Kraken played far better hockey during the Eastern Road Trip – The Hockey Writers – Seattle Kraken

On December 3rd, we pointed out that the Seattle Kraken was going through a rough patch. Back then it was just before the puck dropped in the first of four away games in the East against the Carolina Hurricanes. The fear was that a club lacking courage and confidence would be able to take on the big boys like the Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils. Here we are a week later and Seattle went 3-1-0 on that trip. How did they do that and did it turn their season around?

octopus Fight firepower with firepower

Three of the rivals Seattle faced on the road – the Devils, Hurricanes and New York Rangers – are all prolific scorers. Carolina ranks fourth in the NHL with an average of 3.74 goals per game; New Jersey is eighth with 3.40 goals per game and the Rangers are tenth with an average of 3.27. Only the New York Islanders have a worse offense than the Kraken (2.59 to 3.03).

Seattle’s average of 3.03 was lower Monday morning, seven days ago. Therein lies the first key component of what head coach Dan Bylsma’s group accomplished on the trip. The Kraken scored 18 goals. They hit four or more against three opponents. Only the Devils – the only loss (3-2) – mitigated Seattle’s sudden offensive surge. The final results were:

Some Seattle players found their rhythm during the club’s travels. Oliver Björkstrand scored six points with three goals and three assists. Eeli Tolvanen scored two goals and three assists. Vince Dunn, finally healthy, scored two goals and a quartet of assists. Young Shane Wright, a player we’ve written a lot about, put in a great performance, scoring three goals and providing an assist.

Related: 3 takeaways from the Kraken’s 7-5 win over the Rangers

There were many questions about who would lead the lineup as captain Jordan Eberle continued his rehab from his pelvic injury and surgery. Over Thanksgiving weekend, the team looked helpless and lacking confidence. Instead of one player taking charge, a flock of octopuses took charge. That’s who they are: a bunch of guys. When they play well together, good things happen. If not, they look just as mediocre as any other team.

Krakens Unpredictable defensive play

At the other end of the spectrum is the team’s unpredictable defensive play. Let’s take the following two pieces of information: The Kraken had an away game against the Hurricanes and would concede five goals against the Rangers a few days later. What would people assume?

Certainly two defeats. Not like that. Seattle defeated both opponents, including the Rangers, despite lighting the goal lamp five times. The game on Sunday (December 8) was a gong show. Trailing 3-1 and playing sluggishly, Seattle managed to go unanswered five times en route to victory.

But just days earlier, they had shut down a vaunted Carolina attack with two goals and 19 shots on goal. Before anyone argues that the craziness of the Rangers game was due to Philipp Grubauer being between the posts, the German got the nod against the Devils on December 6th, stopping 33 of 36 shots and looking pretty good doing it. To add to the irony, he allowed a few embarrassingly soft goals against Rangers but made heroic saves.

Finally, Bylsma and his team seem to be having trouble figuring out what the third defensive pair should look like. In the first two games (against the Hurricanes and Islanders) the duo consisted of Josh Mahura and Will Borgen. At the latter two (Devils and Rangers), Mahura was replaced by Ryker Evans.

Coincidentally or not, against New Jersey this pair had the second-highest number of shot attempts (18). At Madison Square Garden, they suffered the fewest shot attempts against (16 compared to 22 and 28 for the other pairings) but the second-highest expected goals against (xG against) at 0.814.

Beniers, Stephenson missing in action

Now that the Wrights, Björkstrands and Dunns have woken up, it’s time for Matty Beniers and Chandler Stephenson to do the same. For all the praise that can rightly be given to Seattle for their determination and resilience over these four games, the two very expensive forwards remained mostly quiet.

In defense, Beneirs recorded four assists, but a goal or two would have been nice. He spent the road trip as a second-line center with Jaden Schwartz and Yanni Gourde as partners. Stephenson had three assists. The difference is that he was one of the two big, shiny names that general manager Ron Francis signed in July. Defenseman Brandon Montour was the other, but the latter is having a solid season.

The team finished the road trip with a goal difference of plus six goals. Stephenson finished with an even score. This is neither great nor the end of the world. However, for the season, the former Golden Knight and Stanley Cup champion is at minus-10 and the team is at plus-1, which raises some questions.

It’s not like he ever had an incredible grasp of the web. In the 2021/22 season he scored a maximum of 21 goals in a season. Conversely, his two goals in 28 games means he has scored just six times all season. He scored at least 16 goals in each of his last two seasons in Las Vegas. Are the Kraken getting their money’s worth ($6.25 million annual value)? Should he be demoted to a lower level, even if only temporarily? Questions, questions…

The biggest question of all is: Have the Kraken turned their season around? Now is not the time to hold your breath. It’s great to know that the club will be returning to the Climate Pledge Arena premises. On the other hand, next up are the Florida Panthers (December 10), Boston Bruins (December 12) and Tampa Bay Lightning (December 14). If they can repeat at home what they did away from home, we can talk about a positive season.