The Seattle Kraken faced the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 11 and then traveled to Detroit to face the Red Wings 24 hours later. Both games ended in a 6-2 score, but against the Red Wings, the Kraken were not victorious.
Kraken Didn’t Play Well in the Second Half of a Back-to-Back
This was the Kraken’s third set of back-to-back games this season. The first was in November against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 29 and 30 when Seattle lost both contests. The second was in early December during their east coast road trip when they beat the New York Islanders on Dec. 5 but fell to the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 6. In their third set, the Kraken beat the Sabres 6-2 before falling to the Red Wings.
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Against the Red Wings, the Kraken were outplayed and looked tired despite outshooting Detroit 33-23. Ultimately, Detroit had the better opportunities. They won 61.7% of the faceoffs, while Seattle only won 38.3%. They also earned double the penalty minutes, sitting in the box for 12 minutes versus the Red Wings’ six, and conceding three power-play goals. Perhaps if Seattle didn’t take as many penalties, the score might have been closer.
The current travel schedule is not doing the Kraken any favors and the Kraken have a current away record of 9-13-0. Their home record sits at 9-10-3. There are still two more games to go on this road trip and hopefully Seattle can finish out the trip with performances similar to their game in Buffalo.
Daccord Should Have Started
Phillipp Grubauer started in net for the Kraken to give Joey Daccord a rest after the Sabres game. It was clear from the start that this was a mistake. Grubauer let in three goals on four shots within the first six minutes – the first two were scored 11 seconds apart in the third minute, and the third was a power-play goal in the sixth minute. Head coach Dan Bylsma pulled Grubauer and Daccord entered the crease.
In 6:16 of ice, Grubauer allowed three goals on four shots for a .250 save percentage (SV%.) In 20 games this season, only five have resulted in a win.
Daccord, on the other hand, let in three goals as well. He stopped 16 of 19 shots for an .842 SV% in 53:44. This was not his lowest SV% of the season, but it was a close second (his lowest was .826 on Nov. 30 against the Sharks.)
Both goalies let in three goals, but Daccord gave the Kraken a fighting chance.
Bjorkstrand and Beniers Prevented the Shutout
Thanks to Oliver Bjorkstrand and Matty Beniers, the game was not a complete blowout. Bjorkstrand’s goal came at the 18-minute mark after the Red Wings had scored six. Vince Dunn received the puck from Daccord and skated down the ice, passing it to Jaden Schwartz by the boards at center ice. He sent it through four Red Wings, where it found Bjorkstrand, who skated up and put the puck in the net.
Beniers ended another slump on Sunday. As Kappo Kakko and Dylan Larkin duked it out for the puck, Kakko grabbed hold of it and sent a pass to Schwartz. Once he had it, he passed it to Beniers who was driving the net. He let the puck fly, scoring the Kraken’s second goal of the night.
Kraken Have Earned Some Rest
The Kraken will dust themselves off and get back into fighting shape when they play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 14.
