Amidst the chaos of cultivating decent production over the past three weeks, Shane Wright’s impact on the Kraken’s offense has continued to decline. That’s why there’s no guarantee he’ll return to the lineup Saturday in Los Angeles after being healthy scratched twice to conclude the recent homestand.
Blows to health and the urgency to jumpstart a struggling offense– dealt consecutive shutouts to begin November and currently ranked 17th in five-on-five and total goals scored– explain most of the lineup adjustments seen thus far. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Tye Kartye each sat versus the Colorado Avalanche Nov. 5. Injury to Jordan Eberle has forced André Burakovsky into a larger role on the first line.
It also explains the reacquisition of Daniel Sprong from the Vancouver Canucks, whose homecoming has been characterized as ideally heralding an influx of scoring from the minute the press release regarding the trade dropped. No wonder, given all of Burakovsky (eight assists), Yanni Gourde (two goals, seven points), Bjorkstrand (four goals, eight points), and Matty Beniers (four goals, 10 points) are off to relatively slow starts 20 games in.
Coaching and management made it clear through their actions that scoring would increase by any means necessary, and the Kraken consequently averaged three goals per game over their last six. That increase is undoubtedly a factor in their recovery from a 1-5-0 road trip wherein they averaged just two a night. But Wright contributed little to the effort to surmount .500% once again, scoreless over his last 13 games and no longer noticeable on the attack.
No indication of Wright’s then forthcoming absences came prior to sitting out of the Kraken’s 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers and their 3-0 win over the Nashville Predators three days later. Bylsma reasoned that Wright’s game had been trending in “not the best direction,” necessitating a “reset.” Line rushes at practice Thursday and Friday before flying south imply call-up Ben Meyers will continue to replace Wright on the fourth line between Tye Kartye and Brandon Tanev this weekend.
Thursday, Bylsma revealed little about his plan to reinsert Wright, carefully stating he’ll be in the lineup at some point but refraining from clarifying when.
“This is a one-game, a two-game, a three-game hiatus– if it is a three-game hiatus– to get refocused,” he explained. “And when he gets back in there, he’s gonna have an opportunity with his linemates, maybe on the power play, to be the player that he showed in training camp.”
Seattle will fly to Anaheim to meet the Ducks on Monday before a rematch on home ice Wednesday, and Wright’s recent success against them is worth noting– he scored twice and recorded an assist in Seattle’s 3-1 win at Anaheim late last season.
Regardless, Wright’s using his time in the press box wisely, determined to make sure that his impact will be lasting when the time comes to suit up and skate again.
“Just use it as a reset. Use it as fuel and motivation to push myself and work on my game even more,” the centerman explained candidly Friday morning. “Just push myself to make sure that I’m in the best spot I can be for when I do step back in and play, and make sure something like this does not happen again.”
Wright’s on the same page as his head coach regarding the need for reflection and refocus, and the familiarity between the two from their shared time in Coachella Valley “definitely” made what could be tough conversations about performance evaluation “easier.” He acknowledged the shortcomings in his game without hesitation, specifically the need to improve puck handling and rediscover his offensive impact. Those traits typically manifest as a keen instinct for net-front real estate and trigger happy tendencies that Seattle’s been in dire need of all season long.
And although nothing compares to game action, Bylsma explained discussion with scratched players about their assessments of the games they’re watching can be helpful to getting them back on track– he did just that with Wright during the second and third period against Nashville.
“Sometimes looking from 200 feet the game can look a little slower from up there, and you can see the actual spacing, the actual timing of the game. Talking through it in reference to your own game can be a positive thing.”