Kraken Carnage
The Kraken generated 19 shots-on-goal on Saturday night in a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers that was best described as ugly.
After a bank of lights went out at the Climate Pledge Arena before the game, leading to a ten minute delay in the 1st period and forcing the teams to switch ends midway through each period out of fairness to playing conditions, the Kraken’s energy seemed to fizzle along with them.
Seattle winger Andre Burakovsky was knocked out of the line-up on a hit from behind by Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba in the 2nd period and he’s not expected back for awhile. “Burky” missed half of last season to a groin injury.
40-goal scorer from last season Jared McCann “got fed” during a 3rd period fight with Vince Trocheck, while the Kraken have yet to earn a point in the standings with Philipp Grubauer starting in net.
Seattle’s record fell to 1-4-and-1. Other than that, it was great night.
Simmer’s 9
1) The first line in Hockey Hall of Fame recognized writer Jim Matheson’s article in the Edmonton Sun this morning went like this: “There’s a lot of hurtin’ and losin’ going on with the Oilers right now.”
You could replace Oilers with Kraken, but in Edmonton’s case, he’s also referring to an injury to superstar Connor McDavid. Seattle doesn’t offer up that kind of talent.
The Oil’ fell to 1-3-and-1 on the season and our pal ‘Matty’ also suggests “The Edmonton Oilers can’t win with Connor McDavid and can’t win without him.”
Here’s the link to the full article.
2) Our next “Simmer and Gabby” podcast featuring yours truly and long time NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau drops Monday afternoon.
3) I’ve learned over the years not to whine about the officiating because it’s a very difficult job for the men in stripes and over the years things tend to even out. Plus I know a lot of the guys who have worn the orange band (referees) and those that have worked without the added color (linesmen).
That said, the gent’s seemed to mess up their homework a little bit following an incident at 8:56 of the 3rd period on Saturday night.
While sitting on his bench, very large Rangers rookie winger Will Cuylie shoved Kraken center Yanni Gourde, who responded by shoving back. Gourde also pushed another New Yorker during the fracas. Reaching in or out is a no no.
This is right about the time Blueshirts D-man Adam Fox had cross checked Gourde to the ice in front of the benches, knocking the victim’s helmet off. Then Ranger forward Chris Kreider came along and buried Gourde again with a two hander from behind that sent Gourde down face first close to the ice and boards.
The resulting minutes:
Kreider 4 minutes – double minor for roughing
Gourde 4 mintues – double minor for roughing
Gourde 10 minute misconduct – contact with player on the bench
Hmm … the shoulder shrug emoji would be appropriate.
Here’s the catch, as is often the case, we have the luxury of replay and multiple looks while the officials are trying to track this mess in real time.
4) I’ve been blessed to be able to share these pages with two very fine people and cohorts over the past season. My pal Glenn Dreyfuss is an occasional contributor of excellent commentary and musings, while I’ve much more recently enjoyed input from Allyson Ballard.
The two are on opposite ends of the spectrum in that Allyson is very young while Glenn is …. shall we say …. more mature. Ahem, well, mature as in old … er.
Surely I jest.
Here is the first of two volleys coming from Ms. Ballard today and/or tomorrow. Mr. Dreyfuss will have some delightful material for us on Monday as well.
5) The “Simmer and Forslund” Kraken podcast starring TV play-by-play man John Forslund will return with a 4th episode next weekend. Our schedules were, and are, completely out of whack this weekend which means we’ll have double the fun next time out.
Or double the pain, depending on how the week goes for Seattle’s NHL hockey team.
6) Trivia time: This time a novice effort; a bit more “current events”:
The Kraken’s next stop is in Detroit where they’ll play the Red Wings on Tuesday night. In what building will the game be played?
A) Papa John’s Palace B) Domino’s Centre C) Little Caesar’s Arena D) Pizza Hut Place
Answer at bottom of page.
7) Here’s a couple of recent links for educational purposes; short term and long term.
I had the privilege of interviewing my bud’s Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti, the long time MSG TV play-by-play and analyst pair, both together on Saturday morning. The brief audio chat provided a nice pregame prep for Kraken folks and does the same for fans of the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, and Winnipeg Jets, all teams the Broadway Blueshirts are playing in the next nine days.
Quite fortuitous was our analysis of the “three youngsters” in the line-up and their importance moving forward. As it turns out, Filip Chytil had a three point night in Seattle, Alex Lafreniere a goal, and Kaapo Kakko a goal as well.
We also brought up the importance of goalie Jonathan Quick who picked up the win. You may see more of him soon since Igor Shesterkin is off to a slow start.
Here’s the audio:
The other link is Forslund talking about the Kraken’s lack of scoring punch entering the season from an earlier podcast. Seattle definitely lacks a high end superstar finisher.
8) I’ve actually turned to a crowd-funding effort to recoup some of the lost funds/revenue from the combination of being defamed by weasels and the Vancouver Canucks horsesh– media “policy” that kicked in 13 months ago. One that goes to great lengths to insult our intelligence. Questions and/or interested in assisting? Feel free to e-mail me at tallpucks@gmail.com.
9) In honoring number-9’s, I have in the past brought up the topic of the cluster that was the Toronto Maple Leafs “honoured” number policy that finally led to actual jersey retirements across the board a few years ago.
The New York Rangers were also guilty of similar misdeeds, one of which I mentioned briefly during an earlier “Simmer’s 9”. Let’s just say they eventually got it right when they put Adam Graves’s and Andy Bathgate’s name on a number-9 banner.
Bathgate was a perennial star for a Broadway team that consistently struggled against the Original Six powerhouses of the Canadiens, Red Wings, and Maple Leafs during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.
Graves helped the Rangers win the 1994 Stanley Cup. A key figure, an alternate captain to Mark Messier and one of the all-time greats for any team as it relates to service to the community.
Checking out a quick search and bio’ on either of these gentlemen is a worthy read.
— Trivia Answer: The Red Wings play their home games at Little Caesar’s Arena.
ICYMI:
— Kraken Morning After: Ugly Loss More Than Just An Off Night
