Ebs and flows: Jordan Eberle’s game winner evens series in game four win over Avalanche
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – After a tough loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last March, Kraken alternate captain Jordan Eberle said that the team had “twenty days to find out who wants to be here” when referencing the trade deadline. Numerous veterans were shipped out as Seattle looked to the future, and Eberle made a statement that he wanted to be here as a member of the Kraken and build something special. Tonight, in game four of the first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, Jordan Eberle scored the most important goal in franchise history to tie the series at two games apiece.
“Awesome. I mean, we’re back in that series, 2-2. It’s a great feeling. Our crowd, the atmosphere there, it was awesome. And we had a big goal by Ebs in the end there to close it out. So, it was a great game overall.”
The Kraken celebrate Will Borgen’s goal in the first period, starting the game off hot (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Four starts off fast
Game four of this series started off fast for the Kraken, just as it has in every single game of this first round Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup. Seattle became the second team in NHL history to score first in their first four contests of the postseason, joining the 1918 Toronto Arenas (Now the Maple Leafs) thanks to Will Borgen’s first period goal. Just as they had before, the Kraken were displaying the waves of attacking pressure that they can bring thanks to their depth, and it was doing its job against Colorado. Seattle continued to pelt Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev with shots through the first frame and were able to create a golden opportunity on an unfortunate event.
Colorado defenseman Cale Makar hit Kraken forward Jared McCann far after the whistle, slamming him in the boards and eventually taking him out of the game as he did not return. Considering that the play had been blown dead and the puck was not close to the two, Makar was issued a major penalty (five minutes) initially before the officials discussed and decreased it to a minor. That itself is ridiculous and here’s to hoping that the NHL safety committee punishes Makar for the play, but the Kraken pushed on and took advantage of the power play when Daniel Sprong rang the puck off the pipes of the goal in the dying seconds of the man advantage. Once again in this series, Seattle had a two-goal lead to begin the game.
“Yeah, it’s part of the plan. I mean, we’ve got to play at the bottom there, I think we have a lot of success there. Keep using our D, keep shooting the puck. If we do that, I think we’re a pretty successful group. ”
The Kraken celebrate Daniel Sprong’s power play goal in the first period, giving them a two goal lead (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Rantanen rallies the Avalanche on his own
Colorado forward Mikko Rantanen has been on a tear in this series, and that furthered in game four as he tallied two goals on the night and dragged his team back into this game on his shoulders. Both of his, and Colorado’s, goals came within the second period, and in the final five six minutes of the middle frame. The first came at the 5:52 left in the period mark, as the Avalanche took advantage of a turnover in their defensive zone and caught the Kraken with the numbers game. Rantanen had followed the play just enough, receiving a pass from teammate Nathan MacKinnon, yanking the puck out of the reach of Seattle’s Alex Wennberg, and firing away to score. Then, in the final minutes of the period, Kraken defenseman Will Borgen was called for holding against (funny enough) Mikko Rantanen. In the final seconds of the power play, Rantanen looked for some space with the puck, before finding his spot with enough traffic in front of Grubauer to even the game at two goals right before the second intermission.
The physicality of the game was displayed throughout the course of this game, through big hits and multiplate tussles after the whistle (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Playoff hockey displays physicality as we head to overtime
Stanley Cup Playoff hockey continues to show out for the Seattle Kraken and their fans, in a variety of different ways. Whether that be the intensity level of the play on the ice, the stress that it brings on a minute-by-minute basis throughout the course of each game, or the physicality in each hit. The Kraken and their fans are seeing it all play out in this first round series against the Avalanche, and one of those key aspects was especially apparent in the win for Seattle. The Kraken were able to bring the fight to their opponent all night long, making them pay little by little for the cheap hits in the first period and making their presence known.
