On Tuesday, March 17, the Seattle Kraken hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning for the first matchup between these two teams this season. This game saw the return of Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to Seattle for the first time since they were traded to the Lightning, two players who were pivotal to the Kraken for three and a half seasons.
The game started off in the Lightning’s favor, as they scored twice in the first period. Not even a minute into the second period, Tampa Bay got their third goal of the game. The Kraken answered back with a goal shortly afterwards and scored their second not long after that. Tampa Bay scored three more unanswered goals in the third period to take a 6-2 win.
McMann Continues to Shine
The Kraken were down by three goals, but that didn’t stop Bobby McMann from scoring once again. Matty Beniers caught the puck up high and passed it to McMann at the faceoff dot. He ripped a shot and sent it past Andrei Vasilevskiy to put the Kraken on the board.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Kraken’s Much-Needed 6-2 Win Over Panthers
McMann has only played three games with the Kraken, but already his impact has been felt. This marks his fourth goal in just three games, and he already has six points with Seattle. The Kraken wanted to add a depth scorer to try to help in their push for the playoffs. McMann has filled this role well, and hopefully, he continues to do so.
McCann Extends His Goal Total for the Season
Eight minutes after McMann’s goal, the Kraken tried their luck again. They were on the power play, and Jared McCann skated the puck back into the Kraken’s zone, thanks to a pass from Philipp Grubauer. He passed it to Jordan Eberle, who passed it back to McCann by the boards. He skated up to the net and paused to fake out Vasilevskiy. He took a shot and scored the Kraken’s second goal of the night, right as the Lightning returned to full strength.
McCann has been a large part of the Kraken’s offense since the beginning of the team. He missed 17 games with a lower-body injury at the beginning of the season, played in six games, and then was out for another three weeks with another lower-body injury. He currently has the third-most goals on the team with 18, but he has played in 20 fewer games than McMann and Eberle, who sit in first and second place, respectively. With 36 points in 43 games, McCann has been a vital part of Seattle’s offense.
Kraken Made Catastrophic Mistakes
Speaking to the media after the game, head coach Lane Lambert was asked about the turnovers. He stated, “It was a fairly even game; our mistakes were catastrophic. Obviously, some really, really poor decisions, the change, the turnovers, going backwards in our own zone. Second goal, we’re changing, we should just stay behind the net and get organized. So we’re making some mistakes here that you can’t make. I’m not even going to say that they’re uncharacteristic because they are at the moment, but you can’t make these mistakes.”
Lambert was clearly frustrated with his team’s play in this game. As the Kraken try to hold onto their current wild card playoff spot, these are mistakes the team cannot be making. The Lightning are a good team, there’s no doubt about it, but Seattle didn’t get into a wild card spot by just luck; they have had strong games, too. The Kraken will need to dig deep to keep their postseason chances alive.
Kraken Hit the Road
The Kraken head on the road for a five-game road trip, kicking it all off on Thursday, March 19, against the Nashville Predators.
The season series between the Lightning and the Kraken will conclude in Tampa Bay on March 26.
