McMann, McCann Good Game Plan

VANCOUVER – This kind of mix-up, any coach, general manager, or team would be glad to embrace. Jared McCann scored first up here in B.C. while Bobby McMann canned his first Kraken goal on his first shot for the Seattle franchise to provide a lead the visitors did not relinquish in a 5-2 victory over the division rival Canucks. McCann, er, no, McMann scored a second goal in the third period to close down any Vancouver comeback.

When Seattle general manager Jason Botterill traded for power-forward type Bobby McMann, the jokes rolled about mixing up McMann’s surname with Kraken original Jared McCann. Even McCann joked that the equipment manager, Jeff Camelio, would lock the two next to each other (he did). For her part, Connie McMann, Bobby’s mom, laughed when asked about potential name mixups, revealing her son had been called McCann “all the time” as he aspired to break into the NHL and finally did seven years after fellow 29-year-old McCann.

The Kraken take home two important standings points to stay just one point behind San Jose in contention for the Western Conference second wild-card spot.  Seattle is now 30-26-9 with defending Stanley Cup champion Florida showing up for a 5 p.m. puck drop at Climate Pledge Arena Sunday. Los Angeles also has 69 points, but the Kraken have a game in hand on the Kings.

Appreciation for Newest Kraken

“Right now, where we're at [in the West wild-card race], whenever someone comes in the lineup, whether it's via trade or changing the rotation, you're looking for a spark,” said GM Botterill, awaiting the team bus to the airport late Saturday night. “Bobby certainly provided our team with a spark. He did the things we talked about at the trade deadline: His size, his speed, getting to the net, just with his shot and his physicality, getting his body in there. That's what he delivered tonight.”

Kraken head coach Lane Lambert said he liked and appreciated McMann’s contributions right from the first shift, tracking the puck right to the end, applying a hit finish in his first 40-some seconds of ice time.

“He’s got a ton of speed,” said Lambert post-game. “It’s a welcome addition from that standpoint. Obviously [same for] the goals, and he almost had a third one.”

Alternate captain Matty Beniers was equally impressed with his new linemate: “Bobby was the whole night. I thought it was a lot of speed and physicality. He makes good plays. He kept it somewhat simple. That was kind of the game plan. Just get it down in their zone and play them down there ... As time goes on, you play more and more with guys, you start to realize their tendencies, where they go on the ice, where you know what they like to do with the puck. You just keep learning.”

Kraken fans certainly feel the first line took some big strides on the McMann learning curve Saturday. If more learnings are gained down the playoff stretch, Seattle faithful, no doubt, are thinking: bring it on.

Grubi Feeling at Home

Veteran goaltender Philipp Grubauer was a standout in his first start since March 4. He was particularly clutch, keeping the game at 1-1 after Vancouver tied matters 12 minutes in the game and before McMann scored in the final minute of the first frame. Over the first 40 minutes, Grubauer made 25 saves and faced 13 high-danger scoring chances per Natural Stat Trick. Grubauer finished with 31 saves. He is 12-8-3 on the year.

Fun fact: Many of Grubauer’s saves were punctuated here with “Grrrruuuuuuu” cheers, thanks to some 500 Kraken season ticket members road-tripping to Vancouver for a team junket. That’s plus a good one to two hundred (maybe more) fans donning Kraken jerseys and other swag at the Canucks' home arena.

The Grrrruuu chants continued as the Kraken defended well but also didn’t take their foot off the pedal. Lambert was adamant this past week about his squad needing to quit playing too conservatively in the third period, and McMann’s second goal was a textbook example. The new first-line left wing scored on his second-ever Kraken goal and 21^st of the year on tic-tac-toe play set up by Eberle and Matty Beniers.

Three-Point Nights in Triplicate

The Kraken did not quit there. Matty Beniers, who was on top of his game all night, scored Seattle’s fifth goal on assists by, you guessed it, from Eberle and McMann. One note about Beniers: The Kraken’s third goal put Seattle up 3-1 mid-second period with Jamie Oleksiak slamming the puck past Canucks goalie Tilopilo from the high slot. Beniers earned the primary assist, but it was his hustle and attention to detail on a longer-than-ideal shift.

Another Lambert mantra during the last four losses was that the team needed more from the top line. Message and reply delivered. McMann (two goals, one assist), Eberle (three assists) and Beniers (goal, two goals) all turned in three-point nights.

He’s the McMann

While Kraken had to wait a week for forward Bobby McMann’s debut, he didn’t take long to make a positive impression. He notched a hit on his first shift as part of the starting lineup here in B.C. During the first period, he looked comfortable finding spots to create time and space for himself and linemates Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle. It’s not easy to adjust to new teammates at game speed, but the guess here is that pro scout evaluators would give him solid marks for his first period work at even strength.

Not only did SEA coach Lane Lambert assign the new player to the top line, but he and Chris Taylor also put him on the second power play unit. Late first period, Seattle went on its first power play. Less than a half-minute later, McMann scored his first Kraken goal on his first shot. D-man Brandon Montour started the play in the defensive zone, moving the puck to Eeli Tolvanen for up-ice carriage before he moved the puck to McMann on the left wall in the Canucks zone.

McMann delivered on a promise made last weekend by both Kraken GM Jason Botterill and Lambert that the trade acquisition from Toronto would not be afraid to put pucks on net. McMann did exactly that with a fading-angle shot that flummoxed VAN 6-foot-8, 229-pound rookie goalie Nikita Tolopilo. Shane Wright was net front for a pass or rebound, potentially disturbing both Tolopilo and a Canucks defender. McMann’s goal, his 20^th of the season, put the Kraken up, 2-1, in the last minute of the first period. The frame finished with the home squad outshooting Seattle 15 to 10.

“It almost resembles, in a way, like your first game,” said McMann at his visitor's locker. “You’ve got an entirely new group, new organization, new fans. You want to make a great first impression. Sometimes things go your way a little bit more than other nights. Luckily, that was [tonight] for me.” 
McMann was glowing in his remarks about his new linemates: “Yeah, those two control the play so well. When the puck's on their stick, they're just so dynamic and unpredictable for the other team. So I'm just trying to get open for those guys. Ebs is so good at finding pockets around the ice, making those slip passes tonight through guys legs. That’s easy hockey when he's doing that. He's a great player to play with, and Matty was just a workhorse tonight.”

McCann Cashes In

It’s been a while since Jared McCann scored a goal. Ten games between when he opened the scoring here in the city where his NHL career started and Jan. 31, when he scored in a big road win over Vegas to cap off a week that earned him the NHL’s First Star of the Week honors. Ironically, though moved to the second line on Saturday to make room for Bobby McMann on the Matty Beniers line, McCann scored with his recent linemates, Beniers and Jordan Eberle, on the ice.  Brandon Montour got the primary assist while Eberle started the goal sequence. As it happened, McMann came to the bench for the shift change, putting McCann in action with fresh legs.