We The Fans: Kraken Lose to Bottom of the League Canucks on a Third Jersey Night and 2nd game of Back to Back
The Third Jersey may actually be cursed after a fast and entertaining start seemed like a signal from the deep for a more promising showing from this group, but the result brings the team and fans plummeting back down to Earth with fans wondering “What next?” After only getting a single point from a team that sits bottom of the league with 34 Points. The best performance of the season for Vancouver Goalie Kevin Lankinen which he found 37 saves on 39 shots then Three in the shootout on some rather lack luster attempts by the Kraken forward group and stole the game from a Seattle Team looking to extend their win streak to 5 games after the Kraken jumped out to an early lead 2-1 and looked to be ready to out duel the Western Conference opponent that hadn’t seen a win at Climate Pledge Arena since since 2022. The first goal was scored on a bang-bang power play goal by Jared McCann who fought Connor Garland for a missed elbowing call later in the game. Then Ryan Winterton crashing the net late in the second period made it two-one at the end of the first and the Kraken were quiet offensively the rest of the game. Really failing to challenge Lankinen high glove where they had found the most success and scored earlier in the game. The shootout attempts failed to exploit the tendency the starter had to keep his glove low and the team instead players tried to go other places and struggled because of it.
Seattle Kraken have made a tendency of playing to the level of their competition and that really hurts them against some of the teams that are also struggling in this league. Tonight’s loss was totally unacceptable and I really wanted this team to move forward, but tonight was a classic Kraken effort that seemingly fizzled out like a wet firework. I’m not sure why the money and the fan base isn’t enough incentive to give a little bit more energy for the effort to focus and play with structure for 60 minutes, but the group has failed to look organized enough after adjustments are made by the other team late in games. It is a long game and the team as of this moment only shows up for 30 minutes at a time and which half of the game that will be is a mystery to fans and depends on the night. I would personally like to see guys play the puck to themselves off the side boards from time to time or off the net like Tolvanen did the night prior against the Flyers. The team is lacking patience in the offensive zone.
The Kraken need an injection of skill and speed in their lineup, and their fans are desperate for it. WE NEED A PURE GOAL SCORER! I do not want to be the guy shouting from the top of the mountain that the sky is falling and sell the team, but the effort out of the team in the third period was lazy and the guys were going through the motions for the last 20 minutes. These guys need to utilize the video a little more and not just move on, but start learning and stop making the same mistakes when the adjustments are there to be made. Something has to happen to get this team moving in the direction of trying to win and get their guys playoff experience. The team seems to have a very capable and defensively minded coach with a system that works, they just need to find guys with the creativity and skill to finish. The coaching staff can only make so many excuses for the players and certain guys on this Kraken team are passengers looking to get paid. Puck Battle win percentage of 27% isn’t going to get it done. Joey Daccord has struggled to get the job done since his red hot start to the season and though he finished with 21 saves on 24 shots and Seattle may need to look to lean on Phillip Grubaeur more down the stretch for some tough matchups before the Olympic Break.
Every smart coach knows you ride the hot goalie, but the Kraken stick to their formula and play their goalie rotation. One thing is for sure the Kraken can not afford is to let this turn into another losing streak going forward or they may find themselves likely sellers at the trade deadline as at some point you have to be realistic about team longevity if you are not collecting the points necessary to stay in the hunt for the Post Season or compete for the future. I desperately want the Kraken to figure it out, but 80% of the work is being done by 20% of the team and this kind of strategy isn’t sustainable for the team. I feel restructuring is imminent and inevitable, but how long it takes management to realize this is still a large mystery to the Seattle Kraken Fan Base. Jacob Melanson had his first point in the NHL on the Primary Assist to Ryan Winterton and that Coachella Valley Fourth Line was the best set of players on the ice for the Kraken. Ben Meyers has also been unreal this season for the Kraken.
Coach Lambert said “We keeping playing that way and doing that and well have success more often than not.” It was a sentiment that was echoed by a few players on this team and it shows that they are buying into Coach Lane Lambert and the way he wants this team to play together defensively to assist the goaltending in limiting quality chances. The Kraken Head Coach also said “some nights they go in and some nights they don’t, and our (the Kraken are ranked 11th at 21.0%) power play has been very good for us. The most notable under performer for the team was Kappo Kakko who was in the correct places, but he comparatively has a slower reaction time compared to the rest of the NHL as he was always just a second behind the play, as he had a stick lifted and missed a couple HUGE chances to put the team up in the game. The Seattle Kraken are back at it on Thursday with a hopefully more organized and well rested offensive effort. The team can not afford back to back loses with the standings being as tight as they are around the league this year. The team is now 16-14-7.
Very Respectfully,
Caleb Nance