In a New York Minute, Seattle Kraken lose to Rangers

In a New York minute, everything can change (Don Henley lyrics). The Seattle Kraken dropped a tough one to the New York Rangers 4-1. Back to 2023 “Kraken Hockey”.

The Kraken finally got their first win of the season Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes. The offense woke up and the team looked awesome. New York came to town 2-2-0, playing in a tough Metropolitan Division. The game started off great, filled with end to end rushes, physicality, and smart hockey plays. This one started well, and ended with a whimper for the Kraken.

In case you could not watch the game, here is what you missed.

The first period started off with a real whimper. Technical issues delayed the game. Lighting issues stopped the game, and the teams awaited play. One end of the ice was darker than the others. I had never seen anything like this. Both teams and the league agreed to share the ‘good side’ 50/50 in the period. Bizarre.

I have played beer league games in barns brighter than this.

Regarding the game itself, both teams did the typical ‘get to know you’ dance, until Justin Schultz fired an absolute laser on the dark half of the ice, and the Kraken went up 1-0. Watch the replay, such a beautiful goal.

With 7:45 left in the first Artemi Panarin scored a great goal. Great shot, tough goal for the Kraken. Not much that Grubauer could have done about that.  Kraken tied 1-1. Strange watching the game when the teams switched sides about halfway through. Late in the first the Kraken had a ton of scoring chances, and then the horn rang. Great first period.

Period two began just as fast as the first period ended. The Kraken power play was equally as sloppy as the New York PK. Jonathan Quick made a nice glove save against Oliver Bjorkstrand. New York got a second penalty and the Kraken went on a 5-3 power play for 18 seconds. In typical fashion the Kraken could not score.

New York went on the man advantage and almost scored but Gru came up huge. Penalty kill solid once again. Shortly after the Rangers scored to go up 2-1.

With two minutes left in the second, the most overrated number 1 overall pick Alexis Lafrenière
scored to make the game 3-1.

The third period, we saw the Kraken make a few real pushes early. Plenty of good scoring chances. New York’s Quick played really well. Panarin scored again on a strange play in front of the net. That was on Jordan Eberle and the defense. Clear the house. Rangers up 4-1.

Quick stayed strong, intensity kept building. Adam Fox and Chris Krieder are freaking cowards. Dirty cheap shots on Yanni Gourde. Gourde was running his mouth to the Rangers bench and both guys took cheap shots at his back. Classy Rangers. Classy.

If the Kraken’s frustration weren’t clear enough, it was crystal clear when Jared McCann dropped the gloves with Vincent Trocheck. At this point the game looked out of hand for Seattle, and they did not look like they were focused on hockey anymore.

The Kraken started to look like a frustrated beer league team, chasing the puck and playing out of position. Very irritating game for sure. A few more shots and a few more saves by Quick pretty much wrapped up the game. Two thumbs down.

Negatives

• The Rangers won.
• The Kraken offense sputtered again after taking an early lead. I am not sure what to say. Loss of words. I do not think the team expects 7 goals every night, but how do they go from 7 back to another snoozer?
• Sloppy and ineffective power play. Here we go again.
• The team started to look desperate early in the 3rd. It’s too early in the season to have that look.
• Grubauer did not play very well. Aside from the huge save he made in the second, he looked average at best.
• Rangers outshot the Kraken 27-17.

Positives

• The Kraken opened the scoring. You could see the momentum and energy after the Kraken went up 1-0. Like most teams they need something positive to happen.
• Kailer Yamamoto had another solid game. The kid is all heart, and you can see it.

Final Takeaways

The Kraken slipped right back into their ‘old ways’, scoring only 1 goal in this one. I hate to start thinking ‘here we go again’ but come on guys! It is very early in the season, so the positives to take away from this is the team could be getting the kinks out early in the year, rather than playoff push time. The team needs to really string together a few great games in a row to build some confidence and momentum. They have to feel like the sky is falling right now. Good coaching can fix this.

This Kraken squad is miles away from the team they were last season.

The team will hit the road, next week the Kraken face Detroit, Carolina, Florida, and Tampa Bay. I hate to say this, but this road trip could really hold the keys to the team’s direction this season. They can sort this out, I believe they will.

Fear the deep!