Takeaways from a split with the Oilers, Canucks

Through two preseason games, creating offensive habits were hard to come by.

Through four preseason games, it appears the Seattle Kraken, under the Dan Bylsma regime, are getting the hang of it. 

Interpreting that for regular season value comes with an element of caution, but the Kraken, 1-3 on the preseason, have bagged seven goals in the last 48 hours after a win over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, and a promising but ultimately muting 5-4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, one where the Kraken surrendered a two-goal lead with three goals allowed in the final 22 minutes. 

Jacob Melanson, Eduard Sale, John Hayden and Ben Meyers each scored for the Kraken, while Raphael Lavoie scored the winner for the Oilers with 2:51 left in regulation. 

Philipp Grubauer went the distance with 31 saves but has seen nine goals get to the back of his net in five periods of preseason action. Backup Olivier Rodrigue, relieving Calvin Pickard who left in the first period after a collision with teammate Noah Philip, made 19 saves. 

Takeaways from back-to-back games with the Canucks and Oilers:  

1.        Wanna beat the Edmonton Oilers? Better keep the foot on the gas. 

This is a practice round, and the regular season record will be 0-0 on Sunday anyway. But the Kraken were again reminded of the hazards of blown defensive coverage, a game winning goal going five-hole, and special teams’ mistakes. The Oilers rallied from down 4-2 with a Mattias Ekholm snipe off the rush, and Vasily Podkolzin sneaking backdoor to tie the game on a shorthanded goal. Lavoie then found open ice with 2:53 left in regulation, beating Philipp Grubauer from the left circle. 

“The shorthanded opportunity in the third with the power play, to go up and get in the game by two and give them a shorthanded goal was obviously a huge momentum thing there,” said Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma.  

The contrast in Friday night, when the Kraken delivered a relatively stress-free 3-1 win, was marked by just 20 shots allowed on the Canucks, whose only goal came on a wraparound by Tyler Myers. Vancouver generated late period pressure but were held to just six shots in the third. 

2.        Net front presence 

Remember when this was an issue? The preseason is demonstrating the Kraken have grown a nose for the net, and rewards are coming. When Hayden went to Olivier Rodrigue’s glove side post to tap in a spinaround feed by Brandon Tanev for a 3-2 lead, the Kraken had eight goals scored in the preseason. Six were at the front of the net. 

“Some of the goals we scored weren’t that pretty,” said Bylsma. “But they were where they needed to be, getting the puck there.” 

Jacob Melanson jammed the crease for a 1-1 tie in the first period and earned a multi-point game. Two of three Kraken goals scored on Friday were around the net. Sure, Bylsma would love speed. It’s going to be a strong point of their brand. But the greasy goals are arriving. 

3.        The kids are alright. 

Sometimes we just love a catchy headline. So, age kind of matters here – up to certain extent. Eduard Sale, 19, tucked a first period power play goal. Ryan Winterton, 21, had a three-point night on Friday. Melanson, 21, had a multi-point game this evening. Ben Meyers, a former Avalanche farmhand, now has two goals in his last three games. Brandon Biro, a former Sabres farmhand, delivered a multi-point night. The latter two are older – ages 25 and 26 respectively. But they are still hopefuls to make the Kraken roster, who still have more work to trim it down with over a week and a half remaining.

“As a young player you want to make a statement with your game,” said Bylsma. “Jacob Melanson clearly did that with his game tonight – with his physicality, playing with the puck, and a scoring a goal.” 

Signs are arriving that if the big club isn’t in the cards, a good handful out of this group could be on the short list for an NHL call-up when needed.