VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour has been around long enough to know preseason results aren’t worth getting too revved up over.
Montour is more concerned about the Kraken using upcoming days to ready for Thursday night’s season opener in Calgary after a 4-3 loss here Saturday to the Vancouver Canucks denied a bid for the franchise’s first undefeated preseason ever. It was Montour jumpstarting his team early at Rogers Arena with a first period power play goal and then an assist on a Bobby McMann strike before the Canucks bounced back to tie it.
Berkly Catton then put the Kraken ahead just 89 seconds into the final period, taking a Ryan Winterton pass at the net front and making a quick move with his hands to deposit the puck past goalie Kevin Lankinen. But Zeev Buium tied it on the power play with under 10 minutes to go in regulation and then Brock Boeser added a decisive goal right at the tail end of another man advantage with just 1:38 to go.
Now, the Kraken have a few days to parlay what they’ve gleaned into a season that starts with four games in six days against Pacific Division rivals Calgary, Edmonton and Vegas followed by a five-city East Coast road trip.
“I mean, a (good) start is huge,” Montour had said ahead of Saturday’s game. “So, with a short camp, you’ve got to be on top of things right away because games come quick really fast and by the time you think about it, you blink and it’s Christmas time. It’s going to be the bye-week, then it’s (trade) deadline time. You go in blocks, kind of segments. And for our group, we need to be our best every night.”
For Montour, 31, entering his third Kraken season after winning a Stanley Cup with Florida in 2024, there have been encouraging signs over this shortened four-game preseason schedule that could translate to a strong start once results start to matter. Some of it stems from seeing the Kraken respond well to physical challenges imposed by the Calgary Flames in a fight-filled affair last Thursday at Climate Pledge Arena.
The Kraken played mostly their regular NHL lineup in that matchup and didn’t back down once the Flames began laying on the body.
“It’s something that this group needs to continue getting better at,” Montour said. “You show up for your teammates. It makes you look stronger. It’s good to see a couple of guys out there mixing it up.”
Saturday’s game was tame by comparison, though Jacob Melanson did take exception midway through when Canucks forward Linus Karlsson shoved Matty Beniers partway into the home team’s bench while finishing a check. Melanson immediately raced over and flung Karlsson to the ice, prompting one of a couple of prolonged skirmishes that broke out in the second period.
Winterton got into a dustup with Elias Pettersson with just under four minutes to go after the Canucks forward had put a neutral zone hit on Shane Wright. The Kraken forward got the extra two minutes and the Canucks would score the winner just as his penalty expired.
While Montour would rather not see an over-indulgence in fisticuffs during preseason games that don’t count in the standings, he shrugged and conceded: “It’s hockey. It’s a part of the game.”
So is the power play, which led to Montour’s opening goal on a slap shot from the point off a feed by Beniers. The Kraken entered the game 4-for-11 with the man advantage, though all four goals came in the first two preseason games when mostly AHL prospects were suiting up for them.
They’d gone 0-for-2 on power plays Thursday with the regulars facing Calgary, so getting a quick one just three minutes into this game was a positive.
About four minutes later, Montour played a puck to Cale Fleury, whose initial shot was kicked out by Canucks goalie Lankinen. But the rebound was a juicy one and McMann quickly gathered the puck in the slot and made no mistake on an ensuing wrist shot for a 2-0 lead.
Vancouver responded with a power play goal of their own on a tip-in by Brock Boeser midway through the period. It was the first goal of the preseason allowed by Kraken netminder Joey Daccord, who’d blanked the Flames for two periods a few games prior.
Pettersson then tied things up early in the second period, shifting to his backhand and tucking it by Daccord when left alone in front.
It’s tough to read too much into results, both team and individual, when Saturday’s game against the Canucks was just the second time a full complement of Kraken regulars suited up. But winning three of their four games probably bodes more positive than losing that many, at least when it comes to building momentum head of Thursday’s season opener.
Montour was again teamed with Ryker Evans on the second defensive pairing and the duo will likely begin the season together as well. Evans scored the tying Kraken goal with some deft hand co-ordination against Calgary on Thursday, capping a comeback from 3-1 down after two periods and eventually winning in a shootout.
“We play similar styles in trying to get into the aggressiveness in the D-zone and then trying to make plays offensively,” Montour said. “Obviously, you could see it on his (Thursday) goal, it’s not something we’re shocked about because he can make those plays with his feet and then he’s got the skills to finish.”
The Kraken last season couldn’t finish what they started. They’d positioned themselves in a playoff spot by the Winter Olympic break but then collapsed to a 7-17-2 mark after that.
Montour insists “consistency” will be huge this time around, carrying any strong start the distance.
