“Stay out of the box.” That would be the most simple and effective way for the Seattle Kraken to extend its perfect penalty kill success to a fourth consecutive game. The concept worked Thursday night in Minnesota when the Kraken held the Wild to just two power play chances and squashed them both.
The team dodged a bullet on Tuesday, allowing the Calgary Flames four opportunities, but they killed them off, scored a shorthanded goal, and spurred themselves to a third-period comeback victory.
“This win is a little bit different than the Calgary win, the Calgary win we had to go out and find a way,” Kraken Head Coach Dave Hakstol said postgame Thursday. “We had to dig out. Every win’s a little bit different, but winning on the road, especially in these buildings is not easy to do, so this is a real valuable two points.”
The Seattle Kraken face an ornery Pittsburgh Penguins team tonight (Saturday), one that has lost six games in a row (0-5-and-1), including the 3-1 loss to the Kraken last Saturday at the Climate Pledge Arena.
“Every night, the way we play and the way we are as a team we have to do our things,” Kraken forward Alexander Wennberg said after the win over the Wild. “Everyone’s just chipping in, there’s no secret to it, I wish I could say there were, but it’s just a hard working team, everyone’s working for one another and that’s just the way we wanted to play.”
Balanced Depth Scoring
It’s a happy topic for any club that possesses it. Balanced scoring with “everyone chipping in”.
The Seattle Kraken is the only NHL team with 19 different goal scorers so far this season. That’s a tremendous number considering we’re only a dozen games into the season.
Equally remarkable, if not more so, is the fact the Kraken have scored three or more goals in eight consecutive games. Is it just a reflection of increased scoring throughout the NHL, a typical phenomenon found early in seasons before coaching settles in and games become more structured, or is simple confidence and cohesiveness carrying the Kraken hockey club?
It’s likely some of all three.
4th-line center Morgan Weekie has a three-game goal scoring streak and has tallied four over his last five games.
Notes:
Martin Jones starts in net and it appears Hakstol is reverting back to the line-up he used last Saturday against the Penguins.
Teddy Blueger and Jeff Carter, the latter played vs the Kraken last Saturday, will not play for Pittsburgh in this one, according to Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan. Jake Guentzel is a game time decision.
Burgeoning star centre Matty Beniers of the Kraken celebrates his 20th birthday today.
