Seattle, WA – Coming off of a frustrating loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, the Seattle Kraken came out and handled business in game one of their three game homestand. After jumping to a two-goal lead, Seattle made sure that they wouldn’t blow this one, pouring on an additional three to defeat a hot Buffalo Sabres team that never got into a rhythm. A complete team effort over an entire 60 minutes, performances like this give a glimpse into the potential of the Kraken, if only they could display this consistently.
The line that put out the most offensive contribution in this game against the fast-paced Sabres was not the top line, nor the two after that. The fourth and final Kraken forward line poured in a total of six points and showed off their talent all night long, carrying the load. Two of the players on the line tallied two assists each (Daniel Sprong and Brandon Tanev) and two of them tallied a goal each (Morgan Geekie and Sprong), outscoring Buffalo on their own. Production such as tonight’s, especially from players such as Geekie and Sprong who are playing for their roster spot, is a great display of the team’s depth. Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol reflected on the fourth lines performance.
“They had a good night, they got us off to a good start… they did a good job. That group was able to contribute for us offensively and that’s important for our group to have that depth of scoring,” Hakstol remarked.
The Kraken special teams have been like both ends of a battery: one negative, one positive. The Seattle power play ranks near the top of the league despite going quiet in the loss to the Blackhawks on Sunday. The Kraken penalty kill ranks nearly dead last in the NHL. Tonight, the penalty kill eliminated five power plays for the Sabres, and the Kraken tallied two power plays. Early into this young 2022-2023 season, the Kraken power play has seen a near 360-degree change from its inaugural season self. If that isn’t just a mirage, with an improved penalty kill, Seattle may push for a playoff berth sooner rather than later. Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol reflected on the specialty teams play in tonight’s contest.
“The power play has been good all year. We went out tonight, generated, and did a pretty good job. It’s not just about producing offense and scoring goals, it’s about the timeliness of it. Jared McCann’s at the end of the second period is a well-timed goal… In terms of the PK, it’s everybody doing their part. It was a skilled power play we were playing against tonight, but we were able to get our pressure and get our clears when we needed it,” Hakstol stated.
The Kraken play the second of a three game homestand on Thursday, October 27th when they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to town. Vancouver has struggled mightily to begin the year, blowing multi-goal leads and having fans throw their jerseys on the ice in reaction to the teams play. Puck drop between the Pacific Division rivals is at 7PM PST inside of Climate Pledge Arena.
