Kraken Overcome
The Kraken ground the Winnipeg Jets into submission on Sunday, coming from behind and overcoming some special teams shortcomings to pick up an important 3-2 victory at Climate Pledge Arena. Important in that it ended a two-game skid and a stretch that saw the Kraken lose five of six.
“We stayed patient, we stayed with it, scored a couple of determined goals and that made the difference for us,” Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol said postgame. “Coming back into this building, we knew we had to have that kind of effort. We talked about that and the guys went out there and worked really hard for sixty minutes and for the most part were really responsible and really determined.”
Ryan Donato has a goal in three consecutive games, tying a career high streak he has set twice previously.
“For me it’s just keeping the faith,” Donato said. “I always go back to my religion, but those tips goals, they can easily find a way to stay out of the net too. So, for me, I just continue to keep that faith, work hard, and hope those good things continue to happen.”
By the way, former Jets captain Blake Wheeler, one of six Winnipeg regulars out of the line-up due to injury, learned he’ll miss four weeks following surgery for a lower body injury suffered on Thursday against the Nashville Predators. Defenceman Nate Schmidt was also injured in that game and will miss four to six weeks with an upper body injury.
Somewhat fortuitous, the Kraken caught the Jets suffering from those injuries and also playing their third game in four nights and the second of a back-to-back. Winnipeg beat the Canucks in Vancouver 5-1 on Saturday night.
Let’s Skate!
The Eastern Conference has most of the hottest teams in the NHL at the moment. The New York Rangers reeled off their seventh consecutive victory on Sunday with a 7-1 decision over the Chicago Blackhawks. With a record of 18-10-and-5 the Broadway Blueshirts have hopped into 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division with 41 points.
The team they trail is even hotter. The second place Carolina Hurricanes have won five in a row and have picked up at least one point in their last eleven games. They’re three points ahead of the Rangers in the standings.
Oh, and ho hum, this is less of a surprise, the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning have also won five in a row and have crept up the Atlantic Division standings into 3rd place with 41 points.
All Ovie, All the Time
In case you missed it, this is crazy fun, if you have an extra fifteen minutes laying around, the Washington Capitals website put together a montage of all 800 Alex Ovechkin goals. The video is set to the theme music from an old TV show about a western hero called The Lone Ranger.
Remember that impossible goal he scored while spinning on his back against the Phoenix Coyotes? That was way back at goal 32.
Enjoy the Kraken Hockey Action!!
