Taking Care of Business

During the course of any NHL team’s run at a Stanley Cup Playoffs bid, there are games that are must-win and others that are need-to-take-care-of-business wins. Wednesday was the latter with a rebuilding Chicago team missing a big piece of that re-do with rookie sensation Connor Bedard out for another five weeks with a welcome-to-the-league broken jaw. Seattle jumped out to a two-goal advantage seven minutes into the game, then notched two more scores by the second intermission for a 4-1 lead. The teams traded goals early third period to set up the eventual 6-2 victory. Joey Daccord faced 15 shots in a scoreless first period and finished with 34 saves.

That’s taking care of business when and as needed. St. Louis, fellow Western Conference wild-card pursuer who beat red-hot Vancouver Wednesday, is here Friday and then Columbus is on the business ledger Sunday. Seattle now has 20 wins on the season against 18 losses and nine points from overtime/shootout losses. It adds up to 49 points amid a bunched group of seven teams vying for two spots. There are plenty of take-care-of-biz wins required and probably some must-wins come March and April.

Donato Back in Town and...

In the first period during a power play, Kraken original (he scored the first-ever Seattle regular-season goal) and now Chicago forward Ryan Donato was busting net-front as is part of his usual game. SEA defenseman Will Borgen interceded to take him down and Donato took exception. In fact, Donato was scrappy on more than one first-period shift, clearly noticed by CHI coach Luke Richardson and the Boston native’s new teammates.

In the third period, with the visiting Blackhawks tightening the score to 4-2 with a power play goal, Donato sped up ice from fairly deep in his own zone for a breakaway on Seattle goalie Joey Daccord (possible this very scenario happened before but in post-practice extra time at Kraken Community Iceplex or maybe at optional morning skate?). The Kraken rookie made the save in Donato’s deke and backhand shot to thunderous cheers from the capacity crowd and seconds later Tomas Tatar got behind the Chicago defense for his own breakaway, which drew even more thunder and decibels when Tatar beat Arvid Soderblom to salt this game.

Tatar scored later in the final frame to establish a 6-2 final with Will Borgen picking up his 16^th assist as the top-four D-man continues his career year for points and time on ice. It is the veteran’s fourth and fifth goals along with four assists in 16 games (plus all sorts of right-time, right-place instances in all zones) since he was wisely acquired in a trade by GM Ron Francis.

“You look at it and go, maybe it's good luck,” said Dave Hakstol when asked about Tatar’s impressive production since joining the Kraken lineup.  “He’s found some good chemistry with a couple of different lines. Or maybe there's something [more] to it. He's an intelligent player who finds a way to make the guys that he's playing with a little bit better. We've really liked his competitiveness on the puck, his poise in every situation. And the ability to mesh with a couple of different linemates [center Matty Beniers and fill-in center Jared McCann along with steady work with Jordan Eberle]. He's been really effective and obviously tonight he really helped, put this game away.”

Energizing First Period

During a road game at Columbus that marked a franchise-record ninth straight victory on Jan. 13, coach Dave Hakstol said he sensed a drop in energy even as his squad tied the game three straight times by mid-match and finally finished off the Blue Jackets with three straight third-period goals on the way to 7-4 win. But by the ensuing Monday afternoon in a game moved up into a Martin Luther King Day matinee, Hakstol, and his coaches knew an illness spreading among players was going to be a challenge (these insights revealed during a KJR radio interview with play-by-play man and the PNW’s most ardent Detroit Lions fan, Everett Fitzhugh). Even ironman Adam Larsson had to call it quits for the day after doing his best to skate and defend and generate his underrated contribution to scoring chances.

Along with injuries to notables such as Matty Beniers (still out, left Columbus game early) and Vince Dunn (back Wednesday, not illness-related), the Kraken’s wattage was never the bright 100 percent that Hakstol expects from his group of one-for-all veterans and rookies (hello, Joey Daccord, Tye Kartye, and Ryker Evans) more than holding their own against formidable opponents and more than few all-stars. The result of the energy drain was a four-game losing streak that didn’t help much in keeping close to the two wild-card spots available to Western Conference contenders who can’t clinch third place or better in their divisions.

Wednesday’s 6-2 win over Chicago might not be the long-term cure for securing a playoff spot, but it certainly represents a welcome tonic to reset the season. Hakstol said Tuesday’s practice was the first time in two weeks that “everyone felt good” about their energy and stamina levels. It showed with first-period goals from Jared McCann (his team-leading 19^th) and Jaden Schwartz (who nearly scored 13 seconds earlier on the same shift with a two-way game that looks as good as any point in his Kraken career).

“This game was huge for us,” said Eberle, who notched two primary assists on the night, including Tatar’s breakaway score. “We've lost four in a row. You know, we see the standings, we need to start climbing. That's a massive game [and two standings points].

“We got ahead there and then we stopped playing for 10 minutes in the first period. They came back, so we responded and found a way. But we still have little details we need to fix and you know, Joey was there to make some huge saves.”

Some positive signs along with McCann’s fifth goal in his last six games and Schwartz, recovered from an early-season injury, getting rewarded with his 10^th goal of the year: Jordan Eberle masterminded the McCann goal with signature behind-the-net mobility and now has three goals and four assists in the last half-dozen games. Andre Burakovsky, in just his 16^th appearance of the season, notched a primary assist (his shot was deflected) on Schwartz’s goal. Everyone in the locker room and coaches' quarters would love to see the two-time Stanley Cup winner get on a heater.

There’s more upward trends: Vince Dunn earned an assist three shifts into his return from the four-game layoff on Schwartz’s goal. Dave Hakstol, not prone to idle praise, reinforced his view that Dunn is a game-changer and big-moment performer during Wednesday’s morning skate media scrum when confirming the Kraken leading scorer was ready to go. This particular assist was garden-variety, deftly keeping the puck in-zone, but still a team-leading 28^th on the year.

Wait, What Happened?

Fifteen seconds into the middle period, Alex Wennberg was credited with his eighth goal of the season, but Chicago’s stalwart defenseman Seth Jones actually did most of the work. Jones and Wennberg were puck-battling when Jones gained control and moved the puck to a teammate but bounced off rookie CHI defenseman Alex Vlasic and pinballed its way past Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom, who was chased from the net in his last game here at Climate Pledge Arena. This goal was clearly not his doing.

Late second period, Brian Dumoulin (with a starter pass from rookie Tye Kartye) zipped a pass to Brandon Tanev, who quick-released a shot to make it 4-1. Nice move from Tanev, still clearly beloved for mixing it up with three different Toronto players Sunday night.