Kraken cook Blues in a 5-2 victory

What a win for Seattle! The Kraken took control of Tuesday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues early and kept their foot on the gas for the majority of the contest. The Blues did make a push in the third period, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a whopper of a second period that saw the Kraken put up three goals while outshooting St. Louis 16-8. This one clip of the middle frame really sums up that full 20 minutes quite nicely.

Game Notes

• Adam Larsson led the team in time on ice with exactly 24 minutes played, 5 of which were on the penalty kill. Larsson was a +3 on the night with one very excellent assist that we’ll get to in a minute.
• The fourth line continues to be a not-so-secret weapon in Seattle. Morgan Geekie sprung Sprong on a breakaway with a stretch pass in the second, and Daniel Sprong buried it with ease to give him his 8th of the season. He’s on pace to score 25 this year now, which would shatter his previous personal best of 14.
• Carson Soucy scored by hitting the poke check button on his controller.

• Oliver Bjorkstrand did not score, but man did he try. He led the team with 10 shot attempts and played like a man possessed out there. If he continues to play like that alongside fellow former Blue Jacket Alex Wennberg and Jaden Schwartz, the rest of the NHL better watch out.
• Martin Jones had a really phenomenal first two periods that were largely overshadowed by the flurry of offense on the part of the Kraken skaters. He stopped all 17 shots he faced, allowing no goals on 2.5 expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick, in those first two periods. If it weren’t for a strong start by Jones this game could’ve looked much different.
• You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better tape-to-tape pass and deke combo than the one Adam Larsson and Ryan Donato combined for in the second period. That’s now four straight games with a goal for Donato, a personal best.

• Seattle has now won 18 games before Christmas. Last year, they had 18 wins on St. Patrick’s Day. What a wild improvement in the holiday-victory index.
• Brandon Tanev got a penalty shot! He pulled out a great move, but sometimes you have to just tip your cap to the opposing goalie.

• The Kraken finally appear to have shaken off the rust of losing 5 in a 6 game stretch. They’re back on a winning streak, with two in a row, and look much more like the team we saw get off to that hot start this season.
• This marked the first time in franchise history that the Kraken beat the St. Louis Blues. There are only six other teams they have yet to get a win against now: Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Vancouver. They’ll get a chance to cross the Canucks off that list this Thursday in Vancouver at 7pm Pacific before a short holiday break.