The Kraken are now 2-for-2 on this Metropolitan Division road trip. If you successfully predicted that this is how they would perform after dropping 3 out of 4 against the Ducks and the Sharks, it probably didn’t come from anything other than a sheer gut instinct that they’d pull this off. The best part about it, too, is that the Kraken played tonight like a team that’s building and growing their game back up. How’d they do that? Let’s dig in.
Period 1
The momentum of their convincing victory against one of the league’s best on Tuesday night seemed to carry over. Tye Kartye netted the first goal of the night only 2:48 into the game. The net-front tip in was proof of being in the right place at the right time. Also, the secondary assist came courtesy of Adam Larsson, perfectly in time for the newest wave of memes.
Matty Beniers pinged the crossbar toward the middle of the frame, and I feel like I could also hear his heart shatter a bit from the press box. It’s been no secret that he’s been struggling this season, and a goal would’ve gone a long way in bringing some confidence back to his game.
With exactly 5 minutes left to go in the opening frame, Scott Mayfield shot the puck over the glass, and you really can’t do that. That’s delay of game. On the ensuing power play, the Kraken had all of the pressure, never letting the puck leave the attacking zone. In the dying seconds of the power play, while the stick taps from Joey Daccord signaling that Mayfield would soon be fleeing the penalty box rung out loud and clear, Bjorkstrand’s shot found the back of the net. It was a sigh of relief, because if they had not come away from that power play with a goal to show for it, it would’ve had me holding a funeral for my hopes and dreams of the Kraken ever doing anything on the man advantage again.
All-in-all, jumping out to a 2-0 lead left the Kraken with a lot to hang their hat on. Also, Vince Dunn had the primary assist on both goals in this frame, showing exactly how much his presence was missed on this team.
Period 2
Continuing on with the theme of “Dunn, we missed you,” he made his presence felt even more with an absolute heater of a slap shot. One of the cardinal rules of being in the press box is no cheering, and dear readers, I nearly broke it. But can you blame me?
The Kraken’s second power play of the night wasn’t nearly so dominant, as the Islanders were able to break up a few passes, and the Kraken fumbled on a few. It ended up not mattering, because Shane Wright still blasted one in from the left faceoff dot. Wright’s been having a knack for scoring on the power play lately, and we truly love to see it. Seriously. This power play has needed the help for far too long. And look at the expression on his face right after the goal. That’s a “What, like it’s hard?” face if I’ve ever seen one.
With about 3 minutes left in the period, Brandon Montour was assessed a double minor for high sticking against Casey Cizikas. Whether or not the penalty kill would officially be a success would have to wait until the final frame, but the Kraken killed off the first 3 minutes of it. Islanders fans rained boos down as both teams took off to their respective locker rooms, clearly unhappy being down 4-0.
Period 3
The Kraken officially killed off their double minor to start this period off, but they also did so with the Islanders swapping out their goaltender. Ilya Sorokin was swapped out of the game for Marcus Hรถgberg. The Islanders clearly had a thought that they needed to stop the bleeding and not let it get any worse. It was an interesting choice, though, considering that Hรถgberg was an AHL call-up for the Islanders and not their usual backup in net.
It would’ve been a storybook ending for the Kraken to leave UBS Arena with a shutout win, but unfortunately, the Islanders decided to yank the pen away and make revisions to the script. Noah Dobson broke through to get one past Daccord.
After that goal, the Islanders had a little more jump to their game. They were also emboldened to pull their goaltender for the extra attacker with around 5 minutes left in the period. I’m normally skeptical about how beneficial pulling the goaltender when you’re down more than one goal can be, but the Islanders cut the lead down to 2 with the 6-on-5 advantage courtesy of Casey Cizikas.
If it felt like the Kraken might let this game slip away, Jaden Schwartz ensured it wouldn’t as he hustled to win a foot race to the empty net.
In a way, it was almost fitting with a major theme of the game. Net front presence, whether it be for a tip in or a screen, was responsible for how the Kraken created such a dominating lead. Of course the empty netter would involve crashing right to the net as well.
That empty net goal proved to be the final dagger, and the Kraken were able to secure the second win of this road trip with a 5-2 score.
General Thoughts
I’ve heard it said before (and I’ve probably written it on this site before) that a reasonable goal to achieve on any road trip is to, at the very least, split the points. A lot of that is just the grueling nature of travel. Believe me, my day has been spent more on some form of transportation than off of it, and thinking about having to get back to my hotel from here has me feeling like any caffeine this press box coffee gave me is now gone. There is something exhausting about it. Add to it that the Kraken had recently been letting bad teams beat them, and it truly felt like just scraping by a .500 record would be considered victory enough.
The Kraken did themselves a favor by beating one of the tougher opponents on this trip the other night, but it’s a testament that this team is learning and growing by not letting their foot off the gas against an Islanders team that, frankly, hasn’t been playing well. It could’ve been too easy to coast by, but instead they put their energy fully in from the start of the game. Dunn mentioned post-game that “getting the first goal helps bring the confidence throughout the game.” He also mentioned that when it came to the first period, it’s “a little difficult to keep your foot on the gas when you’re up by that many,” but the saving grace to that is the fact that they were up by that many. Making the other team have to climb that uphill battle is what makes scoring first feel so crucial.
Speaking of Dunn, it’s clear exactly how much the Kraken missed him. Coach Dan Bylsma was singing his praises post-game, saying that “He just has a ton of poise with the puck and usually makes a great and smart play with the puck, and when you can do that, it’s a game changer….he can get a kill in the defensive zone and make a great pass up the wall on the tape and it gets us going back the other way.” It’s clear that the combination of defensive acumen and offensive instinct is what makes Dunn a valuable piece for the Kraken. Dunn was blunt and said that he felt more proud of his play against Carolina because “I thought I defended better” against them. He didn’t want to brush off the goal and 2 assists, saying “the points were great,” but he’s a defender! Naturally his evaluation of his game is going to feel different than what the fans think from seeing him put up those points, which follows along to the tune of “Oh my god I’m so glad you’re back.”
Thankfully for the Kraken, they can ride this momentum straight into tomorrow night, where they face a much more challenging opponent in the New Jersey Devils.