Kraken Determination
The key theme to the Seattle Kraken’s three consecutive wins on their road trip: relentlessness.
NHL coaches often talk about “getting a full 60 minutes” out of their respective teams being a key to victory. It makes sense; a team that never lets up isn’t likely going to lose. That describes the Kraken lately.
Most teams have lulls in games on a frequent to semi-frequent basis, whether mental respites or momentum dips. That does not appear to be the case lately when one watches Seattle.
Whether behind, like down two-nothing to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, or building a lead, like they did against the Maple Leafs on Thursday and the Senators on Saturday, the Kraken are going like gangbusters.
The relentless comeback against the Oilers, with Seattle scoring five unanswered goals, set the tone for the seven-game road trip.
“The strength of this group is in the depth that we have,” Kraken forward Jordan Eberle said after the win in Ottawa. “That’s not just on the forward side, it’s on the defense, and the goalies. (If) you see teams that can roll four lines and have six D contribute, that’s dangerous, and in my opinion, a lot of teams that go deep in playoffs is because of that. It’s great to see everyone contributing.”
Eberle and Andre Burakovsky led the Kraken with three points, a goal and two assists each, in the 8-4 win against the Senators. Eight different players scored a goal, the first time an NHL team has done that in a game this season, and 13 different Kraken had at least one point.
All-Star Ballots
Each NHL team will have at least one player representative at the NHL All-Star Game in south Florida in early February. The league announced its eight selections from each division this past week and will allow the fans to vote for the remainder of the roster. That’s three players in each division.
Any chance the Kraken get a second player added to go with rookie Matty Beniers? We saw one commentator between periods of a national Canadian telecast suggest Martin Jones. That would be based on his consistency and his 18 wins in 25 starts, not so much his individual statistics.
Jones has a decent shot to be the second goalie given the competition in the Pacific Division. Logan Thompson of the Vegas Golden Knights is the only one ahead of him on the stat’ charts and he’s already been named. Stuart Skinner of the OIlers has slightly better save stats but has only won 12 games.
Get stuffing Kraken fans. The league will step in and modify selections if someone ridiculous receives a majority of votes. Jones definitely doesn’t fall into that category and would be a very legitimate addition. It would be quite an honor for the 32-year-old veteran who was brought in to be the club’s back-up.
Enjoy the Hockey Action !!
