Seattle, WA - In the second to last game of the homestand, the Seattle Kraken welcomed the Washington Capitals to Climate Pledge arena for the first time this season and in their history. The Kraken were looking to snap their six game losing streak, but it would be no easy task against superstar Alex Ovechkin and the 3rd in the league Capitals.
Pre-game graphics show the Hockey fights cancer logo
A look at the Capitals: When people think of the Capitals, naturally the person that comes to mind is Alex Ovechkin. Ovi recently overtook 4th place on the all-time scoring list, and is Washington's leader in all three scoring categories: Total points, goals scored, and assists. This years Capitals team is 11-2-5 coming into this game against Seattle, sitting at second in the Metropolitan division. They sit at third in the league in points, and will be a tough test for Seattle, and an even tougher team to attempt a bounce back against. They are also the second team that current Kraken goaltender Philip Grubauer has been part of, after playing his other team the Avalanche last game.
Warmups commence for both teams
First period action: Another game where Seattle would fire off shots early on and bring the pressure, but the trend of playing from behind would continue when Washington's Tom Wilson would score off of a one timer to give the Capitals the lead with 16:26 to go in the first. Washington was able to get that goal off of a Jeremy Lauzon turnover right behind the net, a mistake that cannot happen if you want to improve and win games. The Kraken would continue to put shots on, and would finally break through with 4:02 left to go in the period. On the power play, Jaden Schwartz would find Jared McCann for a backhanded one timer to bring us level. The Capitals would get a power play shortly after, but would not be able to convert.
Intermission thoughts: I may sound like a broken record, but this has been another period where Seattle was able to fire off multiple shots on net, but not able to convert any, except they did convert the one this time. The Kraken power play has now converted four times in the last five games. On the other side, Seattle was able to hold legendary Alex Ovechkin out of the net through the period and on the powerplay. This is the first opening period intermission where it feels like Seattle is really in it. Keep up what you did in the first, minus that turnover behind the net, and things look good for a potential bounce back.
Second period action: Early on in the second period, Washington would get a power play off of a questionable tripping call. The Capitals would be unsuccessful in their power play efforts. Seattle would take advantage of the failed Capitals power play, scoring with 13:43 to go in the period! Jaden Schwartz would score as Seattle pulled Philipp Grubauer, giving the Kraken a 2-1 lead. The Kraken would use the momentum to net a second goal with 13 minutes left in the period, as Yanni Gourde would lead the counter attack and find Adam Larsson, who would be able to tap the puck into the net for the 3-1 lead. Seattle's crowd would get into it as the team would have several strong hits against Capitals players. It seemed as though Seattle was feeding off the energy, when Jaden Schwartz would take the puck up with Calle Jarnkrok on a two on one advantage. Jarnkrok, off of the assist from Schwartz, would use some stick work to beat former Kraken goalie Vanecek, and extend the lead to 4-1 with 6:09 to go! There would be little action to close out the period, but the crowd cheered on the Kraken as the clock hit triple zero.
Adam Larsson celebrates his goal that gave Seattle a 3-1 lead
Intermission thoughts: This period was exactly what the Kraken needed. Three goals in a period of seven and a half minutes feels like the flood gates being opened. After the early Washington power play, to be able to deny Ovechkin and Wilson is huge. Rebounding off of that and scoring repeatedly is even bigger, and should be able to give Seattle a bounce back win. Keep this strong performance going into the third period, and finish strong.
Yanni Gourde would notch an assist and a goal
Third period action: It would be Washington who would open the period this time with the score, as Alex Ovechkin would finally break through and score with 16:51 to go in the final period. Ovechkin's shot would clip Grubauer and spin in, which seemed like an unlucky occurrence. A little under two minutes later, the Kraken would give up a power play as Yanni Gourde would get called for goaltender interference. Yet again, the Capitals would not be able to score with the man advantage. Late in the period, Washington would get one final power play, but the Kraken penalty kill would stay strong and hold the Capitals out of the net, with the help of some strong saves by Grubi. As they were down by the two goals, Washington would keep their goaltender Vanecek out. With the empty net and on the counter attack, Seattle would be able to net a goal, courtesy of Yanni Gourde.
The Seattle defensive units did a good job of containing Alex Ovechkin
Post game reflection: This was exactly the game that Seattle needed after the brutal six game losing streak. Even after giving up the first goal, the Kraken were able to settle in and respond within the first quarter. The huge second period showed Seattle build off of momentum, finally being able to put away some of the large multitude of shots that the team put on net. It was great to see the defensive lines and Philipp Grubauer finally put together a performance against a good team that people expected once the dust had settled and the roster became official. Hopefully, this win will be a building block that we can look at down the road as a learning lesson that helped the Kraken find their footing.
Kraken fans inside Climate pledge arena cheer their team after the win
Three stars of the game:
Jaden Schwartz
Philipp Grubauer
Calle Jarnkrok
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