SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 24: Brandon Tanev #13 of the Seattle Kraken watches a faceoff against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period at Climate Pledge Arena on January 24, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
It’s pre-season, and the Seattle Kraken are yet still searching for their first win after a 3-1 defeat to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday at Rogers Arena.
Dropping to 0-2 with four games to play and sort out remaining wrinkles, the Kraken found difficulty getting past Canucks starting goaltender Arturs Silovs, who made 18 stops. Joey Daccord, playing the first two periods as scheduled, allowed two goals on 19 shots, while backup Ales Stezka came in for the third period and made six saves. Kraken newcomer Ben Meyers introduced himself, tempers flared, and perhaps – the Kraken are seeing some light of day with their play at full strength.
Three takeaways from Tuesday night:
1. It’s still preseason, and it showed in the penalties.
Eeli Tolvanen’s hook on Elias Petterson led to a Nils Hoglander power play goal. Joey Daccord’s puck handling gaffe in the second period, with contact in the goaltender’s “restricted” area, led to Filip Hronek power play goal. This wasn’t so much of a game that was decided in the trenches at five-on-five. Instead, the wrong penalty at the wrong time opened the door for the Canucks, with both tallies coming late in the first two periods. The Canucks earned six power plays, a visible disruptor to establishing prolonged five-on-five time, where the Kraken at times controlled the pace with at 59 percent shot quality advantage at full strength.
“Even strength, I thought there was a lot of good for our team,” said Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma.
Bylsma then cracked a little smile, speaking with reporters in Vancouver on penalties in the pre-season.
“Preseason is a time to take some penalties so you can get on the penalty kill, and it’s got to be practice as well,” said Bylsma. “You only really get those reps live in a game. Too many from us tonight in that regard.”
2. Ben Meyers picked a pretty good time to say hello.
This isn’t about the hit on Mark Friedman. More on that below. But down 2-0 with 20 minutes to play, the Meyers line wasted little time to slice the deficit in half, on a sequence he admitted that was a set play (and a beautiful one) courtesy of the finishing feed from Jaden Schwartz and advancement by Andre Burakovsky. It was quite a statement to make on the first shift of crunch time, especially filling in for Chandler Stephenson, who had been routinely skating with Burakovsky and Schwartz in training camp.
Meyers led the charge to begin a rally that eventually fell short, who entered this preseason likely a key piece for Coachella Valley and a call-up candidate for the Kraken. The former captain at University of Minnesota was the most deployed at the face-off circle, passing a test there at 9-of-17 at the dot.
“My game can fit in really well,” said Meyers. “The team wants to play fast, and get up the rink, not spending too much time in our own zone, and get in on the forecheck. I think that suits my game.”
3. Do we see a chippy rematch coming up?
Perhaps the lineup at morning skate on Friday will tell us more, but one thing’s for sure: when it’s preseason and these two teams get together, matters get dicey. This time, it involved sporadic flare-ups throughout the game. Vilmer Alriksson upended Logan Morrison on a blind side hit, and no time was spared for John Hayden, who fought Arliksson in Morrison’s defense.
Meyers then leveled Mark Friedman at the end of the first period. Tempers flared again at the end of the second, with Will Borgen taking a shot at Conor Garland, then endangered on an attempted hit from behind by Tyler Myers (both players earned penalties). Brandon Tanev fought Friedman in the third period. And yet, we have another juicy installment of the Kraken and Canucks battle royale.
“It’s a preseason game, but the game had some emotion in it,” said Bylsma. “I think it was largely due to our compete. Guys were battling.”
It’s often said a rivalry isn’t worth its salt until the playoffs are involved. But it’s also said hockey players have long memories. Friday’s rematch at Climate Pledge Arena won’t demand a long memory, with a door wide open for more tempers to potentially flare.