Get fitted for your brightest pastel suit with only the biggest shoulder pads because the 80s are BACK, BABY.
But first, the Highlights!
Game Notes
- Your TOI leader was Brandon Montour, who finished the night with 25:56
- Your recap song is this song from the game Hotline Miami as this game felt an awful lot like surviving a level in that particular electronic entertainment.
- What. a. GAME. This felt like the Squids were really going to go down 0-2 by the middle of the 2nd, and then Jordan Eberle got his workin’ boots on. From then on, the Kraken were still sloppy, they still had some real issues with the power play, they made it FAR more dramatic than they needed to…but they came back and won that. They won a game they never once lead in, they just kept hammering away at the Wild until they (or more accurately, Fleury) broke down, and got their act together just long enough to get to the shootout, where Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jordan Eberle had the Wild in hell. This was a win to be proud of. Something to build off of. Which is good! They’re gonna need it for tomorrow.
- If there’s a negative the Kraken have for this early season, the defense has had specific issues with puck-watching and re-establishing possession. They get in the lanes, they block shots, they actively break up plays…but that very last bit of defense where you get to play offense afterwards is still a work in progress. An extremely, extremely frustrating thing they haven’t figured out yet, especially since they gotta deal with Dallas tomorrow evening, but it is a very easy one to fix. Once they get that figured out…there’s a really fun, dangerous team in here. Right now it’s a fun, dangerous team with a lot of ugly bits hanging off.
- Vince Dunn left the game very late from an apparent injury, which really stinks given that he’s kind of extremely important to the defense’s general compentency level. We hope it’s nothing serious and he comes back quick!
- Both teams got a power play goal tonight, though Seattle’s definitely looked a little out of sorts; which makes Eberle’s night all the more special. They desperately needed it.
- Well, neither goaltender had a great night and their skaters chose to not help them all too much, so I don’t think we can hold the sub-.900 SV% against Joey Daccord. Maybe you want the Boldy goal back, but otherwise? He did his job in a rapidly tanking SV% league, gave Boldy nothing in the shootout, and got the win; that’s what’s important.
Let’s Give A Hand To…
Got a number of people we gotta give a hand to as it turns out!
- Jordan Eberle chose one helluva game to get Goal 300 and 301 on his career; and he was an absolute torturer of Marc-Andre Fleury tonight in the shootout. They gave him that captaincy for a reason; he led this team to the promised land tonight.
- Tye Kartye‘s tally in the 3rd erased the Kaprizov goal early in the third that would’ve been deflating in any other year. Good on you, man.
- Speaking of which, Jared McCann! Put a MISSILE past Fleury to keep things even, and finished with two points! Great night for him!
- Andre Burakovsky finished his night with 2 assists!
- Ryker Evans was a noticeable and, at least in my opinion, VERY strong player on the backend tonight. He got an assist on McCann’s late goal as well, which just adds to the positive vibes
- Jamie Oleksiak didn’t have a point tonight, but finished the night with 21:30 and as such finished his 600th NHL game! Good for him!
- Shane Wright didn’t register a point, but he was a force all night. He won battles, he tried his damnedest to make plays, he got some decent chances off…if he keeps this up, I think his place in the lineup will only improve. I was very happy with how he handled a physical team like Minnesota.
The Analytics from NaturalStatTrick.com
Well, given how the game went I’ll happily take it, but in the future; HELP YOUR GOALTENDER, PLEASE.
No rest for the wicked tonight, as the Kraken are already on their way down to Dallas to face the Stars tomorrow at 5pm PT. That game is on KONG, and the myriad OTA channels in the Kraken Hockey Network.
We’ll see you there, and remember!
Keep Calm, and Post Zoidberg When We Win