Kraken Game 49 RECAP: Kraken play much closer game than it ever had any right being against Jackets, win 3-1!

Before the break, Seattle squeaks back into first place!

By SkyonAir@SkyonAir_ Jan 29, 2023, 9:07am PST

NHL: Columbus Blue Jackets at Seattle Kraken

The All-Star Break is here at last! But don’t worry, we’ll still be cooking Kraken and site news as we move into February.

But first, the Highlights!

Game Notes:

Your TOI leader was Vince Dunn, who logged 24:16 and had a pretty solid game!
Boy, the Jackets are as bad as advertised. Connor Bedard better like Ohio because they’re making a concerted effort towards getting him. The Kraken kinda took their foot off the gas for a little bit but they otherwise made a solid effort in controlling play and getting shots to Merzlikins (and man did Merzlikins earn his paycheck tonight) and will have Matty Beniers back when they head out to the Eastern Conference again after the break. Nothin’ but blue skies ahead.
Wennberg finished his 600th game in the NHL with a goal against his old team, and boy what a beauty it was with Eberle feeding him right out in front. Can’t beat a feeling like that.
Eeli Tolvanen is on an absolutely absurd pace now that he’s joined the Kraken, and if he breaks the 20 goal mark I want the next piece of news about it being that the Preds have fired their GM. Unreal how Ron Francis has found nothing but cash money with guys like him.
Grubert my beloved! Philipp finished his night with a .960 SV% and got some real goal support tonight! Imagine if you guys did this all the time while he was around he’d actually get some plaudits or something!
The Kraken are back in first place in the Pacific thanks to some help from the Islanders (Thanks, Long Island!) and...Los Angeles (oh that feels gross), and according to our friends over at HockeyViz.com, currently hold a 98% chance of making the playoffs. As we come closer to the trade deadline...we may have to gear up for some discussion of what the Kraken need to overcome the (as of this writing) foes they could face in the playoffs; like the Avs or the Oilers. Exciting times ahead!
On a personal note, now that we’ve got a little time to kill, I just wanna say thank you guys for sticking around ~~out of spite~~ while we’re figure out what the future looks like. It will have Davy Jones Locker Room in it; I’m personally committed to making sure that’s true, but to know this little community enjoying the games and discussing Kraken hockey makes me feel the warm fuzzies. You guys rule.
Keep Calm, and Post Zoidberg When We Win

Let’s take a look at this game’s underlying numbers with some charts from NaturalStatTrick!

Wait, what about the All-Star Game?

[groans like child being told to clean the room]

Fiiiiine. I’ll make a thread for the weekend or something. I don’t know.