Kraken Rally, Fall in Utah Late

SALT LAKE CITY – The third period here in Utah felt like a playoff game in many ways. Earlier, the local fans were mega-loud and cranked up the decibels when the home squad jumped to a 3-1 lead. Seattle responded to tie matters at the second intermission, with the crowd noticeably quieted. It all set up a final period of the tenison, near-misses, nail-biting rink-long rushes, big saves by both goalies, bodies on bodies, in which the Kraken didn’t have a shot on goal until the 12^th minute of the frame. It was high-quality play and pace on both sides, but the Kraken fell 6-3 in the final result.

The Kraken are now 21-17-9 for 51 points in 47 games upon finishing the road trip with one regulation win against three losses and one overtime loss. They remain in the third place in the Pacific Division pending West Coast games involving Los Angeles and Anaheim. A Kings win will knock Seattle to the second wild-card position behind Utah, which now has 54 standings points. But, of course, the wildcad race is highly changeable even before the Kraken start a six-game homestand Monday afternoon in the annual Kids Game against Pittsburgh.

Utah veteran Nate Schmidt, entering the game with just two goals on the year, did the damage with his second goal of the game with five-and-a-half minutes left. Mammoth captain Clayton Keller moved the puck to an unmarked Schmidt in the slot. Utah added a fifth goal less than a minute to end any suspense. An empty net finished the scoring at a 6-3 final.

“Clearly [Schmidt] was available,” said Lambert when asked if the open Schmidt was a missed assignment. “We got a stick on it, but it wasn't good enough [to prevent the shot and score] ... We can't continue to be either tied or ahead in the third period, then lose a hockey game and not get any points out of it.”

While the Kraken response and comeback from a 3-1 deficit showed fight in his squad, Lambert was far from consoled given the last quarter of the third period. A 3-3, tightly contested game disintegrated. The winning goal was his starting point post-game.

“We fell short late in the game again,” said Seattle head coach Lane Lambert. “We have an opportunity to break the puck out, turn it over, and it's in the back of our net. We have a D-zone faceoff, where we're man-on-man, and we have a player who doesn't stay man-on-man. It's in the back of our net. It’s the little details.”

Veteran forward Freddy Gaudreau, who set up Chandler Stephenson for what was the tying goal in the second period, summed up the loss as being a bit too much of a recent pattern, but also with assurance that the Kraken will keep their bond as a team vying for the playoffs.

“[The second-period comeback] is one positive,” said Gaudreau, who continues to show his offensive skill set. “I feel like it's been our team the whole year. Even if we're down, we find a way to come back. But it would be nice if we didn't have to come back every single game.”

“We’ve gone through tough stretches so far this year, and we came back in a better way by just focusing on the next game and staying tight together. That's the only focus you can have. You can’t see too far. Honestly, you can't even just focus on the result. We’ve got to focus on what you need to do on the ice. It starts with a practice tomorrow, just go day by day. That’s the way we came back earlier this year. Most importantly, we did it by staying tight together. I have no worry about this. It's a tight group."

Second-Period Comeback

The final game of this road trip was not looking promising after Utah took a 3-1 lead less than five minutes into the middle 20 minutes. Local Mammoth analysts were likely already thinking about Utah’s 16-1-1 record in games this season when leading at second intermission. But late in the second period, the Kraken’s consistent hard work and some line shuffling by coach Lane Lambert generated the results needed to get back into this contest between postseason contenders.

The comeback started with less than five minutes left in the second period. Rookie forward Berkly Catton made a high-skill, veteran-like cross-zone pass to an awaiting Vince Dunn at the left point. Dunn immediately slapped a shot on goal, with the rebound landing on the stick of Matty Beniers battling net front. Beniers got a shot off, hitting the post, then his second swipe crossed the goal line. Kraken draw closer, 3-2.

Two-and-a-half minutes later, the Kraken, playing fast, exited their zone with speed. Freddy Gaudreau, who moved to play with his frequent second-linemates, fed the puck ahead of Chandler Stephenson. The Seattle centerman worked to settle the puck, finally did so at the net front, and slipped the puck past goalie Karel Vjemelka. Score tied, and that’s how these two teams went to the second intermission. So much second-period thing.

One important note about the tying goal: The Kraken had just killed off a Utah power play to keep the game within reach.

Tale to Two (Period) Starts

The start here was decidedly improved per the scoreboard when the Kraken’s top line of Matty Beniers, between Jordan Eberle and Kaapo Kakko, worked an offensive-zone weave after defenseman Brandon Montour’s shot on goal from the right rebounded to Eberle abong the wall. The captain swung the puck along the wall to Kakko behind the net. The Finnish Olympian quickly moved the puck to Beniers. The 23-year-old center wristed the puck back at Mammoth goalie Karel Vejmelka. Kakko snared the subsequent loose puck left in the crease and moved behind the goal, his sweet spot as of late.

Kakko found Eberle net front. Eberle’s first attempt was blocked, but he tried his oftentimes lethal backhand scoring touch next and, no surprise, the Kraken established a 1-0 lead.

Lane Lambert said pre-game Saturday that his team’s Thursday game in Boston was possibly “one of my favorite games of the year” despite a 4-2 loss. His measuring stick was how his team played from start to finish. He noted a couple of early mistakes led to the puck ending up in the back of the Kraken net, but that his squad was “on their toes” and playing fast right from puck drop. That was in contrast to Wednesday against the Devils, a game he “didn’t like very much.”

Lambert added that the Wednesday game against New Jersey also included an opposing goal in the first minute, allowing him to appreciate a goaltender save in both cases (Philipp Grubauer in Newark, Boston native Joey Daccord in his hometown). He did next say, “Both goaltenders have played extremely well, but we need those saves.”

But better start Saturday at the competitively loud Delta Center took a wrong turn when Seattle’s first power play opportunity was spoiled when Utah won the faceoff and instantly created a 3-on-2 odd man rush with veteran defender Ian Cole carrying the puck up ice. Jared McCann was one of the two backward-staking Kraken defenders and couldn’t handle the outside-in move from Logan Crouse, who slipped the puck to an all-alone Kevin Stenlund. The Mammoth’s fourth-line center and penalty killer only need to keep his stick blade on the ice to make it a tie game at one goal apiece. It’s the second shorthanded goal surrendered by the Kraken in the last two games.

It should be noted that the Kraken were overall “on their toes” early, leading 10 -2 in shots on goal midway through the first period. But Utah revved up its offensive engine, and the first 20 minutes ended with 12 shots on goal for both squads while Utah had the edge in scoring chances, 13 to seven. Starting goalie Philipp Grubauer, who had no chance on the shorthanded goal, bailed out his teammates with a number of big saves that Lambert no doubt appreciated to keep a tie score after 20 minutes. Grubauer, headed to the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics as Germany’s top goalie, faced seven high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick.

The second period start was not what the Kraken envisioned, as Utah scored on a Nate Schmidt long shot from the left point, through traffic, that beat Grubauer just 28 seconds into the middle period. Four minutes later, veteran forward Nick Schmaltz kept his hot hand with his fourth goal in the last five games and seventh point in that span to make it a 3-1 Utah lead.