weekend part of the road. Dunn has missed 15 of the last 17 Kraken games and is a big reason why the team faded. Schwartz was out for several games, too, during a crucial and showed in recent games why his small details are effective for scoring and preventing goals.

Schwartz talked to TNT’s Darren Pang about his appreciation of his time in St. Louis and the Kraken’s downturn season after 100 regular-season points and a near trip to the Western Conference final last year.

Definitely a setback for all of us,” said Schwartz during a TV timeout in the second period. “But things change every year, then teams [after a down year] come back to have good next year.”