Turbulent second period sees Kraken blow two goal lead to Blues and ultimately fall in season opener
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – An exciting morning helped to build towards the 2024-25 season opener for our Seattle Kraken, entering their fourth season in franchise history, with a blue carpet that saw the players greet fans on the way into Climate Pledge Arena, Jessica Campbell making history as the first woman to be named assistant coach in the NHL, free agent signings Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson hit the ice, and a surprise captain announcement just minutes before puck drop as Jordan Eberle graduated from wearing an “A” to a “C.” All of those events could be overwhelming to some, but the Kraken didn’t necessarily show it on the ice as they showed great energy and intensity offensively through the first 22 minutes against the St. Louis Blues. Goals from Vince Dunn (27 seconds into the second period) and Eeli Tolvanen (Two minutes and 20 seconds into the second period) but the Kraken ahead and had CPA rocking, and Seattle nearly added a third goal on multiple occasions. A failure to add on and sloppy play overall proved critical as the Blues forcibly took momentum from the Kraken from the timeframe of 13:42 to 15:37 in the frame, scoring three goals in that span. The Kraken came inches within a tying goal and even made the late push with an empty net, but Seattle couldn’t beat Jordan Binnington a third time on the day, dropping their fourth consecutive season opener in the franchises existence.
Scenes from the staff and player introductions for the Seattle Kraken home opener against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, October 8th, 2024 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
Early energy doesn’t translate for the Kraken
While the Kraken did have great energy and intensity on the offensive end of the ice for the first 30 or so minutes of this season opening game, it didn’t necessarily appear that way from the jump. Pavel Buchnevich challenged Philipp Grubauer early with a shot that created chaos before Jaden Schwartz attempted to bring the puck through the neutral zone and find Brandon Montour coming up the slot, but the former Blues’ pass was intercepted and ended up back in the Seattle defensive zone. St. Louis got a dangerous opportunity after the Kraken failed to clear the puck during that sequence, but thankfully for Seattle Jordan Kyrou’s shot hit the post and went out despite the goal lights flashing briefly. From there the Kraken were able to settle in a bit, and they began to dominate the possession a bit. Seattle was creating plenty of zone time and getting opportunities off the cycle, including a big Matty Beniers shot in the middle of the slot that Binnington had to shoulder down, and it was a sign of things to come. The Kraken continued to funnel the puck down low as they attempted to get to the front of the net, but Jordan Binnington remained stout in the Blues crease. The offensive energy and grit displayed as Seattle dominated the zone time and fueled pucks towards the high slot displayed an exciting factor to watch this season for the Kraken as they look to increase their scoring from last season, and we saw some of that become reality in the second frame.
Excitement in the second gets washed away by sloppy play
Generally in the NHL, you need to lead with your play and in the locker room to earn the captain’s “C” on the front of your jersey, and new Seattle captain Jordan Eberle did plenty of that in today’s contest, as he was announced as the Kraken’s new captain just minutes before puck drop. Some of that inspiring play took place to help set up the first Seattle goal of the night, as Eberle took on Colton Parayko in a puck battle that saw them both go to the wall right in front of the Kraken bench. That battle freed up Vince Dunn, trailing the play, to get a free shot on Binnington and because he’d been freed up, the former St. Louis Blue easily got to the rebound off his initial shot. Dunn smoothly collected the puck from Binnington’s pads and deposited it into the goal for the first score of the campaign for Seattle, giving them the first lead of the game. Just a minute and 53 seconds later, the Kraken’s continued high offensive energy netted them their second and final goal of the night. Coming off a cleanly won faceoff by Shane Wright, in his first season as a full-time player in the NHL, Will Borgen quickly moved the puck along the blueline to pair-mate Ryker Evans. “Garth” sent a shot towards the net, which was neatly redirected by Eeli Tolvanen as the Finnish forward in his third year with Seattle acted as a moving screen. High energy, getting to the front of the net, and better offensive activity were all on full display and it was exactly what the Kraken and their fans wanted. What nobody wanted to see was a slip back into sloppy pay, and that’s unfortunately exactly what took place later in that same frame.
The first and second goals of the game for the St. Louis Blues, scored by Jordan Kyrou and Philip Broberg respectfully, in their road win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, October 8th, 2024 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
While St. Louis didn’t get their goals until late into the second period, it wasn’t as if the Blues just woke up then. St. Louis nearly converted a two-on-one around the 17-minute mark left in the frame, but new Kraken Brandon Montour played the situation well and combined with goaltender Philipp Grubauer to deny the opposition. Seattle continued to apply offensive pressure to the Blues, and nearly added a third goal in the game but Jamie Oleksiak’s blast from the blue line was waved off due to an offside call. Some confusion and frustration seemed to arise in that moment as it appeared that St. Louis tried to get themselves back into the game as a unit with some “rough stuff,” causing two Kraken players in Vince Dunn and Yanni Gourde to head to the penalty box. From that sequence of the waved off goal and penalties that took place after, the Blues were on an aggressive attack. The “rough stuff” continued in this game as things got spicy, and Seattle was on the penalty kill yet again, and St. Louis finally bust through with 6:18 left in the second. Robert Thomas was able to thread a pass to Jordan Kyrou along the wall, who was able to use his speed to get around Jamie Oleksiak and beat Philipp Grubauer in the five-hole to cut the Kraken lead in half. Not even two minutes later, the St. Louis relentless effort netted them an equalizer as Seattle couldn’t get out of their own zone and Philip Broberg beat Grubauer on a shot that had a slight moving screen to assist it as Jake Neighbours impaired Grubauer’s sightline. The Blues final punch came 20 seconds after Broberg’s goal, as Chandler Stephenson won a faceoff clean, and Andre Burakovsky brought the puck back for Jamie Oleksiak. “The Big Rig” attempted to get a pass over to pair-mate Brandon Montour, but that effort was easily intercepted by Alexandre Texier who sent a pass up to Jordan Kyrou. Kyrou capitalized on the breakaway opportunity by beating Grubauer on his glove side, completing a three-goal stretch in a span of just about two minutes to dampen the opening day party of Seattle.
