Kraken forward Jared McCann admitted in a jubilant postgame locker room that he enjoys his newest, but also most familiar linemates being able to “create off of nothing” for goal-scoring success.
And for a Kraken team that’s struggled offensively all season, having McCann back to his prior scoring ways after missing nearly half the campaign because of injuries gives them a chance to create plays anew out of what had been a huge void. McCann added two more goals Tuesday night in a 5-1 win over the Washington Capitals that gives him eight for the month to tie a personal record first set back in March 2023.
That he’s doing it four games into being reunited on a top line with Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers surprises no one, least of all McCann.
“I feel like we’ve had chances in the past couple of games here that haven’t really gone for us,” said McCann, who added two assists for a four-point night. “We’ve had some good opportunities, especially coming out of our D-zone. We’re playing good defensively – breaking up a lot of plays and going the other way. That’s what makes us successful. I’m playing with two guys that create off of nothing. I’m definitely lucky to play with those guys.”
The only luck not in McCann’s corner this game came when he scored an apparent third goal on a third period breakaway that brought hats cascading down from the Climate Pledge Arena fans to celebrate his hat trick. But officials waved the goal off after a long delay, apparently because a linesman – who can’t immediately blow the play dead – spotted Beniers commit a four-minute high-sticking infraction well before McCann was sprung in alone.
“I just feel bad for the people who threw their hats on the ice, to be honest with you,” McCann quipped. “Maybe they’ll get a refund or something like that, who knows?”
Not much chance of that. It was the second time McCann just missed a hat-trick, having beaten Capitals netminder Logan Thompson with a second period shot that rang off the post and was batted out of mid-air by Eberle for a rebound goal.
The three second period markers gave the Kraken their first 3-0 lead since defeating Winnipeg by that score back in October on the road. It was just the second time in 11 games the Kraken have scored first and were cruising when McCann notched his waved-off hat trick that would have made it 4-0.
Instead, the double minor to Beniers was assessed and Washington scored its only goal of the contest on Philipp Grubauer during the first minor penalty, with NHL all-time goal-scoring leader Alex Ovechkin notching his 22nd of the season. That made for some tight collars as the Caps were back within two and still on the power play.
But the Kraken killed it off, then added goals by Ryker Evans and Beniers to clinch a second consecutive win and third in the last four games.
“The mindset on the bench was positive,” McCann said. “We kept going, we kept pushing. That was the plan. Stay level-headed and keep going.”
McCann now has four goals and three assists for seven points in four games since rejoining the top line. After missing all of training camp with a lower body issue, he got hurt the second week of the season and was out nearly six weeks. He then got hurt again in December and missed 18 more days but has been in the lineup for 17 consecutive games since, scoring nine times and adding nine assists.
His 14 goals are second on the team behind only Eberle’s 18 and despite the fact McCann has played 22 fewer games. McCann’s ascension gives the Kraken a needed scoring boost at a crucial point in the season when teams are jockeying neck-and-neck for both divisional and conference playoff spots.
The victory kept the Kraken in a tie for the second Western Conference wild card spot with San Jose and Los Angeles, though the Sharks and Kings hold the tiebreakers having played one fewer game. But the Kraken importantly are also only two points behind Anaheim for third place in the Pacific Division and still hold a game-in hand on the Ducks.
The Kraken face the Ducks and then the Kings in back-to-back road contests next week ahead of the Winter Olympic break.
Eberle also picked up an assist in this game and now has two goals, three assists his last three contests since being reunited with McCann.
“I’m quite familiar playing with him, obviously, since I’ve played most of my time here with him,” Eberle said. “He’s fast, he makes good plays, he’s got good hands and obviously a shot – that’s the biggest key for him. But yeah, when he’s moving his feet and making plays he’s, in my opinion, right up there. He’s a very underrated player in this league.”
Eberle feels McCann getting back to where he was pre-injuries can give this team a boost akin to an in-season trade given how long it went without him this season.
“He’s been consistent for us since he’s been a Kraken,” Eberle said. “He has been our most offensive guy. And when he’s healthy and moving his feet and he’s got confidence that’s what happens. He’s a great player.”
One that head coach Lane Lambert has been waiting for on a team that’s struggled most of the season to score more than two or three goals in a game.
Lambert aired his team out in public and private after a despondent loss to Anaheim last Friday night. Since that game, they’ve responded with two of their better efforts all season in outscoring the Capitals and New Jersey Devils by a combined 9-2 in a pair of needed regulation wins.
“Give them all the credit after the Anaheim game to come back here with these two games,” Lambert said. “We have to keep going, but a lot of commitment. A lot of commitment to the way we play. A lot of commitment to our structure. And we piggyback our offense off of that.”
And they piggyback offense off a top forward trio now picking up much of the goal-scoring weight from a fourth line checking unit that had been unsustainably carrying the team-wide load.
“They had an outstanding game,” Lambert said of McCann, Eberle and Beniers, who combined for four goals, four assists. “It’s very important to have those guys do that. We look forward to more of that. But certainly, you can see that when Jared gets an opportunity to score, he makes good on quite a few of those.”
McCann hopes to keep making good all the way to the postseason. He missed an abundant amount of early schedule but feels he can be a difference maker on the back end.
“We’re in a tight division and need to push forward here towards the playoffs and the wild-card spot,” he said. “That’s really all that matters.”