“I think all around. I think our forecheck was much better tonight. I think part of it is just having a better chip. It’s tough to forecheck someone when their eyes up, especially that group of defensemen there, they’re pretty solid. But any defenseman that is trying to dig out that puck from the wall, it’s pretty inconvenient, and that’s what we did tonight. We put the puck in better spots, and it was easier to forecheck that way. So, like I said, we did a better job tonight sticking to our system. ”
Seattle Kraken forward Jordan Eberle moves around the goal (Photo by Liv Lyons)
I need a hero
Forward Jordan Eberle has been part of this team since day one, an expansion draft selection from the New York Islanders, and part of this team's leadership group. Eberle has helped create history for this franchise since day one, recording the team's first ever hat trick (November 4th, 2021 vs Buffalo Sabres) and contributing as one of the top point getters in years one and two. In arguably the biggest game in franchise history, “Ebs” delivered in the biggest moment with the most important goal that this city has seen in a hockey game in over 100 years. With his steady play and leadership, it’s absolutely fitting that a player like Eberle is the one who etches his name once again in the Kraken history books and emphatically ties this series up.
“Obviously anytime you even a series up, it’s a big goal. I thought for the most part we played well tonight. You know, we had a lot of chances and that’s a really good team over there. We’ve been kind of the underdog from day one and we’re just trying to fight back into this series. We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us.”
Just a tick under two minutes into the overtime period (five on five play in the playoffs, and no shootouts), Seattle drew a penalty as Colorado’s Josh Manson was called for tripping against Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz. Schwartz had brought the puck up ice off a cross-ice pass from Brandon Tanev, getting tripped up by Manson and impeding his ability to get a clean shot off on Georgiev. A minute into that power play, forward Daniel Sprong attempted a shot that clipped off Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, but the puck did leak out to Eberle near the wall. Eberle pushed a pass into the high slot, where teammate Jaden Schwartz awaited and fired, but his shot was blocked by Colorado’s Devon Toews. Once again, the puck leaked out to Eberle, closer to the crease now, and the alternate captain fired away. The puck hit the center of the goal, Georgiev never had a chance, and Climate Pledge Arena became the definition of pandemonium. Over 18,000 people inside of the building erupted, and the series had been tied.
“Yeah, I mean, you’ve seen a lot of the OT goals in the playoffs. A lot of them, especially early on, have been odd man or on the power play. It’s kind of been a sore spot for us in the series so far. As far as producing with the man advantage, I know we got one late last game and maybe that kick starts us a bit. We get one early in the game and then obviously the winner. So, I think special teams, especially early in the first round, you see all the penalties being called throughout all the games and that seems to be how it goes in the first round throughout the year. So, we have to do a better job and win the special teams. That’s going to be a big part of the series going forward. ”
The aftermath of the Cale Makar hit on Jared McCann (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Public enemy number one: Cale Makar’s dirty hit takes McCann out for at least game five, likely longer
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has become one of the most exciting young players in his young career, producing extensively from the back end for the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. Makar has his name around the Lady Byng trophy the last few years, which essentially means he’s one of the more cautious players that stays out of making poor decisions that result in penalties. Well, tonight that was far different as Makar made several poor decisions throughout the course of the game and made himself public enemy number on for Kraken fans. Seattle was on the penalty kill, as Yanni Gourde was called for roughing on Bowen Byram despite Byram holding Gourde back from the play for an extended period before the “penalty” called. A minute into the kill, forward Matty Beniers went to clear the puck up the ice and instead found linemate Jared McCann streaking up the center of the ice. McCann, on the breakaway, had his shot deflected up and out of play by Alexandar Georgiev. The whistle had blown, McCann was looking up into the netting above the glass, when Cale Makar came up and slammed McCann into the wall, his head bouncing off the glass.
“I mean, it’s never good to see a guy that battles super hard for us all year long go down like that. I don’t know what to say about the hit, but anyway, yeah, it’s tough to see Jared go down there.”
