Kraken Roll to Third Straight Home Win

The Kraken turned what was projected as a tenuous homestand into a success story with a high-decibel crowd punctuating approval in Thursday’s declarative 5-2 win over Toronto. The Kraken have now won three games in a row and four of their last five games. They are right in the thick of West wild-card contention as they embark on a three-game Pacific Division playoff contender road trip starting in Vegas Saturday night.

As it stands, going into the weekend slate of games, the Kraken are third place in the Pacific Division based on win percentage. That’s what snagging eight of a possible 12 points can do for a squad.

The checklist for this homestand is fully marked off. Kraken scored first again, check. They built a 3-1 lead at second intermission. Check. Toronto drew within one on a power play prompted by a Shane Wright holding penalty. Then Wright scores his second goal of the night, leveraging a turnover forced by Brandon Montour to make it 4-2. Check. Joey Daccord stands tall in goal, joining Philipp Grubauer in more excellent goaltending. Check. A late empty net goal from Jared McCann makes it 5-2, and Seattle beats Toronto for the first time in franchise history at Climate Pledge Arena. Checkmate.

“We are aware the race we're in,” said Freddy Gaudreau, the veteran summer trad acquisition who was instrumental in setting up the game-winning goal.”I like the fight that no matter if we won or lost, we approached the next game one at a time. That mindset allowed us to come back and finish the homestead strong ... it’s about that mindset. It's about that resiliency to dig through maybe tougher games and stay level-headed through big wins. I like that about our team.”

On the (Daily) Double Featuring ‘D’ Moves

Scoring goals within less than a minute of each other is getting to be a happy habit for the Kraken and their fans. After Matty Beniers and Berkly Catton scored within 17 seconds to spark a Kraken win over New Jersey, the daily double popped up again during Thursday’s second period when young centerman Shane Wright and high-flying defenseman Brandon Montour turned a tie game into a two-goal lead within just 31 seconds of each other.

At Thursday’s morning skate, Seattle coach Lane Lambert talked about how vital it is for his defensive corps to jump up into scoring chances. Thursday night, the defensive corps was delivering.

“We want our ‘D’ to join the rush, not necessarily lead the rush and certainly not be the first forechecker,” said Lambert. “That's not a recipe for success overall. But in this league, no matter what team you are, you need your ‘D’ joining ... you have to find a way to beat people up the ice and create some opportunities that way with your defense.”

On the Wright goal to make it 2-1, Adam Larson started the scoring play halfway up the right sideboards in the Leafs zone, affording the puck to Jaden Schwartz at the right point. The left-handed veteran forward whipped a shot on goal that Toronto starter Anthony Stolarz stopped, but couldn’t control the rebound. Wright, properly positioned in the slot, did not hesitate to backhand the loose puck past Stolarz. It is Wright’s eighth goal of the season.

It should be noted that Schwartz went to the dressing room twice in the first period after a knee-on-knee hit. Lambert said the alternate captain wasn’t 100 percent and said, “I can’t say enough about his veteran leadership.”

Wright went forehand on his second goal to make it 4-2 in the third period. Like his fellow young center Matty Beniers, Wright is urged to embrace a shoot-more mentality.

“For sure, the coaches are always telling me, shoot a little more,” said Wright. “I think I can always put a few more pucks on net. It was nice to get a couple there.” For his part, Lambert was happy to see Wright get rewarded, mentioning the several goal posts Wright has clanged.

Just 31 ticks after the first Wright in the middle frame, Montour finished a play that was ignited by veteran center Freddy Gaudreau, showing once more he has offensive bona fides to go with his elite penalty killing, faceoff success and overall responsible play in the defensive end. Gaudreau carried the puck practically the length of the Climate Pledge Arena ice surface, straight up, before dishing right to Montour, who had jumped into the play.

“Freddy's been outstanding for us,” said head coach Lane Lambert after Thursday’s home finale before the Olympic break. “He does so many things for us. He has this ability, this deceptive ability, through the neutral zone with the puck. It's unique. I thought it was an outstanding play by him. Was a great job by Monty driving wide.”

Montour also flourished with taking a quick shot that kept low with Stolarz struggling to find it at his skates and lower leg pads. Stolarz, after a breakout year last season, has now appeared in just 12 games, and Thursday was just his second since returning for injured-list stay that dated back to Nov. 11.

Unfortunately, Catton wasn’t part of Thursday’s quick strikes due to a hard but clean hip hit to Catton’s head in the first period, which sidelined the 20-year-old for the rest of the night. Lambert had no update post-game.

Jumpin’ January for Beniers, McCann

With one game left in January, linemates Matty Beniers and Jared McCann have already set franchise scoring records for most goals, 10 by the red-hot hands of Beniers, and total points, 18 from the stick and speed of McCann. Beniers scored just 1:21 into the contest, with McCann picking up the primary assist and linemate Jordan Eberle picking up an assist. The first line tallied four goals and four assists in Tuesday’s win over Washington and started Thursday where the trio left off two nights ago.

By game end, McCann scored an empty-net goal to boost his points record to 19, and he tied Beniers for most goals in the month with 10.

The scoring play started with Eberle carrying the puck through the neutral zone, sending a short pass to McCann as the two entered the Toronto zone. McCann looked to complete a give-and-go move, but the pass was blocked. McCann stuck with it when the puck deflected right back to him. Beniers timed his rush into the Maple Leafs end perfectly, released quickly off a McCann feed to open the scoring. Beniers continues to embody a shoot-first mentality, and it is paying off in both recent wins and the stats column.

McCann joined Beniers and Eberle over the last five games, a reunion of the trio that long-time fans know and love. He has tallied five goals and four assists in that five-spot of games.

Unfortunately, Toronto evened the score in the first period when a turnover/busted play in the defensive zone resulted in an unassisted long-range snipe of a goal from Leafs forward Nick Robertson. It didn’t appear that Kraken starter Joey saw the puck as it flew past bodies. Daccord did his part to keep the score even at first intermission, facing five high-danger scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.