Lack of Scoring Continues, Kraken Lose to Colorado

The Seattle Kraken played their best game of the season but lost to the Colorado Avalanche 4-1. In spite of their stellar effort, the theme of the season continues; the Kraken can’t seem to score more than 1 goal per game. Just bizarre.

The home opener picked up right where these two teams left off last season. The drama, the energy and the hate were all on the ice tonight. The Kraken, desperate for a win, brought the energy. From the start, this game felt different than previous ones this season.

Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth, so they say.

The Seattle Kraken started this game needing to make a statement, and Jordan Eberle answered the call. Not known for fighting, Eberle dropped gloves about a minute into the first period, reigniting the drama and tension from last postseason.

Damn I love hockey.

Eberle’s statement was heard loud and clear. The Kraken aren’t afraid of the Avs, and they played like it tonight. Remember Eberle injured Andrew Cogliano last postseason. The Avalanche did not forget.

The first period was exciting. Both teams were at full speed, and both goalies stood on their heads. I forgot how much I get annoyed with the pronunciation of the Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev’s surname.

Gee-or-gee-ev lol

Homegrown Kraken forward Kailer Yamamoto opened the scoring, and boy did the Kraken need that energy (Kailer’s goal was one of my 3 keys to victory). So cool seeing this kid do his thing. Expect big things from him as this season rolls on.

Period 2 began with the Kraken on the power play. I loved seeing Yamamoto getting time on the PP. The Kraken power play woes continued. Period 2 had a much different feel as both teams seemed to settle down and adjusted to the opposition. Colorado’s Artturi Lehkonen tied the game about 4 minutes into the second. The Kraken penalty kill continued its dominance by stopping the Colorado power play. The Seattle power play was just awful in the second, going 0-3 and giving up a short handed goal. Colorado led 2-1 even though the Kraken outscored the Avs 31-15.

The third period began with another push by the Avalanche and solid play by Grubauer. The Kraken kept the pressure up and  Colorado seemed to have an answer for everything. The Kraken power play was once again abysmal, not even registering a shot on goal on two straight man advantages. The Avs plotted 2 more and the Avs won 4-1.

I understand that a loss is a loss. Losing by 1 or losing by 3, a loss is a loss. The Kraken seem to NEVER find success by pulling the goalie. After a while, it just seems to make the losses look worse on paper. Time to change that up, coach.

Negatives

• Kraken power play was terrible again. Not only could the Kraken not score on the man advantage, but they gave up a shorty.
• Kraken scored 1 goal. The team has played 4 games this season and have scored 3 goals.
• Another wasted effort by goalie Philipp Grubauer.
• Too many penalties.
• Colorado won.

Positives

• Penalty Kill was outstanding once again. If you are going to win hockey games, you need to be great on special teams. The Kraken are solid (if not spectacular) on the PK. The team remains perfect on the PK.
• Kailer Yamamoto scored a goal. How awesome seeing the Spokane native score in front of friends and family.
• Philipp Grubauer once again showed why he is a franchise goalie, and worth the hefty contract. He did it on national television and against his former team.
• The Kraken outshot the Avalanche
• Seattle kept Colorado’s big 3 relatively quiet.

Final Takeaways

The Seattle Kraken cannot score right now. It is scary. The in-game announcers on ESPN typically are lousy (in my opinion), but made a few interesting points. The Kraken’s roster last season featured a large majority of players who had career seasons. The rate at which they scored on 5-on-5 was insane. They have to expect a little regression after a season like that. A season where almost everybody peaked. A slight regression is expected. What we are watching is the beginning of a team starting to believe that it can’t score.

This is where coaching is so critical. The coaching staff needs to help keep the players level headed. Not too high not too low. The team takes on the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night. This skid has got to end soon.

Fear the deep!