The Seattle Kraken practiced at Kraken Community Iceplex on Tuesday for the first time since embarking on a four-game road trip in which they went 2-1-1, but fumbled a golden opportunity to sweep a back-to-back, losing 1-0 in a shootout to the Islanders to close out the trip on Sunday.
Lots of meaty topics in this Kraken Notebook, including a conversation with Joey Daccord about how he and Philipp Grubauer have been playing lately, some feelings of gratitude from Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, an encouraging update on Jared McCann, and more.
Enjoy!
Joey Daccord feeling good about his game
It’s a rare thing for a goalie to earn a 34-save shutout and still come away with a loss.
“The only other one I can remember [like that in my career] is the Calder Cup Finals against Hershey,” Joey Daccord said, referencing a 30-save performance that he had for the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2023. “We lost 1-0 in overtime, so it technically was a shutout, but we ended up losing. So, it doesn’t really count, but that’s the only one I can think of that was 0-0 that we lost.”
Daccord was red-hot in the contest against the Islanders but came up a shootout goal short of victory in the goalie duel against David Rittich, closing out a week of solid goaltending between himself and batterymate (and birthday boy) Philipp Grubauer.
“Some nights the puck bounces your way, and some nights it doesn’t,” Daccord said. “And that was one of the nights where it was about halfway through the game, and I was like, ‘I think the puck’s bouncing both goalies’ way tonight.’ And I was like, ‘I think it’s going to be hard to score a goal tonight.’”
Daccord also spoke glowingly of the performances Grubauer has had in his last two outings, winning 4-1 against San Jose in relief of an injured Matt Murray on Nov. 15, and then 3-2 in overtime on Saturday against the Penguins.
“He was unreal against Pittsburgh. It was so fun to watch,” Daccord said. “I mean, even that overtime, he had three or four monster saves. And then we go down and get one shot and score. I was like, ‘That’s hockey!’ He definitely stole us two points that night.
“And that San Jose game, where he came in in relief of Murr, it’s tough to go in and be that sharp. Me and Murr were watching on TV for that one, underneath in the locker room. And all we were saying was, when you come in like that, you just want to get a couple shots right away, a couple D-zone shifts, so you can just get into the game. He made a couple of monster stops right away. That first shift, they got hemmed in for like, two minutes, and he made a few saves. And we were like, ‘Alright, he’s good.’”
Indeed, even with Murray on the shelf, Kraken goaltending is in a pretty nice groove right now.
It’s funny how this three-goalie system has worked out so far. People thought the Kraken were crazy when they didn’t buy out Grubauer and also added Murray, but Murray and Grubauer got Seattle through an injury to Daccord, and now the Daccord/Grubauer combo has been lights out with Murray on the shelf. Maybe there’s something to this three-goalie system after all…
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard enjoying the ride
It was great catching up with Fisker Mølgaard, who was called up last week and has played two games for the Kraken. The 20-year-old Danish forward is as nice as they come in the sport, and you can tell he’s really enjoying the opportunity to spend some time in the NHL.
“It’s almost hard to explain,” Mølgaard said. “It’s a dream come true, and just being a part of this every day and learning from all the other guys… It’s a great experience. So, I’m happy to be here.”
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard competes at Kraken rookie camp in September. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Fisker Mølgaard said the first person he called when he got the news that he was heading to the show was his dad, who was on his way home from work in Denmark when he received the call.
“I know he was super proud,” Fisker Mølgaard said. “He said he almost shed a tear, and that doesn’t happen that often. So it was a special moment for all of us.”
How long Fisker Mølgaard sticks around remains to be seen. There’s a chance he goes back to Coachella Valley as soon as Wednesday, depending on what happens with Jared McCann (more on that in a bit).
Offensive struggles persisting
The Kraken were never expected to be an offensive juggernaut this season, but if they were going to be a playoff contender—as they appear to be—then it would have been reasonable to anticipate middle-of-the-league scoring. Instead, they’ve found success in spite of an inept offense that ranks among the worst teams in the league with 57 goals for (30th in the NHL) and 2.59 goals per game (29th).
The players recognize that the lack of offensive production is a problem, and so does the coaching staff. Lane Lambert largely attributes the struggles to passing up shots, but he and the team know it’s more nuanced than that.
“I mean, definitely one part of it is passing up on shots,” Matty Beniers said. “If you’ve got an opportunity to shoot, and that’s the best play there is, you’ve got to shoot the puck, and you’ve got to get it on net.”
Lambert sees a team that is consistently looking for “something better” but believes there’s value in getting pucks to the goalie, even if it isn’t a Grade A chance.
“There’s also the philosophy that shots create shots in terms of rebounds,” Lambert said. “There’s A chances, B chances, and C chances, and C chances or C shots can create an A chance off a rebound.”
Beniers agreed with this line of thinking.
“It’s not just shot attempts, but also getting them through and on net, sort of for rebounds or chaos or backdoor plays,” Beniers said.
From the backend, Ryker Evans sees an opportunity for the defense to help drive more offense and create more opportunities for the forwards too, but says there’s also a need for more movement in the offensive zone.
“Shooting-wise, in a sense, it’s just being a bit more selfish and shooting the puck instead of trying to pass it into the net,” Evans said. “Offensive-wise, I mean, it’s there. At times, we’ve got good net-front presence, so as a D, you’ve just got to get the puck to the net. And I think just doing a little bit more motion from other guys, and maybe get a high F3 and just— I think the biggest thing is just finding the lanes and getting the puck to the net.”
Jared McCann should help
The players and the coach seem to be on the same page in terms of their strategy for getting out of this offensive rut, but there’s also the question of personnel. The Kraken do not have many goal scorers on their roster, and their most reliable shooter—Jared McCann—has missed 17 games with a lower-body injury.
There’s good news on that front, though: it looks like he could be in the lineup for the game Wednesday against the Dallas Stars. Lambert wouldn’t confirm this to be the case, and McCann is still listed on injured reserve.
But he was on a regular line Tuesday with Berkly Catton and Shane Wright, and he also manned the right half wall on the power play. When a player is included in the power play at practice, he typically plays the next game, so this is a very encouraging sign.
“He’s a goal scorer, and, I mean, he’s a big part of this team, so having him back in the lineup would be huge,” Evans said. “And he’s just going to do what he does and put pucks in the net.”
Added Beniers: “That’s always a boost [to get McCann back]. I mean, the guy shoots the puck from everywhere. That’ll help for sure; he’s obviously a shooter, he’s one of our main shooters, so he’ll help a lot.”
Here’s how the Kraken lined up at practice:
Mason Marchment // Jordan Eberle // Matty Beniers
Jaden Schwartz // Chandler Stephenson // Eeli Tolvanen
Jared McCann // Berkly Catton // Shane Wright
Tye Kartye // Freddy Gaudreau // Ryan Winterton
Jani Nyman // Oscar Fisker Mølgaard
Vince Dunn // Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren // Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans // Jamie Oleksiak
Cale Fleury // Josh Mahura
If McCann is activated from IR, Seattle will have to make a roster move to make space for him. That likely means one of Nyman, Fisker Mølgaard, or Cale Fleury goes to Coachella Valley.
