On Wednesday, Dec. 22, the Seattle Kraken played against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center. With a lowly ranked team taking on the sixth team in the league, Ducks fans might have been expecting a blowout win as they packed the stands. Instead, the Kraken came out swinging and held the lead throughout the game. Seattle took home a 3-1 victory over the Ducks, the same score as their previous meeting this season. The Kraken also now leads the season series with a 2-0 record.
Eberle and Kakko With Two Points Each
Both Jordan Eberle and Kaapo Kakko managed to get their name on the scoresheet twice in this game. Kakko recorded two assists while Eberle scored two goals.
Related: Kraken’s Brandon Montour Out 4 Weeks With Hand Injury
Early in the second, the Kraken drew a power play. After Ryker Evans’ shot was saved by Lukas Dostal, Kaapo Kakko picked up the rebound and took a shot. His shot went wide, and Shane Wright picked up the second loose puck to try his hand at scoring. In the mad scramble, Frederick Gaudreau got his stick on the puck and sent it home to open the scoring.
Halfway into the third period, Kakko stole the puck away from the Ducks in their zone. He had Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle with him as a 3-on-2 drive to the net ensued. As they entered the Kraken’s zone, Kakko passed to Beniers, who dropped it down to Eberle. He took a shot, which hit the top corner of the crossbar and went into the net. Eberle then scored an empty-net goal in the final 36 seconds to take home the win.
The first line of Kakko, Beniers, and Eberle found their stride in this game. Kakko played a total of 17 minutes while Beniers and Eberle played 18. Playing just about a full period of hockey each goes to show how much head coach Lane Lambert believes in this trio.
Grubauer Held Strong
Although both Eberle and Kakko recorded two points, the player of the game was definitely Philipp Grubauer. He faced 41 shots and stopped all but one, earning him a save percentage (SV%) of .976. This was his highest SV% this season so far.
After his last three starts resulted in losses, Grubauer is now back in the win column. Fans often want to criticize the goaltender and blame them for a loss, but now they can’t say anything about Grubauer’s phenomenal performance. With this game being the first of a back-to-back, Lambert was going to have to play him and Joey Daccord within the next two games; it was all a matter of who would kick it off. He made the right call to start Grubauer against the Ducks. Daccord will have a lot to live up to in their next game.
Defense Can’t Take Anymore Hits
Early in the final frame, Vince Dunn received a nasty hit from Ross Johnston. He went down the tunnel after showing a serious display of emotion and did not return to the game. The team just announced earlier, ahead of the game, that Brandon Montour will miss the next four weeks after undergoing hand surgery. Hopefully Dunn is all right, because the blue line can’t lose any more strong members.
With the holiday freeze in effect, the Kraken can’t call up any players at the moment. Luckily, they’ve had Josh Mahura since the beginning of the season. He has been a healthy scratch for several games, but has since entered the lineup with Montour’s absence.
Although Mahura didn’t get his name on the scoresheet in this game, he still made a huge impact on the team. He took 22 shifts and recorded a total of 15:57 on the ice. He was also on the ice for one of the goals, earning him a plus-1. He helped pick up some of the slack with Dunn out of the lineup for the remainder of the third period. The Kraken didn’t allow the Ducks any goals in this period, and the defense was a big part in making sure that reigned true.
Kraken Have One More Before the Break
The Kraken will play the second half of a back-to-back tonight when they take on the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings also played on Monday, so hopefully, a tired Los Angeles team will benefit Seattle.
