Kraken @ Leafs RECAP: Exhausted Squids can’t handle Toronto in 3-1 Loss

The All-Star Break can’t come soon enough.

The Highlights, if you can Stand It

Game Notes

• Your TOI leader was Will Borgen, who played 21:36 TOI tonight.
• The big killer for tonight was, as it’s been over the course of the last few games since that Columbus game, a clear gap. A lethal cocktail of illness, new lines due to injuries, and losing one of your most vital centers meant that the Leafs; themselves not doing terribly hot, realistically did not have to do a terrible amount of work to actually stop the Kraken; Seattle just couldn’t find a shot if it was handed to them, and it hurt badly even in sequences and shifts where they did have the puck. It all culminated in the third period; where the Kraken got their first shot on goal after 14 straight minutes of game time. Just not nearly enough.
• Yet another game in which the final score is more lopsided thanks to an empty net goal, and . At some point you have to start wondering if any of the coaching staff who center their work around being up a man have actually been able to make anything stick.
• Hakstol wasn’t kidding; the lines today were wacky tonight. Wennberg centered Tolvanen and Bjorkstrand, McCann was with Tatar and Eberle on the 2nd line, and Tye Kartye got to do center duties with Schwartz and Burakovsky. The only recognizable part of it was Tanev on the 4th line, and even that looked nearly unrecognizable. I would go deeper into why maybe it wasn’t worth the shakeup, but at this point with so many players out because of Some Disease or because a part of their body is broken, I say keep shaking this lineup until a win falls out. They got Chicago next, that might give you something worth working with.
• But in spite of all that I will give the Kraken credit; they tried their damnedest to come back. It was often extremely frustrating, but the effort never once wavered. The Leafs spent a good portion of the back-half of the third threatening to give up the lead, and had Ilya Samsonov not decided today was the day he would get his confidence back, they probably would’ve gotten a chance at overtime. I respect their hustle. I just want a positive result from all that so it’s rewarded properly.
• Whatever. Get a win against Chicago, get a win against San Jose, and maybe this week isn’t a total bust. Go to the All-Star Break and get one week healthier and full of orange juice and not-bleeding orifices. That’s what we’re working with now.
• We’re gonna have to have a discussion about how Jared McCann ends up on the scoresheet in spite of having a year where he seems to be late to just about every puck. He’s doing some voodoo I need to get into granular detail to understand. Maybe I’ll ask Allyson what she thinks is going on.
• Get well soon, Dunner/Beniers/PEB/Grubauer and also be on your best behavior, Yanni. I cannot overstate this next sentence: We Need You.

Was there anything good about tonight’s game?

A couple of things, sure.

• Joey Daccord had a .920 SV% tonight and, though he was not called on to stop a lot of shots, he still did his best. It’s a pity he only got help from…
• Jordan Eberle, who scored the sole goal for Seattle tonight. In fairness, that entire line had a pretty strong night; he was just the man who cashed in.
• Penalty Kill without PEB still went 2-for-2 on killed penalties, and that involved a lot of very talented and moneyed forwards in white on the other side. Good job, boys!

The NaturalStatTrick.com Charts

Yeah man. That makes sense.

Also the net front problems are back the hat man is there and he’s real and he’s got a great shot and he’s right in front of Daccord could you PLEASE GET HIM OUT OF THE CREASE-

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The Kraken get a day off for practice and line chemistry rebuilding, and then take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday at 7pm PT. Finally back to the normal starting time.

We will see you there, and as always:

Keep Calm, and Post Zoidberg To Make This Team Healthier

And also When We Win