By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Just a few days after the second of two tight losses, the Seattle Kraken flipped the mental switch that held been holding them back. A few days of practicing their three-on-three game have paid off, as with the 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, the Kraken have won their last two contests in the overtime period. Tight, grinding divisional contests may be the standard for Seattle’s upcoming schedule, as they will continue a five-game streak of games against Pacific Division opponents after this win.
Martin Jones played another stellar night in goal, as the King fired several chaotic shots on net (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Canner and the Flying Dutchman find the mark
Since the opener of the current six-game homestand, the high-octane offense of the Kraken has taken a bit of a step back. Seattle’s opponents have made it difficult to get shots on net, and in cases like tonight, the Kraken have been downright unlucky as several pucks took a bad bounce or hit the pipes. In these gritty games, players need to step up and chip in wherever. Tonight, Jared McCann and Daniel Sprong answered that call. Both players snapped scoring droughts to give Seattle goals in the first and third periods, respectively. Daniel Sprong spoke postgame about how his goal took place.
“We had some really good looks, so we knew if we got more chances, we’d be able to score. I was able to bury one right after they scored a shorthanded goal... I always knew my offensive side was there, and I’ve been showing that this year... I work on the shot I made a lot in practice, the no look five hole,” Sprong reflected.
Jared McCann slams a shot at Kings goaltender Cal Petersen (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Free hockey frenzy
Prior to these past two wins, Seattle has been relatively poor historically when it comes to the overtime period. The Kraken are three games under .500 over 15 games in franchise history when they play free hockey, but the newer approach taught in practice over the past week has Seattle headed in the right direction. While that makes it sound elaborate and dynamic, the strategy that Seattle has in place is quite simple: play patient, and don’t take risks that put the team in a bad position. The Kraken displayed that in the win against the Rangers and this win against the Kings, making the timely play and staying patient until the right moment to strike. Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol spoke on his time’s overtime performances, postgame.
“I guess all we had to figure out was getting 7 and 13 on the ice, that's the formula, I don’t think it has anything to do with practice. But seriously, it was a different overtime tonight. We didn’t have the puck a whole lot, but we defended really well. We didn’t give up anything, nothing threatening, we were patient. On the play for the game winning goal, Schultz does a good job defending,” Hakstol stated.
Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand played in his 400th career game (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Quick notes
In the Kraken's 100th-ever game, Jared McCann scored his 100th career goal. McCann — who was selected by Vancouver with the 24th-overall pick — becomes the 11th player from the 2014 NHL Draft class to score 100 career goals.
With his assist on McCann's first period goal, Matty Beniers has a point in every game he has played against Los Angeles in his career.
He recorded an assist on Apr. 27, 2022 and on Oct. 13, 2022, along with his two assists tonight.
Jordan Eberle's two points tonight gives him seven points in the last five games (four goals, three assists).
He now has six points (three goals, three assists) in his last four games against Los Angeles.
This is Eberle's fourth career overtime goal and 40th career game-winning goal. Of the three prior overtime goals, this is his second overtime goal against the Kings, with his first coming on Dec. 16, 2017 when he played for the Islanders.
With his assists on the third-period and overtime goals, Justin Schultz has notched two points in each of his last two games.
Schultz had a hand in consecutive game-winning goals. He netted the game-winning goal in Nov. 17's game against New York.
Tonight's win was the Kraken's sixth of the month. Six wins is the most Seattle has ever had in a single month in franchise history.
The Kraken are now 7-1-1 in their last nine games, dating back to Oct. 29 vs. Pittsburgh.
The Kraken are 8-1-1 when scoring first this season.
Tonight marks the first time in franchise history Seattle has had three consecutive games go into overtime. This is also the first time in franchise history that the Kraken have won in overtime in back-to-back games
Morgan Geekie reached a season high in faceoff win percentage, going five for six (83.3 percent).
Today is Kraken defenseman Cale Fleury's 24th birthday. The Kraken are now 3-1-0 when a game overlaps with the birthday of a player dressing in said game.
Tonight marks Oliver Bjorkstrand's 400th career game.
Cale Fleury celebrated his birthday, helping the Kraken secure another win (Photo by Liv Lyons)
What's next?
Following this thrilling win, the Kraken will get some quality days off before finishing their six-game homestand. The San Jose Sharks will head to Climate Pledge Arena, battling the Kraken on November 23rd, 2022. The struggling Sharks will face off against Seattle with a 7PM PST puck drop as the teams collide for the first time this season.
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