Seattle, WA – The Seattle Kraken ended their second regular season in franchise history with a narrow defeat, literally and figuratively, to divisional rival Las Vegas. The Kraken had numerous near misses on scoring opportunities throughout the course of the game and arguably dominated in that category but couldn’t locate the final piece to complete their puzzle. Regardless of the result, Seattle is heading to the postseason, but the loss doesn’t help clear up who their opponent will be in the first round. Following the loss to the Golden Knights, the Kraken will await the result of tomorrow’s Colorado vs Nashville game to determine if they will face the Avalanche or the Dallas Stars.
“I like our team. I think we match up well with anyone and I know what we can do in this room and what guys are fully capable of… it’s going to be lots of fun,” Kraken forward Morgan Geekie on how he feels about Seattle being in the playoffs.
The scoring got underway in an unfortunate manner, as Las Vegas got a wacky bounce off Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn trying to clear the puck up the ice. Four ticks below ten minutes into the period, Dunn came around his own goal and looked to throw the puck down the ice to clear it from his zone but was impeded by Las Vegas forward Reilly Smith. The Golden Knights forward stuck his skate backwards in the direction of the puck, redirecting it back towards an unsuspecting Seattle goaltender Philipp Grubauer. It was an odd, bang-bang play that was unfortunate and technically was Las Vegas’ first shot of the night as the Kraken had been dominating with heavy pressure to begin the game. That play and its vibes set the tone for the rest of this contest, in one of the weirder ways that Seattle has lost a game this season.
Veteran Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz scored the only goal in tonight’s game for Seattle, a response to Las Vegas’ odd bounce score earlier in the opening period. One of the teams’ alternate captains, Schwartz was seen in full pads for morning skate ahead of the regular season finale which is a rarity as he’s always seen in a track suit for practice. Perhaps the 2019 Stanley Cup champion was feeling it today, as he hammered home one-timer off a pass from Alex Wennberg through heavy traffic to tie things up with under four minutes before the first intermission. Keeping Schwartz’s health as a top priority will be a major key if the Kraken want to go deep into the playoffs.
“Both have great depth, that’s big. Both teams are hard to play against, they make teams work for chances. And they’re very close-knit groups,” Seattle forward and alternate captain Jaden Schwartz on what similarities exist between the 2019 cup-winning St Louis Blues and this Seattle team
When the Los Angeles Kings secured victory during this game, it meant that the result of Las Vegas against Seattle was obsolete and that it had no value for the Kraken in terms of seeding. Now, Seattle and their fans will have to wait till tomorrow at 5PM PST when the Avalanche take on the Predators in a game that will decide who the Kraken face in round one, their first ever playoff series. It’s as simple as this: If Colorado wins, then the Kraken will play Colorado. If Colorado loses, the Kraken will play the Dallas Stars. Those two are both teams that Seattle has beaten over the course of the past few months, but the Kraken must remain purely focused on the task at hand.
