It didn’t work out so well for the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena against the Dallas Stars. The visitors from the Lone Star State took care of business twice, 4-3 in overtime on March 11th and then 5-2 on Monday, March 13th.
The first loss was disappointing because Seattle had taken the lead in the third period only to give it up to Joe Pavelski with 70-seconds remaining with the Stars rolling with the extra attacker. Miro Heiskanen won it in overtime.
The match two nights later was just flat-out frustrating. The Stars took a 2-0 lead in the first six minutes and went three for four on the power play. Tough to overcome that.
Kraken’s Big New Approach
“Everything’s bigger in Texas.” So goes the popular saying there, and so go the Kraken for Tuesday night’s match-up. They’re changing it up big time by giving goalie Joey Daccord his second NHL start of the season. With Philipp Grubauer still coming off illness and Martin Jones coming off a couple of shaky appearances, the club has decided to reward Daccord with this opportunity. They obviously feel the 26-year-old from Boston deserves a crack, having successfully led the affiliate Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League to a playoff spot.
Daccord stopped 36 of 40 shots for the Kraken in a 5-4 win against the Calgary Flames back on November 1st.
Previous to that, Daccord’s NHL experience included eight appearances for the Ottawa Senators two seasons ago and five more for the Kraken last season.
Otherwise, it’s up to Seattle skaters to solve a Dallas team that backchecks consistently and makes transitions difficult in the neutral zone. In the recent head-to-head match-ups the Kraken couldn’t find their groove.
“We know they have great structure, a very structured team,” Yanni Gourde said after the morning skate. “They don’t give up a lot and when they take the lead they’re a very good team and they defend very well.”
Gourde then emphasized trusting the Kraken’s system and playing a full sixty minutes.
Hayden Hurts
There weren’t many punches landed at all in John Hayden’s fight against Klim Kostin of the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon, but Hayden did manage to hurt himself as he twisted awkwardly to the ice when the tilt was over. TV replays show one of his ankles turning unnaturally as he spun to the ice.
Hayden had surgery on March 20th and will be in recovery for approximately 12 weeks.
Helping Andy
Our media friend, fellow writer, and an absolutely delightful gentleman Andy Eide suffered a stroke at the game on Saturday and has begun a long recovery. The medical bills will be substantial and any assistance is greatly appreciated. The Go Fund Me site is linked here, and you can follow Andy’s progress here.
Andy’s been covering the Kraken since day one.
Please and thank you very much.
Enjoy the Hockey Action!!
