Final Buzzer: Hats Off to Eberle

Early in the season, Kraken forward Jordan Eberle was getting "good looks" by his own description but zero results in the goals column. He remedied the situation Thursday night with a hat trick, scoring his three straight goals in the final 31-plus minutes of the game to erase a 2-1 Buffalo lead.

Two of the three Eberle goals came on primary assists from fellow alternate captain Jaden Schwartz, who now has six assists on the season. Schwartz has a five-game point streak.
Eberle admitted he did realize how he had just completed the Seattle franchise's first hat trick when his third goal got past Sabres goalie Dustin Tokarski. He scored on a shot in which he faked a harder slap shot and fired a sort of off-speed shot that got through Tokarski's pads.
"It's really cool and obviously to do it here [in Climate Pledge Arena] was pretty special," Eberle said after the game. "When it went in, I definitely thought about it.
"I know it's early in the season, but those were a big two points [in the division standings] for us."
Schwartz notched his own three-point performance by scoring an empty-net goal to ice a 5-2 victory for the Kraken. Seattle's record stands at 4-6-1 with a two-game road trip to Arizona and Vegas on the docket.

Adjusting the Lines

Halfway through Thursday's win, coach Dave Hakstol decided to move Eberle to a line with Schwartz and center Alex Wennberg. It was a trio that played together a bunch in training camp, preseason and early regular season. Let's just agree the move paid dividends.
Hakstol said he like the Schwartz-Eberle duo and that "Wenny did a good job with them too." Kraken fans can keep watch on whether that line stays together for the road trip. Seems like a good idea.
If you're scoring at home, Wennberg registered two primary assists on the other pair of Kraken goals, one for Eberle and the other on Morgan Geekie's first goal in 10 games since he scored in Vegas on opening night.

Fast Start in Third Period

The third period started with a four-on-four play with young star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and Schwartz ending the second frame with matching roughing penalties. With the two-minute minors running out, the foursome of Eberle, Wennberg, Jeremy Lauzon and Adam Larsson worked fluidly.
Lauzon, who looked good at both ends of the ice Thursday and is appearing to solidify his spot along Larsson, kept the puck in the offensive zone. He moved it to Wennberg, who spied Eberle. The veteran forward scored his second goal of the night and fourth of the season on the type of stickhandling that projects him as a potential 30-plus goal scorer this season.

Strong in the Second

The Kraken turned in another second period full of shots on goal and scoring chances. But Buffalo scored two goals in the first 18 minutes to take a 2-1 lead.
The second goal was a power-play score by veteran Kyle Okposo, marking the only man-advantage goal of the game in six combined tries between the two squads. The Kraken had four power plays with no official goals recorded.
Geekie's first period goal was effectively a man-advantage score with Buffalo center Arttu Ruotsalainen out of the penalty box but not quite back in the play.
"Getting that first one was big for us, the Morgan Geekie goal," Hakstol said about Geekie's one-timer on a pass from Wennberg. "It was a big play between those two."

Hats, Fish and Groceries

When Eberle scored his third goal - finishing what's known as a "natural hat trick" for three consecutive goals in a game - the hats rained down on the ice from all parts of Climate Pledge Arena. The Kraken ice crew did a fine job skating down the hats, but a second wave of hats kept them busy. The guess here is the crew didn't mind.
During the post-game media availability, Eberle was asked about the now-traditional plush salmon toss for stars of the game. He looked the most expert at the Seattle tradition so far (although Brandon Tanev gets style points for winging the salmon over his head before tossing it).
"We live downtown and I go to the Pike [Place] Market with my little girl to get groceries," said Eberle, explaining he has observed the fish-throwing first-hand many times. "It's a great place."

Back in Washington

Buffalo goalie Tokarski starred for the Spokane Chiefs back in his juniors days. At 32, he played his 51st NHL game Thursday night. He turned in stellar work in the first 40 minutes, but the weight of 40 shots on goal poked holes in his performance during his return to Washington state.

Looking for the Goal Light

Two Kraken forwards who are overdue in the goals department performed well in the opening 20 minutes. Joonas Donskoi had two good looks on the same shift and Geekie lined up three chances in what's becoming a favorite area in the upper part of the left faceoff circle.
Geekie connected on his third shot, helped by assists from Wennberg and Vince Dunn on the second power-play unit. The goal is officially an even-strength goal, coming five seconds after a two-minute minor.
Donskoi had another "grade-A" chance [as Hakstol likes to call them] in the second period. He will break through soon, if Eberle is any example. Like past games, he was also an active forechecker and disrupter in the center-ice neutral zone.
Hakstol complimented his forwards group for "taking away playmaking on the back end" for Buffalo, referring to the Sabres defensive corps, especially All-Star Dahlin.

Chipping In

Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak put a big hit on Zemgus Girgensons in the opening period. It prompted Buffalo's fourth-line wing John Hayden to pick a scrap with Oleksiak, a fight Hayden most decidedly did not win as Oleksiak pinned him to the ground.
The Kraken were standing their ground all night on the physical front. The chippy play continued into the third with more than one scrum in front of nets, especially Kraken forwards trying to dig for rebounds net-front.

Family Affair

Buffalo head coach Don Granato is the older brother of Kraken pro scout Cammi Granato. Brother Tony was a formidable NHL player and entered the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020; he now coaches the University of Wisconsin.
The media scrum offered up Thursday morning questions about Cammi's acclaimed competitiveness across her hockey career.
Hakstol smiled when questioned, then said, "I would love to be at the table [when the Granatos were kids] when there is one piece of chicken left at the table."
Hakstol called the Granatos a "great hockey family" and noted he has known his Thursday counterpart for years, both in juniors (USHL), NCAA and pros.
Granato said his sister, the youngest of four children, was "very inquisitive and asked a lot of hockey questions." He added missing the competition is one motivator for her joining the Kraken's hockey operations.
"She's put a lot of work into it the last two years, both physical and emotional," Granato said.