Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
The Game of hockey is fundamentally a bet with yourself to keep a little dial with two end points: “it’s so over”, and “we’re so back”, in check.
Today, we see what happens when you do not keep that dial in check.
But First, the Highlights!
Game Notes
Your TOI Leader was Brandon Montour, who logged 21:29 tonight
What a difference a period can make, huh? The Kraken looked pretty much dead to rights after about 40 minutes in Chicago. Just about everything that could go wrong did; disorganized play, An Penalty Kill At All, multiple puck security incidents where it seemed like the Kraken’s stick blades were either greased or had low yield explosive charges, two ‘Hawks goals and almost nothing in return…and it’s as if a switch was flipped for the final frame; the Kraken locked back into place; hounded Chicago’s net-front, creating opportunity after opportunity, scoring goals that weren’t there for the first couple of periods, locking down their defensive effort, and clawing out a victory by spending a good portion of their final 20 minutes up close with Spencer Knight. Alison Lukan said it on the postgame broadcast; it was the definition of a character win.
That said, if you wanted a game that made for good learning material for film sessions, this would be a great one. You can only get away with an effort they started this game with maybe once or twice a month before it starts to bite you, and the Kraken reaaaally ought to try and avoid this against their upcoming opponents.
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard started his first ever NHL game today after being called up to the, and his parents and family tore across the world to get to the game ten minutes before he took his rookie lap. They were rewarded for their jetsetting lifestyles, as Mølgaard, a dude I was very bullish on in preseason, proceeded to be a major part of the comeback! He didn’t get the goal, but I think he can settle for “primary assist that got the win eventually”.
Seattle’s special teams certainly are special; in that their penalty kill will let any old shot in, and their power play is usually good for at least one goal. Is there a rhyme or reason to this? I choose instead to let it ride.
Conor Bedard got a good taste of the game’s truest most lizard brain moments as he effectively served the game up to the Kraken by whining about a call and getting penalized for it. Hockey can often be a catastrophically unfair sport sometimes, and boy did he get a reminder of that in the worst way possible. Thanks for the free power play, though! That sure came in handy!
Joey Daccord had a busy, busy night, particularly through the first 40ish minutes of gametime, but thankfully the Kraken got their act together in time to salvage the effort he was giving them. A strong .917 SV% on 24 shots faced, and a sure sign he’s coming back into being himself.
Let’s all give a hand to…
I mean, just about every goal was a team effort so, let’s go through them all!
The Entire First Goal Sequence:
Brandon Montour and Freddy Gaudreau set the table for Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, and Ty Kartye getting things started by setting the blueprint; keeping the net-front occupied and making Spencer Knight second guess himself while the Hawks defense made a hard right turn back into defending a cycle, something they did not seem particularly ready for!
The entire second goal sequence:
Berkly Catton fished the puck out from behind the net and spent a good five seconds getting harried by Matt Grzelcyk before getting a puck past Conor Bedard on a beautiful pass to set up Ryker Evans, who put a bomb on Knight. Said bomb was tipped ever so slightly by Shane Wright, who adjusted the angle perfectly to beat the ‘Hawks netminder!
Conor Bedard, who in spite of being a Chicago Blackhawk, did the charitable thing and gave the Kraken a golden opportunity to win the game! Good job, Conor! Well done!
Jaden Schwartz, who finished off a fantastic Brandon Mountour feed by catching Spencer Knight looking and putting the puck in behind him.
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard‘s family, who have gotta be exhausted after flying all that way to go see their son win his first NHL game and get his first NHL point. I’m sure some Chicago cuisine and a Marg tower oughta get them back in fighting shape once they resume consciousness!
The Chartz, via NaturalStatTrick.com!
The road trip continues on to Pittsburgh, where the Kraken will take on another team in the “who would’ve guessed we’d be here” wagon in the Penguins to kick off a weekend back-to-back. That game is at 4pm PST.
We’ll see you there, and as always!
Keep Calm, and Post Zoidberg When We Win.