Back on Oct. 25, when the Kraken season was new and full of promise, Jordan Eberle scored twice to lead Seattle to a 3-2 home win over the Edmonton Oilers.
That must have angered the Oilers, who dominated the remainder of the season series. Tuesday at Rogers Place, Edmonton blanked Seattle 3-0. Including previous 4-0 and 9-4 victories, the Oilers outscored the Kraken 16-4 over their final three meetings.
Oilers goalie Connor Ingram celebrated his 29th birthday by pitching a 27-save shutout. All the goals Edmonton needed were provided in the 1st period, by Max Jones on a deflection off his upper body, and Kasperi Kapanen on a breakaway.
Kraken coach Lane Lambert credited his club’s defensive effort. “They’re a handful offensively. For the most part, we kept their opportunities to a minimum.”
He lamented the fluky nature of the Jones deflection. “It’s going eight feet wide and it goes off their back (and in). That’s kind of the way it’s going right now. We find ourselves chasing the game. That’s not easy to do.”
The Kraken fall to 4-15-0 lifetime against Edmonton.
Where Did The “O” Go?
Jared McCann lost an edge in the 3rd period, falling on what otherwise would have been a scoring chance. He broke his stick in two in frustration at the bench. According to the KHN telecast, Seattle manufactured only three high-danger chances all night.
What makes the lack of Kraken offense harder to understand is that Edmonton has a porous defense, 28th in the league in goals-against. They’re already on their 3rd #1 goalie of the season in Ingram, who has been, to put it mildly, well-traveled. Since 2017-18, places Ingram has called home include 4 NHL cities, 6 in the AHL, 2 in the ECHL, plus a brief stint in Sweden.
Point being, the goalie, who’s made a heroic recovery from mental health issues, isn’t in the Vezina Trophy conversation. And with the return of forward Jaden Schwartz, Seattle iced a healthier line-up than at any time this season. Only forward Shane Wright was out with an injury.
But goal-scoring has only gotten harder to come by. For the season, Seattle is averaging about 2.8 goals per game, 23rd in the NHL. Since the Olympics, that’s dropped to 2.6. Take out 10 combined goals in two victories over the Vancouver Canucks – the league’s worst team – the Kraken have averaged less than 2.3 goals in their other 15 post-Olympics contests.
Imagine if Bobby McMann hadn’t delivered seven goals in his first nine Kraken games.
Kraken Losing Speed In Playoff Race
The season now is neither new nor full of promise for the Kraken. Nine games remain in the regular season, with Seattle still two points back of the Nashville Predators for the final Western Conference wild card spot.
The Kraken do have a game in hand on the Predators, but they’ll also have to leapfrog the L.A. Kings and Winnipeg Jets, while holding off the San Jose Sharks. Post-Olympics, Seattle is 5-10-2, with just three victories in 15 games against teams not named the Canucks.
Game Notes
** Philipp Grubauer played well in his 400th NHL game with 21 saves. The Kraken goalie was replaced by a sixth attacker with 2:55 left, leading to a Connor McDavid empty-net goal. McDavid’s 43rd extends his goal streak to five games, and was his 13th in 17 contests against Seattle.
** Edmonton’s top-ranked power play only got one chance, which Seattle killed.
** Seattle held Edmonton without a shot for the first 14 minutes of the 3rd period. Unfortunately, they only registered 6 shots themselves during that stretch, including three on a power play.
** Eberle came the closest to scoring for Seattle, hitting the near right post with 15 minutes to play.
Up Next
Having completed a 1-3-2, six-game road trip, Seattle returns home Thursday to face the Utah Mammoth.
Earlier Kraken:
— Kraken Signing Bobby McMann Is A McMust