St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou celebrates his second goal of the night, giving his team a 3-2 lead in their win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, October 8th, 2024 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
A late push doesn’t get it done
Things were going all the way wrong for the Kraken, as St. Louis was on the power play once again in the final seconds of the middle frame and for just under two minutes to begin the third. Seattle’s penalty kill was able to get the job done to deny a fourth goal, and it was on the man advantage themselves that the Kraken nearly brought things level. Brandon Montour’s shot from just about the high slot found it’s way over the right shoulder of Binnington but rang off the cross bar and out of play. In the final few seconds of that man advantage, Vince Dunn’s slapshot from the blue line looked as though it may flutter top shelf, but Binnington used his frame once again to stop a shot and deny Seattle from tying things up. The Kraken couldn’t do much in the frame after those two big opportunities on the power play, including with their goalie pulled and the extra skater on the ice. Seattle fell by a goal to St. Louis in today’s afternoon showcase, as the Kraken remain winless in their four-season existence on the opening game of the season.
Pros and cons to take away from game one
It’s notably frustrating to give away that swing of momentum in the second period after taking a two-goal lead, conceding three unanswered goals to the Blues off turnovers, breakaways, and generally sloppy play all around. It was an example of Seattle failing to play a complete game over the course of the 60 minutes in this hockey game, and while that’s something that we saw largely during last season, this is a new coaching staff and new season so it’s too early to be certain that the bad habit remains. The Kraken did show some positive signs, as they had some excellent energy in the first two periods before that bad swing that pushed things in favor of St. Louis, some good defensive efforts that were part of what saw the Kraken shutting the Blues out for a good chunk of the first part of this game, and a few other things. There are positives to build upon, you’re a fully healthy team (for now), and it’s an opportunity to learn more and improve upon the team that you are within the first chunk of the 2024-25 campaign. Don’t get too low, and when they get their first win don’t get too high. Much like training camp and the preseason games were an opportunity to build habits, the early part of the season (the first 20 games) are an opportunity to establish an identity that will last throughout the rest of the year, down the stretch.
It can be an overwhelming day, with the excitement of meaningful hockey games being back, two shiny new free agent signings on the ice, Shane Wright beginning the season as a full time NHLer, the festivities pregame, and the hope of returning to the postseason, so please feel free to take a step back and just enjoy the fact that your hockey team is back in action once again. Brandon Montour looked great in the action he got today and did have a key goal scoring chance ring off the pipe, so I wouldn’t imagine that he’s far off from his first official goal as a member of the Kraken. Chandler Stephenson didn’t record a point in his Seattle debut, but was 60.9% on faceoffs and his game isn’t always one that can be appreciated just on the basics of the stat sheet. Seeing the intensity that the Kraken displayed offensively and the determination that Dan Bylsma expressed in the postgame press conference to get better, hope should remain that Seattle will see improvement from last season.
Quick Kraken notes
Today’s game was the first season opener on home ice in franchise history, having opened the past three seasons on the road (Oct. 12, 2021 at VGK, Oct. 12, 2022 at ANA, Oct. 10, 2023 at VGK).
Today, Jordan Eberle was named the second captain in franchise history, joining Mark Giordano who was named captain in 2021-22.
Under new Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma, assistant coach Jessica Campbell made her regular season debut as the first full-time female coach behind the bench in NHL history.
Vince Dunn opened the scoring today, notching the first Kraken goal of the season. He joins former Kraken forwards Ryan Donato (2021-21) and Daniel Sprong (2022-23), and Jared McCann (2023-24) who all scored the first Kraken goals in past seasons.
Will Borgen’s assist on Eeli Tolvenen’s second period goal was his first point of the season. It is the fastest the blueliner has notched a point in a season in his NHL career.
Chandler Stephenson won 14 out of 23 faceoffs today, his third-best performance at the faceoff dot in a single game.
Vince Dunn’s six blocked shots set a new single-game career high for the defenseman.
Philipp Grubauer has a 4-5-2 record, a 2.81 goals-against average, .897 save percentage and one shutout in 11 career appearances against the Blues.
What’s next?
Following today’s loss against the St. Louis Blues to open the 2024-25 campaign for our Seattle Kraken, they head out on a three-game road trip that spans across eight calendar days and includes a tough back-to-back. The first game of that road trip is the first game of the back-to-back as the second game of the season for the Kraken is a matchup against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, October 12th at the Excel Energy Center with a puck drop of 5PM PDT that will be broadcast live on the Kraken Hockey Network and Kong. Minnesota hasn’t played their season opener yet, with it coming on Thursday, October 10th against the Columbus Blue Jackets as the Wild’s first two games are at home. The Kraken will have two days to work on learning from this game, as tomorrow is a day off, before getting into another early test as the Wild and Dallas Stars (Seattle’s second opponent on the back-to-back) will both challenge Seattle and almost certainly will ensure that they give their Pacific Northwest opponents all that they can handle.
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Cover photo and other photos in this article by Rio Giancarlo, and his portfolio here.
Check out our previous articles with writing by Charles Hamaker here.
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