SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 02: Philipp Grubauer #31 of the Seattle Kraken makes a save against the Nashville Predators during the second period at Climate Pledge Arena on November 02, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Jared McCann scored for the sixth time in 11 games, added a multi-point effort, aiding Brian Dumoulin’s game winning goal and Philipp Grubauer’s stellar 32 save effort in a 4-2 victory for the Seattle Kraken over the Nashville Predators before a sellout crowd of 17,151 on Thursday.
The Kraken broke a 2-2 tie on Brian Dumoulin’s late second period goal, Vince Dunn added an insurance marker in the third period, and Oliver Bjorkstand and Jared McCann answered a game opening goal by Nashville’s Tommy Novak.
“We did what we had to do,” said Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol. “Typical, when you come off the east coast and a long trip, these nights can be challenging. We had our struggles finding our legs.”
“We turned that around completely in the third. Guys skated, we played with really good pace.”
Juuse Saros, who shut out the Kraken on Oct. 12, took the loss on 27 saves.
1. Philipp Grubauer was outstanding even when parts of the Kraken game were struggling.
They were chasing a 1-0 deficit at home after six minutes’ worth of penalties to begin the game. They were losing the battle at the face-off circle for much of the night, where Nashville’s advantage climbed into the 60 percent range. They were hanging in a game where Nashville controlled the shot quality and majority of high danger chances.
None of that mattered in the end though because Grubauer was sharp, whose 32 saves were well deserving of first star of the game honors. His big stop late in the second period to preserve a 3-2 lead on Tommy Novak drew plenty of attention, but it was also the saves he made on an early special teams adventure that set the tone. The Kraken got into serious penalty trouble surrounding an Adam Larsson double minor for high sticking, knocking the teeth out of Gustav Nyquist, following Eeli Tolvanen’s tripping penalty just 67 seconds into the game. They faced a barrage of Nashville artillery in the second period, where Grubauer made 13 saves.
“The second period – that’s the key point where Grubie did a really good job getting us through that period,” said Hakstol.
Not to worry. Grubauer made two key saves on Filip Forsberg and Tyson Barrie, extinguishing any hopes of a Nashville lead out of the gate, and any hopes all night for the Predators unless they had a power play, thanks solid run support as well (four goals), and a goaltending visibly playing with confidence. He took a penalty for tripping late in the second period. His penalty kill unit took care of the job.
“Just one shot at a time, you can’t control what’s coming at you,” said Grubauer. “If it’s a breakaway from the first shot, or a fluffy one from the red line – stop everything. That’s the mentality.”
2. Response goals make the difference. When the Kraken were maneuvering through a second period they felt wasn’t their best, they got a goal that you can’t measure on a stat sheet for its impact: a response goal, which turned momentum back in their favor.
Brian Dumoulin took care of that, 24 seconds after a Roman Josi bomb on the power play tied the game. The veteran Dumoulin cradled the puck in the offensive zone, waited out a screen by Tye Kartye, and blistered a wrist shot past Juuse Saros, for a 3-2 lead.
“It’s great to contribute, that’s the biggest thing,” said Dumoulin, who has scored in back-to-back games.
“Everyone’s got to contribute for us to win. We’ve done that in this last stretch.”
From that point, it appeared the Kraken had control of their game, never relinquishing the lead, and Dumoulin’s goal restored the energy in the building.
That thing about protecting a two goal lead – it was never an issue Thursday night, and it never felt like it was even in doubt. The Kraken played a penalty free third period, and won an important offensive zone draw (see: Alex Wennberg) to properly set up Vince Dunn’s blast past Saros.
3. Jared McCann, hot tear. He extended his goal scoring streak to three straight game and emerged as one of the best players on the ice on Thursday night. Really, he will need to be of the best on a consistent basis if the Kraken want to take this winning trend and turn it into a run. So far, based on the time he’s playing with new linemates – Eeli Tolvanen and Yanni Gourde - and the transition so far has been seamless.
“Nice to see his finish on a two on one,” said Hakstol. “That’s a big goal. He’s playing well. He’s found some chemistry with Gourdie. He’s playing with speed.”
Though his first assist came on a power play, it was Gourde and McCann who read a two-on-one late in the first period to give the Kraken their first lead of the game, where Gourde completely disregarded an outstretched stick of Jeremy Lauzon to find the tape of McCann, who now has six goals in 11 games. Though it’s too early to suggest he’s a lock to hit 40 goals again, his pace hasn’t dropped off a single notch. Perhaps, we’re seeing the best of Jared McCann continue to unfold in a Kraken jersey.