Montour, lineup changes, goaltending: takeaways from the 5-game homestand

Through the smoke of uncertainty and change this past summer but with clear direction on where Seattle Kraken wanted to go, a little bit of smolder has subsided with nine games into an 82-game season at 4-4-1, and the Kraken piling up wins over red hot Minnesota, struggling Philadelphia, plucky Calgary, and underwhelming Nashville. 

Add to that, they have losses on the ledger to teams such as the opportunistic Blues, the juggernaut Stars, and buzzsaw Hurricanes that remind us about the fine line that separates a win from a loss each game but reveals strengths and weaknesses that require fine-tuning to avoid the catch-up game. The Kraken are clear on a direction for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. By many accounts, the game of musical chairs will involve one or two other comparable foes in the Western Conference. 

Though it’s early, it’s not exactly “early” anymore. A few takeaways after the Kraken closed a five-game homestand at 2-2-1, and head into the road trip opener, Tuesday at Montreal: 

1.        Brandon Montour has been as good as advertised. 

At one point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets, a whisper came out of the crowd nearby our Coors Light Silver Seats at rinkside level, if Montour could be triple shifted. Kidding aside, Montour has performed like a star on a blueline that needs every bit of him with Vince Dunn sidelined. 

He’s logging heavy and meaningful minutes and is routinely deployed when the game is on the line. He capped last Thursday’s comeback with Winnipeg with a blast from the point that Matty Beniers re-directed past Connor Hellebuyck from the slot. He plays with brains, a bazooka shot, and energizing charisma. With five points in the first nine games, his seven-year contract is proving to be worth every penny. 

He's been recently logging Drew Doughty-sequel minutes and is overall sitting at 24:21 per game. It’s his first rodeo doing this coming off his Cup run in Florida and knows the key to longevity is with an adage, less is more. 

“During the game, you don’t want to lose your energy and for me as an offensive guy, that likes to carry the puck, skate, and make plays, you’ve got to be smart with it,” said Montour. “Especially playing top lines - focus on playing the right way, playing defensively, closing on those guys, and trusting my skating and my ability to get up on the ice and make plays. But you kind of have to read the game and you don’t want to try to do too much each shift, because that’s going to wear you out.” 

2.        In a world of swirling changes, Jared McCann, Jordan Eberle, and (fill in the blank) at center have been great together. 

Remember last year when we were wondering about the declining offense from Jordan Eberle, early in the season, and what line Jared McCann was going to play on (sometimes either at left wing or center)? Those days are gone. Eberle, the new captain, is off to the hottest start of his career with six goals in the first nine games. McCann leads the team with 12 points in the first nine games and is on a six-game point heater. Shane Wright looked terrific between the two. Then Bylsma shifted the lineup back to the opening night mode last Thursday against Winnipeg, and Matty Beniers’ game finally hit the gas with a two-goal and three-point game, spearheading the comeback. They’ve got a bonafide top line that can take command, front and center stage. 

“Clearly, (the Winnipeg) game, Matty, Canner and Ebs were our best line in the game, undoubtedly,” said Bylsma on Saturday.

While the Kraken have banked 13 of their 27 goals have come from that line (13 of 22 if you reduce the microscope to forwards), that’s an extremely top-heavy façade where other 20-goal experienced forwards such as Oliver Bjorkstrand, Andre Burakovsky, and Jaden Schwartz have combined for just three. Burakovsky has been shut out in nine games. 

Bylsma has responded by changing much of the lineup daily, even shortening his bench in the final minutes of regulation, in close games. The awakening of Beniers is promising. But as the team has repeated their pride on offensive production by depth, the challenge is becoming louder to extend the depth of their production across the other three lines. 

“We’re still searching for in game adjustments and line combinations going forward that can make us a difficult team, top through bottom in those four lines,” said Bylsma. 

3.        Goaltending will have to become a major muscle of this team. But how close are we?

That’s almost a $10 million question, where Joey Daccord (who has inched closer to taking the “majority starts” torch) and Philipp Grubauer have provided hints of what could be a successful 1-2 tandem. But they are mere hints, and still far from long-term consistency. Grubauer’s track record includes a lights-out game at Dallas where he allowed just two goals in 13 seconds, none the rest of the night, and kept the Kraken in the fight in a 2-0 loss. But for his overall body of work, the save percentage stands at .881 through four games, and his -1.64 goals-save-above-expected mark is among the bottom half of the league. 

Daccord, on the latter metric, is 24th at 1.13. His save percentage stands at .910, a tick below last season’s career high of .916 which opened the door for his five-year extension. While occasional leaky goals to begin the season put his start far from letter perfect, he responded to Bylsma’s green light to start in his second consecutive game (the first time all year that Bylsma strayed from the platoon) with a season-high 35 saves against an ears-pinned-back intense Carolina team that dumped an exhausting 93 shot attempts on Daccord in a 4-1 Kraken loss last Saturday.

“Outstanding,” is how Bylsma termed Daccord’s effort, after the loss on Saturday. 

Both goaltenders will be needed on this trip, especially with a back-to-back on tap this weekend. But we may have seen a clue on where the Kraken are heading, with the greater bulk of starts. 

4.        Come back soon, Vince Dunn. 

You don’t have to look far to estimate Dunn’s impact on the Kraken blueline, and their fortunes. He exploded for a career-high 14 goals and 64 points during the playoff run season, two years ago. He followed that up with 11 goals and 46 points, which surely would have eclipsed his previous highs if not for the Martin Pospisil hit, which all but ended his season (except for two games) and subsequently, the team’s playoff hopes. 

Dunn scored the first goal of the season and has three points in four games but has struggled to stay in the lineup. The Kraken pulled the plug on any immediate future after he left early in the 6-4 win over Philadelphia 11 days ago, later revealing through Bylsma that he suffered a “mid-body” injury. 

It sent a ripple effect through the defensive pairs, and the Kraken salary cap situation. Ryker Evans is up now in Dunn’s slot (more on that below). The Kraken also get long term injured reserve relief, with Dunn out until at least Nov. 12, when the Kraken face Columbus. That’s a long time to figure out production on the blueline from anyone aside from Brandon Montour and Evans, where the Kraken haven’t scored north of three goals since Dunn’s exit. 

5.        Come back each game and keep doing this, Ryker Evans. 

It’s time this defenseman gets his flowers. The days of Evans battling just to stay in the lineup, status green and raw, are a thing of the past. You can start with the basic numbers, with five points in his first nine games. 

He’s averaging 18:46 on ice per game, and north of 21 minutes in each of the last three games. Curious about his shot? He uncorked a 97 mile per hour bullet on Carolina last Saturday, according to the league’s “EDGE” records, his hardest of the young season. Dunn’s absence means Evans’ vision and artillery from the point is a premium on the second power play unit, whenever Montour’s tank is empty. 

While he’s still only 22 years old, it’s apparent his education of the league’s opposing forces has taken another step, and the comfort level is an instant full fit under Bylsma, who he played for while breaking in as a pro two years ago in the AHL. Evans is playing game that’s assertive, polished, reliable, and relatively clean. Combining that with a return of Dunn, whenever that happens, will provide a lengthy burst to the defensive pairing side of the lineup.