Kraken Share Chores In Net
I’m thinking we’ll see Martin Jones back in net for the Seattle Kraken against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night. Philipp Grubauer was excellent in the comeback win over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night and he’s won his two starts since returning from injury, but it would be hard to skip Jones in a rotation at this point.
Grubauer was slated as the number-one before the season started and carries the much higher price tag, $5.9-million this season to Jones’s $2-million, but money has little to do with the latter’s outstanding efforts while Grubauer was out of the line-up.
One would think that at this point it’s just that: a Kraken rotation, at least until one flounders a bit. Or one becomes absolutely unbeatable.
There’s no problem sharing the chores between two early-30-something veterans; consider it a luxury. Competition is a good thing, and as long as the Kraken are winning, keep that competition and the opportunities coming.
Now, at 7 am, all that said and after sleeping on it, I could be completely wrong with that concept if the club simply prefers having a set number-one guy, and that set number-one guy, partially for the investment but also for consistency of expectations, is Grubauer. We’ll see.
Either way, nice job by Kraken GM Ron Francis putting these two guys in place.
In the meantime …
Let’s Skate !
Steven Stamkos became the first Tampa Bay Lightning player in history to reach the 1,000 point mark with the club. The 32-year-old is the 95th player in NHL history to reach the milestone. NHL.com listed the eight other active players who have reached the mark … can you name them? (answer at bottom of page).
“Stammer” has 494 goals with the Bolts, the franchise record holder. He won the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals in a season by an NHL player in 2010 and 2012.
Aside from the forward’s scoring prowess, Stamkos also captained the club to Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021.
Ouch! Again
Tyler Bertuzzi tallied 30 goals and 32 assists for the Detroit Red Wings last season in 68 games. This season, when healthy, he’s been buzzing again in Motown. Unfortunately, he’ll miss a significant number of games for the second time this campaign after he blocked a shot with his left hand late in the third period on Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres.
He had surgery and will be out six weeks. Earlier this season Bertuzzi missed 13 games after breaking his right hand on a blocked shot.
Tyler is the nephew of former Red Wings winger Todd Bertuzzi.
Enjoy the Hockey Action !!
(Answer to trivia; active NHLers with 1,000+ points: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins – Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals – Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks – Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins – Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings – Eric Staal, Florida Panthers – Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals – Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins.)
