Honestly, I can’t even be mad. They played their asses off.
Here’s the Highlights
Game Notes
- Your TOI leader was Brandon Montour, who played 25:21.
- This was a damn fine game. A real damn fine game. The Kraken did what they could against a foe who absolutely was not expecting them to come out with such fire, and indeed, they actually traded chances and didn’t immediately end up blowing up in their face. Hell, it even allowed them to walk into the 2nd period with a lead. Granted, that was when the trouble began and just about everybody forgot where Corey Perry was (an enormously dangerous thing to do in hindsight), but this was much, much closer than the final score suggests.
- Part of this is the Kraken’s increasing commitment to Bylsma’s system. It seems that they’ve needed to largely purge themselves of the Hakstol era malaise, and while bits and pieces of it still very much exist (inconsistent commitment on defense, offensive zone turnovers creating goals against), it’s becoming clear that Seattle is slowly finding their way among the stars by playing an awful lot like the Firebirds used to; cram the net with shots, and cram the net with bodies. With a little extra help in the puck moving and passing department, they could be a real problem.
- One place they could’ve found a way to keep this competitive was on the power play, but it went 0-for-4, including a 5-on-3 that somehow didn’t materialize a goal. Just endlessly frustrating.
- Joey Daccord finished the night with a .900 SV%, which is admittedly pretty below his standards. Gonna need better from him…or maybe a night off or two that doesn’t threaten to get him back in a game.
- This is the second game that the Kraken have played to a 4-2 result against the Oilers. For my sake, I hope the next two end 4-2 in favor of Seattle.
Was there anything good about this game?
Of course!
- The Effort of the First Period was genuinely excellent. They were causing the Oilers fits, outshot them, and got two strong goals!
- Eeli Tolvanen got the Kraken once again score the first goal before the 5 minute mark! He finished off a great play that is emblematic of a positive change of never giving up on plays or pulling away from the play in fear of a chance against.
- Vince Dunn! Scored on a deflection that came from extended zone time. Great stuff!
- Played a clean enough game to keep the Oilers off the board on the Power Play! Genuinely incredible stuff there; that squad isn’t just a skating nightmare, they can be real punk-asses when they want to be. That they managed to get away with only one recorded penalty-against is impressive!
The Charts, via NaturalStatTrick.com
While I agree that you generally don’t want to trade chances with these Oilers, the Kraken actually did that with a fair amount of impressive play. I gotta hand it to them; they played a lot better.
The Kraken play again today! They’ve come home and brought the Anaheim Ducks with them, and are set to play them at 7pm. You can check out more on Em’s preview.
Thanks for reading, and as always
Keep Calm and Post Zoidberg When We Win