Oh well. Onto the regular season!
If you can stand it, the Highlights
Game Notes
- Ryker Evans led the Kraken in ice time once again, with 21:13 logged.
- Speaking of, let’s start with Evans. He seems undeniably NHL ready, though I’m not sure Adam Larsson really agrees. Earlier in practice, he really seemed quite keen on playing with Vince Dunn, who would more than likely have taken Evans’ spot tonight had he played. I think Evans is definitely ready but I’m not quite sure where he fits beyond benching Dumoulin, which would be a very expensive backup player. That said, if they took splits based on who the team was playing on any given night, especially given Dumoulin’s injury history, I don’t think I’d mind that to be his place for the time being.
- Kartye didn’t quite register on the scoresheet, but was active all night in a game where the Kraken needed him. It’s difficult to say where he’d fit in the lineup if he sticks around however, since the only spot necessarily open to him is on the 4th line.
- The Special teams tonight were the sinker of the Kraken tonight; with a brutal 0/4 on the power play and giving up the go-ahead goal on a pickpocketing of Brandon Tanev. From that point, all Edmonton had to do was be patient and park the bus, and let their hellacious transition game do half the work for them.
- Grubauer finished with an .880, but it doesn’t tell the whole story, as frankly the Kraken were absolutely horrific in their opening period, surrendering 12 shots through the first 20 minutes, and being the biggest part of why the score after the first period was only 1-1. While goaltending has been on the mind, it’s important to remind yourself of context; this was another unfortunate case of Seattle failing to give Phillipp the Goal Support necessary to win, and they had plenty of opportunities to do so.
- Credit where it’s due, Edmonton’s defense actually looked pretty solid. The Kraken got what shots they could, but not a whole lot of them were terribly dangerous.
- Oh well, that’s preseason done and dusted. We’ll find out what the roster looks like soon enough.
Were there any Bright spots?
Sure! Some.
- Jared McCann!: For putting an absolute bullet past Campbell and scoring the lone goal for the Kraken.
- Jordan Eberle!: Ebs was just as big a part of Canner getting the opening goal as Canner’s shot. Great forechecking from him!
- Ryker Evans!: For having spent most of preseason saying “Hey I’m ready for this job” and the coaching staff saying “yea u rite”. Very excited to hear his name called on opening night at Climate Pledge.
- PRESEASON IS OVER!: We’ll see what the new roster looks like, and who the cuts are!
Charts, by NaturalStatTrick
If they’d only just gotten more shots in the middle…god, Jack Campbell is infuriating.
Thus concludes the preseason. The Kraken spent a major portion of it taking a good hard look at their prospects, so any conclusions taken from these games are largely game to game to game. Otherwise? I’m still optimistic about the season.
Speaking of which!
The Kraken begin their third NHL season on October 10th in Vegas, as the final game of ESPN’s opening night broadcast. That game drops the puck theoretically at 7pm PST, but the reality is that the Knights will likely have a banner raising ceremony, and thus we’ll probably have to sit through that. Goody f!#king gumdrops.
Anyway, we’ll see you there and always remember!
Keep Calm, and Post Zoidberg When We Win.
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