Kraken lose back and forth battle with Flames
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Former Flames captain Mark Giordano would record a goal and two assists in his first matchup against his former team, but it would not be enough as the Seattle Kraken fell to Calgary six to four. The December 30th matchup would be a back-and-forth ordeal, with the Flames ultimately able to pull away with an open net goal with 20 seconds left in the final period.
The major highlight for Seattle in this game would be captain Mark Giordano. In his first game against the team that he spent 15 seasons with, Giordano would score a goal and add two assists in arguably his best performance of the year to this point. If Seattle is able to get these sorts of performances out of Giordano consistently, distributing the puck well and adding an offensive edge, the team may have a start in turning things around. Giordano would speak on what he saw in his first matchup against his former team.
“I think our mind is in the right place, just overthinking it a bit… we’re playing well, we’re finding ways to lose. Bottom line is, you have to bear down in big shifts. There’s no explanation. It’s frustrating and it’s something that we have to address, we’re playing hard and doing a lot of good things over the course of the game. I’ve never seen it like this where we’re finding new ways to lose over a lot of nights, and tonight was no exception,” Giordano would remark in regards to what the team needs to overcome the mental block they seem to be dealing with.
Another positive from the game for Seattle would be the line of McCann-Geekie-Eberle. On several shifts, that line would continuously generate chances and drew penalties multiple times as well. An issue that hasn’t gained as much attention as the many others the Kraken are dealing with is getting consistent lines together. Finding lines that gel well together sooner rather than later would be another small quick fix for this struggling team.
The negative of the night would be the Kraken leaving Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau and Milan Lucic wide open for easy shots that would be momentum killers. Similar to the game prior to this one, Seattle would be able to put a goal away and it would immediately be followed by the opposing team answering with a goal of their own. There is a lot currently wrong with this hockey team, and it will require more help than one simple fix. Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol would give his thoughts on what is happening with his hockey team.
“There are no excuses in the room, there’s no consolation prizes that we’re looking for, so there’s no soft landing… We gotta finish a couple of these games. There are things that we simply need to address head on, and it’s certainly a tough way to walk away from the rink after two real hard fought good efforts here. It leaves a sour taste for all of us,” Hakstol would state. The Kraken head coach would really drive home that the team has “fought hard.” While this is a true statement, fighting hard doesn’t automatically secure wins. There are several things wrong with this team, and it will take a group effort from the coaching staff in addition to the players to turn this ship in the right direction.
The Seattle Kraken will look to do just that in their next game, which is on January 1st against the Vancouver Canucks with a 7PM PST puck drop.