Kraken vs. Ducks RECAP: Helping Hand From Hockey Gods Gives Seattle Confidence to Snap Skid in 4-0 Win

Roll the Highlight Reel!

Game Notes

• A bold opening period is what Seattle needed after their atrocious first twenty versus Montreal, and they got it— at least, offensively. Eeli Tolvanen opened the scoring taking advantage of slow defensive reactions from Anaheim to sneak net-front and slip the puck past John Gibson high blocker. Jordan Eberle doubled the lead late on the power play thanks to a fortuitous bounce off of William Lagesson.
• Early on, Seattle’s defensive structure demonstrated a tendency to collapse in on itself, opening up juicy net-front real estate in the process, although Anaheim did little to exploit the weakness— the collectivity required to do so may not have been possible for them anyways.
• While it’s worthwhile to note that the Ducks are far from a quality defensive opponent— they rank 29th in GAA in all situations (3.56) and 28th in shots allowed per game (32.8)— for Seattle to vie for and capitalize on offensive chances they haven’t normally been will be huge going forward. Skaters consistently pushed into Anaheim’s high danger areas with speed and authority, executing offensive stratagem at a level unseen over the last month. Likely, this courage was motivated by the ease and luck with which Seattle put themselves on the boards.
• Matty Beniers’ second period goal was the best example of this high level skill. Pouncing on an Anaheim turnover in the defensive zone, Beniers raced to the other end of the rink with linemates Oliver Bjorkstrand and Tolvanen in tow. A quick give-and-go ensued, and Beniers fired and scored from the low faceoff circle.
• “Not getting those wins, they kind of build up,” Beniers said. “[With] each loss you lose a little confidence personally, as a team. So, you know, in those stretches, I think just getting one win is so big for you know, just getting confidence back and breaking that streak and then being able to move forward.”
• Recording three points over 15:37 of icetime, Tuesday was perhaps Beniers’ best showing all season. The young centerman felt like a difference-maker, better aware of how to adjust to offensive situation for the best possible outcome— more of his passes were connected and he appeared generally more spatially aware.
• Joey Daccord deserves credit for the shutout, his third of the season, but so does Anaheim— it was partly a self-inflicted wound. Seattle faced only 12 shots over 60 minutes, and the third period was absent of any kind of pushback from the visiting team, notching only three shots and lacking any kind of consistent pressure.

Let’s Give a Hand To…

• Logan Morrison, for making his NHL debut as an undrafted forward.
• Matty Beniers, for returning to offensive form and resembling the high-IQ centerman he was advertised as.
• The first line, not only for leaving their fingerprints on a majority of the goals scored, but for proving sometimes the lineup blender does get results.

Three Stars of the Game

⭐️Matty Beniers (1G, 2A)

⭐️⭐️Eeli Tolvanen (1G, 2A)

⭐️⭐️⭐️Joey Daccord (12/12, 1.00%)

And here’s tonight’s heat map, courtesy of NaturalStatTrick. Check out how close those goals are to the net!