Kraken Power Play Finally Get it Dunn, Kraken Win!

The Seattle Kraken got their first win of the season against the ‘Stanley Cup Favorite’ Carolina Hurricanes. The Kraken got their first win of the season in front of the Seattle faithful beating the Canes 7-4 . A ‘bunch of jerks’, that’s what they are.

What a difference a game makes, we are so back. Vince Dunn is a beast.

If you missed the game, here’s how it looked.

Joey Daccord was good in net, and it made sense that the team made a change in net, as Grubauer has issues staying healthy and has been rock solid all season. The brass want to keep Gru fresh and not run him into the ground early in the season. I really like Daccord, he is such an upgrade over Martin Jones.

The first period started slow, both teams were feeling each other out. The Kraken looked like the Kraken again, scoring 3 goals in the first. Daccord made multiple saves. Yanni Gourde opened the scoring at the 12:30 mark. Really great seeing him get one and put the Kraken up early. In accordance with how this season has gone, Carolina tied it up seconds later with a strange goal by Jesper Fast. What a difference 19 seconds makes.

What I loved was the response by Seattle. The team did not get down, they continued to attack. I want to know one thing; how is Brent Burns 38 years old? The guy looks like he’s 28, and plays like he’s 21. Not fair. Dude is such a beast, has been his entire career. The Sharks messed up trading him, I don’t care how bad they were/are and what they got for him, he’s a stud.

The Kraken power play got going in the first with a great goal by the should-be-captain Jaden Schwartz. Fricking love this guy. Gourde got the helper, and just like that the Kraken looked like they did last season.

Please give Schwartz the ‘C’ already.

Kraken ended the first with a shorty from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. So glad we got this guy. What a difference maker. Kraken led 3-1 at the end of the first.

The Kraken picked up right where they left off in the second with a second power play goal, this time by Vince Dunn. This was Dunn’s third point of the night. The kraken had way too many defensive and neutral zone turnovers. Way too many. Matty Beniers looked like he was struggling.

The third period looked the same until Carolina’s Seth Jarvis scored an easy goal on an out of place Daccord. A little sloppy start to the third, and then the Kraken settled down and got back in the game. It is what you would expect though, the Hurricanes made a few massive pushes being down by multiple goals. The Canes scored again to bring the game withing 1 goal, and making this a game. 4-3 with 14:06 left in the game.

The Kraken kept the pressure and forecheck on and were able to keep Carolina deep in their zone and eat up the clock. During the time that Carolina was able to make their push and create scoring chances, Daccord and the Kraken defense came up big. Jared McCann stopped the Canes’ momentum with his second goal of the season. Just when you thought they were Dunn, Tye Kartye joined the party with a goal (Beneirs got the assist with a great pass). Kraken led 6-3.

6 goals by 6 different players. That’s Kraken hockey baby.

Jarvis scored again with 4:04 left. Oliver Bjorkstrand iced the game with an empty net.

The Kraken got their first win of the season 7-4. This game had the highs and lows of a big game. For Seattle, this was a big game as the team needed this win. The Kraken were tested late, after they let Carolina back in the game. A win is a win, and the Kraken needed this one. Seattle more then tripled their season goal totals in one game. Boom!

Three Stars of the Game

1. Vince Dunn- A 3-point night from the $7.35 million per year man earned his paycheck tonight and looked like an elite offensive defenseman. I guess we saw what we needed from him for the team to win.
2. Jaden Schwartz- Got the power play going early. The should-be-captain scores when we need him to. He got a little banged up in this one, but he is tough. Let’s go!
3. Yanni Gourde- Had a goal and an assist and was a key cog for the Kraken the entire game.

Positives

• The Kraken won!
• Special teams Both the power play and penalty kill scored. Boy it feels like old times and the boys looked amazing. Let’s keep this momentum up. It was only a matter of time!
• Vince Dunn earned his paycheck. After a massive payday, Dunn is expected to look the part of an elite offensive defenseman, tonight he did with a 3-point game.
• Joey Daccord was the best player on the ice tonight. Not too shabby for a ‘backup’ goalie. He keeps playing like this and Seattle will have a good problem on their hands (Gru or Daccord).
• The Kraken more than doubled their season scoring totals. Boom! Just like that back to old times.
• Jaime Oleksiak is incredible. Top end defensive defenseman.
• I called this win tonight.

Negatives

• Too many turnovers. Just way too many. We can fix this.
• Matty Beniers is off. Across the board, faceoffs, scoring, and defensive play, our second year darling is in a slump.
• I could not be at the game. It was that kind of night- I am being picky.
• Eberle was a nonfactor.
• The Kraken let the Canes back in this one, after going up 4-1

Final Takeaways

The Kraken finally got a win. Carolina, though slightly depleted and with subpar goaltending is a favorite to win the Cup among many sports writers and broadcasters (including our own guys). Tonight, they did not look much like a hurricane, more like a tropical storm. Next Thursday, Carolina should have all of their weapons back and we will see how good we are (or how good they are).

The Kraken are back to winning. Let’s enjoy this one tonight and tomorrow look ahead to facing the New York Rangers on Saturday night. That’s Kraken hockey baby!!!

Fear the deep!