Honestly, I ain’t even mad. They got the point and beat their own narrative when it came to empty netters.
Still gonna need a two point win somewhere down the line.
But first, The Highlights
Game Notes
- Your TOI leader for the evening was Adam Larsson, who logged 26:13 tonight.
- I’m disappointed with the result, but there was a moral victory in all of this: The Kraken finished the first period in a grimy 2-0 hole that made them look bad. They’d played an otherwise strong period, but defensive breakdowns against this Stars team burned them badly. And then? You know? Something clicked for Matty, Jordan, and newly found Tomáš Tatar, and it took them less than half a minute to cut that lead in half. They came right back down the other way, and they kept it close the entire game, and then, with the goalie pulled…they attacked the net and got a tying goal late. An OT winner would’ve capped it off, but unfortunately it was not in the cards. Still, they got after just about every overarching criticism of their game and they got damn close to winning.
- Absolutely fantastic night for Tomáš Tatar as we’ll discuss in the positives section, but I cannot overstate how important he was for this game to even be as close as it was; he was directly responsible for Ebs and Matty having the night they did for the most part. He’s gonna need to keep it up, but I’m satisfied with Ron’s purchase so far!
- Tatar was good, but he’s probably going to need to be as yet more Kraken players are now on the mend; both Bellamare and McCann left the game in the 2nd period with a lower body injury of some description. We’ll find out if it’s a day-to-day thing, but I imagine there will be some emergency call-ups tomorrow to address it either way as they make their way back to the coast.
- After Dunn’s antics last game, it was Yanni Gourde’s time to cause havoc in a way that may not be entirely conducive to team success, as he took back-to-back minors in the 3rd period. I’m gonna be real, maybe Dave needs to have some one-on-ones with these guys because it seems like just talking to the group of them wasn’t enough.
- Joey Daccord’s .857 SV% doesn’t tell nearly enough of the story; the Kraken defense, particularly in transition from one zone to the other, was absolutely gruesome. Especially through the first 20 minutes, and the third goal was coming off of just about every player in White and Deep Blue sucking wind as the Stars got a free 6-on-5 from their inability to clear the zone. Final tally? Well….yeah, maybe you could have that one? But you’d have to be psychic to stop it. He was pretty solid otherwise, and was often asked to clean up for his defense’s foibles and did so.
- After the game-tying goal, there was a preposterous wait as the league initiated two back-to-back reviews of the play: One on Vince Dunn for keeping the puck in to see if it was offsides (he wasn’t close.), and one to see if there was goaltender interference (it was initiated by the defense if it did exist, so it wouldn’t be on Seattle). While I understand the NHL has to get these things right and appreciate the review of late-game goals…these are things you could see with your disgusting ocular jelly in real time. There was simply no reason to take that long.
- Thankfully due to the NHL’s bizarre points arithmetic, the Kraken’s moral victory does come with an actual point attached! Meaning this team is now 3 points out from a playoff spot, assuming Calgary and Edmonton and Arizona all lose a couple games. What a bizarre conference the West is right now.
Was there anything positive about this game?
Absolutely!
- Tomáš Tatar had two points tonight; his first goal as a Kraken, and his board-battle win in the defensive zone allowed Eberle and Beniers to spring out for a goal! Well done, Tuna. We’re gonna need more of that.
- Matty Beniers also had two points tonight; a goal and an assist and was playing much smoother, more confident hockey than he’d been even a week ago. I think Tatar might be the sauce for him; he helped him create some dynamite chances.
- Eeli Tolvanen remains one of the biggest reasons Ron Francis received an extension. I’m convinced of it. Had the presence of mind in the middle of all of those bodies to pop home the game tying goal and not get penalized for it.
- The Penalty Kill was excellent, stopping all four of Dallas’ power plays, including two back-to-back.
The NaturalStatTrick.com Charts
Honestly, had they not given up 2 goals early, the Kraken might’ve actually been the victors. This is more of what I like to see…just not the final results.
The Kraken continue their road trip, making a stop in Los Angeles to get another crack at the Kings on Wednesday evening. That game drops the puck at 7pm PT.
Until then, thank you for reading, and as always
Keep Calm, and Post Zoidberg When We Win.
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