Divisional and Conquer

LOS ANGELES – When this road started last Thursday with a 4-2 loss in Calgary, the Kraken faced a steep task of earning at least two and, better yet, three wins in California to get in the middle of the Western Conference wild-card race rather than looking up from lower echelons. Mission accomplished: The Kraken won a third straight divisional matchup against opponents ahead of them in the standings, in Tuesday’s case, a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. It wasn’t easy, and the last 11-plus minutes with a slim one-goal lead likely were almost as difficult for the Seattle faithful as the team’s players and coaches.

“We're building,” said alternate captain Matty Beniers in the winners' locker room. “I liked our game tonight. Through the lineup, every guy, every line, the ‘D’pairings. Joe played awesome in [goal]. We're a team that has success when every line is going and when every line's contributing offensively and defensively. I thought we did a really good job of that tonight.”

The Kraken scored three goals in the middle period, with LA gaining one back just 11 seconds after the third Seattle goal. The trio of goals quieted the house here in southern California. When a turnover was put in the back of the net by the Kings’ Kevin Fiala, the crowd revived. The noise went mega-decibels when young, speedy Andrei Kuzmenko sped past Ryker Evans and around the Kraken net to tuck in a wraparound score to make matters tight mid-third period. But close games were status quo on this ultimately highly successful road trip.

The Kraken are now over .500 at 15-14-6 for 36 standings points with games in hand on other wild-card contenders. They return to play Dec. 28, hosting Philadelphia and Vancouver on Dec. 29. It will be a happy holiday. The best-scenario played out in the last three games.

Coach Lane Lambert was happy about the points accumulated, but even more so for his players. “Just the fact that we've stuck together pretty well through whatever adversity we've gone through, whether it be injuries or maybe some goals against at certain times,” said a satisfied Lambert. “I think our work ethic has been outstanding, our compete level has been outstanding. Every guy to a man worked tonight ... They deserve some success. We had been playing well, not getting [wins]. It’s nice for them to be able to get it done.

With both high-minutes Brandon Montour [hand surgery, out four weeks] and Vince Dunn [ruled out Saturday with an upper-body issue], the next-man-up mantra was incumbent for the defensive corps.

I thought they were all great,” said Lambert. I thought ‘Rig,’ [Oleksiak] was really, really good tonight, and Lindgren was really good. The guys were paying the price. Larsson was great ... I thought Evans moved the puck well for the most part, and I thought He skated well. Then Fleurry and Mahara were battling."

Lambert also made a point to complement his goaltenders, Daccord in wins one and three, plus Philipp Grubauer’s 40 saves in Friday's win at Anaheim. Daccord, who praised Grubauer’s recent string of performances without prompting, acknowledged that the team was well aware of being 0-14-1 in the last 15 instances of the second night of back-to-back games. That streak is over.

“I always say that you give yourself a chance to win if everybody's on the same page,” said Lambert. “I thought we did that tonight, and again we had great goaltending. That's one of the formulas for winning. Joey played great.”

Three-for-All Second Period

When former Kraken defenseman Brian Dumoulin was sent off for tripping Kaapo Kakko late first period, half the penalty time flipped to the middle 20 minutes. A fresh Kraken power play unit took advantage, cycling the puck with Chandler Stephenson working the puck to Matty Beniers, who found a wide-open Jordan Eberle at the far mouth. The Seattle captain had time to angle himself and find the best location to bury his shot. It marked the Kraken’s 10^th power play goal in their last 11 games. Eberle now has 13 goals on the season to lead the team.

Six minutes later, Freddy Gaudreau applied his personal theory, “every shot is a good shot,” by lofting a knuckler on goal. The aforementioned Copley thought he had corralled the puck with his glove hand, but it fluttered through and over the goal line. The Kraken were up 2-0 with Gaudreau scoring a goal in both of these back-to-back games before the holiday break.

Linemate Eeli Tolvanen picked up the first assist while defenseman Josh Mahura earned the secondary assist.

The Kraken made it 3-0 at the 16:02 mark of the middle period, benefitting from a gritty zone exit by D-man Jamie Oleksiak, who made smart plays throughout as the D-corps braced for no Vince Dunn nor Brandon Montour. This time, Oleksiak won a puck battle and then used his formidable 6-foot-7 length to poke-check the puck up the left side of the neutral zone, where Ben Meyers swiftly moved up ice to form a 2-on-1 with Freddy Gaudreau. Meyers showed all proper patience and looked to be feeding Gaudreau for the popular teammate’s second goal of the period. Instead, LA’s Copley tangled up guessing pass, and the Meyers’ shot crossed the goal. Eeli Tolvanen was later credited with the secondary assist, his 17^th helper of the year.

Just one problem: The Kings scored just 11 seconds later to reduce the luxurious three-goal lead down to a more nail-biting two. The home squad seemed energized by the response goal and Kraken fans, and likely the coaches and players were happy to go to intermission with a 3-1 score. The shots-on-goal totals were significant for a game expected to be scrummed in the neutral zone: 15 for the Kings and 14 for Seattle.

Gauging Puck Luck

Lane Lambert said in his morning skate media meet-up that he didn’t expect much time and space for either squad come nightfall. The Kings are second in the league in fewest goals-against, and “we’re not far behind,” noted Lambert. So, all fortuitous bounces welcome. While LA led in shots on goal, 12 to 9, in the first 20 minutes, the Kraken had two quality near-scores that don’t show up on the scoresheet. Rookie winger Jacob Melanson clanged a post, and Shane Wright clearly thought he had buried a late-period power play goal that instead ricocheted off the crossbar. Score two for Los Angeles on the puck luck column at first intermission.

Dunn Ruled Out Tuesday with Upper-Body Injury

When Anaheim's Ross Johnston blindsided Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn during the early third period of Monday’s Seattle win, there was no penalty called on the play. Dunn, understandably, did not like the call and showed his displeasure by breaking his stick on the boards. Dunn then went down the tunnel; well, he did pick up and sling an equipment bag in anger first. Kraken coach Lane Lambert announced Dunn as not available in Tuesday’s finale before the NHL winter holiday break, dealing with an upper-body issue.

Cale Fleury drew into the lineup, playing in his first game since Oct. 23 and pairing with Ryan Lindgren. Ryker Evans moved up to the first pair alongside Adam Larsson.

Johnston, by the way, was fined by the league on Tuesday for roughing against Tye Kartye. The Kraken fourth-liner was in a scrap with Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier in the final 20 minutes. Johnston took a run at Kartye after that.

Fourth Line Going Forth

The Kraken energy line of Ben Meyers between Kartye and Jacob Melanson continued their hard-nosed, heads-up aggressiveness here Tuesday. Mid-first period, Kartye and Melanson would work the right side wall in the Kings' zone, stealing back the puck on Kartye’s stick blade. The left winger skated a stride or two before dropping a pass to Melanson. Playing his 7^th NHL game (sixth this season), Melanson quick-released a shot that beat the aforementioned Copley but clanged off the right post. The Kraken rugged rookie’s first career goal would have wait.

Melanson led the Kraken with three hits in the opening 20 minutes while Kartye threw one himself. Lambert has liked the fourth line’s work in recent games. When asked about Kartye Saturday morning, Lambert was happy to expound.

“He's physical,” said Lambert. “He's been physical all year. He typically leads our team in hits almost every game. So I like that. I thought that the line garnered us some emotion when we needed it, and they made the difference in the game.”