Kraken vs. Sabres RECAP: Jeff Skinner has hat trick as Kraken lose 6-2

The Kraken have harmed me once more.

There are some highlights, if you have any attachments to the city of Buffalo:

Game Notes:

• Your TOI Leader tonight was Adam Larsson, who had 22:25 logged tonight.
• This one started rough and had the potential to become extremely weird as Buffalo and Seattle traded five goals in a period, but ultimately some truly abysmal defensive performances by players who should know a lot better (HI, ADAM. SEE ME AFTER CLASS.) allowed the high-end talent of the Sabres effectively victimize them. To say nothing of course of Jeff Skinner, who was able to finish up his 7th career hat trick in a game that the Kraken were effectively deleted from by the 2nd period. Oh sure, they got their shots. But all of that came way, way too late to matter.
• Daccord got chased and Grubauer had to jump in, and that’s about as much as you need to know about how the first period went; Joey got rattled something fierce by some pin point shots he could’ve stopped, and that ended his night very early. Can’t say I blame Hak for doing so.
• This team without Vince Dunn on it is next to impossible to get anything going. They can’t quite trust Ryker Evans with that responsibility as he too is still trying to figure out where his strengths lie, and just about everybody else was either not up to the challenge or injured. I for one, think a hockey team should be able to survive their principal scoring blueliner being day-to-day, but what do I know.
• Oh yeah, and Jamie Oleksiak is out for something. Hope it’s nothing serious.
• I think the most galling thing about the offense being so mediocre is that it’s actively causing bad things to happen in the other two zones. The Kraken’s inability to adequately support each other in the offensive end combined with sluggish skating means they’re effectively a turnover away from giving up a wonderful transition chance at any moment. If you need any concrete proof of that, feel free to rewind to just about every goddamn goal the Sabres scored tonight; every one of those chances START in the offensive zone! The lack of urgency and ability to react to plays is both extremely worrisome and staggering in equal measure!
• This is the second game in a row Brandon Tanev’s been on a breakout and has opted to pass instead of shoot. I think he’s cursed. We need a spiritual guide to get him out of this.
• Congrats to Jeff Skinner on making me look like the biggest idiot alive in thinking he was washed at the beginning of the season. Ol’ Smooth brain Sky was not familiar with your game, and I owe you an apology.
• Five in a row, An entire homestand wasted…and you’ve got Vegas coming up. This could get grim in a hurry.
• DRAFT UPDATE: 9th overall is THEIRS unless the Penguins start losing games again. I for one, hope Sid drags that godforsaken team out of hell and back into the postseason.

So…Anything Good Happen?

• Matty made his 10th goal on the funniest possible bounce. His Sophomore slump may be kicking his ass hard, but he’s at least managing to contribute here and there in ways that are interesting.
• Ebs got his 15th goal. That’s nice.
• Seattle’s firmly in 9th place in the draft order. They may not even need to draft Cole Eisermann. That stinks for me, because he is actually from my hometown to the point I’ve gone to school with relatives of his, but I’ll happily take Brandsegg-Nygard or Helenius or Parekh instead.

That’s about it, friends. This sucks.

The NaturalStatTrick.com Charts

This only served to make me queasy.

Sabres almost had a perfect line of goals from anywhere but the most dangerous part of the ice. Good god, Kraken.

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Well, if you want to subject yourself to further punishment, the Kraken have you covered with a back-to-back starring the Vegas Golden Knights and Arizona Coyotes. That starts in Vegas on Thursday at 7:30pm PT.

Personally, I’m getting my wetsuit and walking into Puget Sound until that happens.

Keep Calm, and Post Zoidberg When We Win.