Seattle Kraken forward Ryan Donato, pictured throughout game four, will play a big role going forward in this series with McCann out (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Depth will need to step up for Seattle as it has all year long
With McCann out for the next game at minimum, and likely a bit longer considering the way that Hakstol spoke about his status, Seattle’s depth will have the tall task of filling in for the 40-goal scorer. Forward Ryan Donato was used heavily to try and accommodate for McCann going out, and it will be on the shoulders of Donato and Jesper Froden (who’s been a healthy scratch for the large portion of the time he’s been on the team since being recalled from AHL Coachella Valley) to help to try and replace the sort of production and presence that McCann brings. It won’t be easy to do considering that McCann is a notable voice in the locker room and is one of the best finishers in the entire NHL, let alone on the team. Although it’s a difficult task, the Kraken have been able to step up in every instance of the season, they must do it in the Stanley Cup Playoffs now.
“It’s next guy up. I think as a group, as a team, we stepped up to the challenge. We did what we had to do to go through to win that game, and everybody stepped up. Everybody played a bigger role tonight to fill in for Jared, and I think that’s playoff hockey. You just got to go out there and do the job when your name is called, and that’s when you go out there and try your best to do the job.”
“I mean, you lose a big piece of your team, that kind of obviously hurt us, but I think the identity of this group that we’ve had all year has kind of been our depth and we’ve had guys step out or step in all year long. I don’t know what the stat is, but we have a lot of guys who have produced this year from top to bottom. So, like I said, that’s been the identity from day one of this team. So, Jared, obviously losing him is a huge piece, but I thought we responded and obviously stayed with it most of the game and then found a way to win.”
A pileup happens in the Colorado Avalanche crease in the third period (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Proving that they belong
There was a comment on the TNT broadcast that bugged me a bit, considering multiple factors about this series and the season that the Seattle Kraken have had to this point. Following Eberle’s winner that evened this first round matchup at 2-2, one of the broadcasters said that “we have ourselves a series,” and while this is a generally small term that’s used when a series is tied up, far too often it’s been made to seem that the Kraken have no business being here or that they are just a participant. Seattle’s team has proven that wrong time and time again, beating the big bads of the NHL throughout the course of the season (Boston, Toronto, Colorado, Dallas, Edmonton, Las Vegas, you get the point?) and have shown that they belong in this series from the jump starting with the game one victory in Colorado.
Any idea that the Kraken are lucky to be in this series or here at all is moronic and nonsensical, especially considering the way that they’ve played for the most part through four games. Seattle has pushed the pace and had Colorado on the run to begin three of the four games of this series, wearing down an Avalanche team that is has been without Valeri Nichushkin for the last two games and will likely be without him for the rest of this series at very minimum. The Kraken looked good offensively, showed that they can play the physical game tonight, and could’ve taken game three had they been tighter on the back end. Seattle has displayed that they belong here, and they are very much in this series.
“Well, I think it’s been tough, but it’s kind of fun to be part of a group from day one. How many guys get to experience that? Obviously, we were kind of joking around before the game. This is the biggest game Kraken history, so I think it’s fun to be a part of something from the floor up. And as much as things were tough last year, we turned it around quickly. And that’s a credit to, obviously, the organization, the coaching staff, the GM, the players. But we still have a lot to prove. Obviously, we want to prove that we belong in this league and that we can compete with all these teams. I think the biggest thing for me, too, is you kind of want to make this a hockey town and have people love going to Kraken games and enjoy the product of playoff hockey, which is why we play the game. It’s enjoyable. I mean, you hear it out there. It’s unbelievable. So that’s what we’re trying to do right now.”
Seattle Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz recorded an assist on Jordan Eberle’s game winning goal (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Quick notes
The Kraken become the second franchise in NHL history to open the scoring in their first four playoff games (joining the Maple Leafs as TAN, with five games).
Each of the NHL’s last four expansion franchises have earned a win in their first playoff game which required overtime according to NHL PR. The Kraken join the Golden Knights, Blue Jackets and Wild with the feat.
With Will Borgen's goal, the Kraken became the third team this postseason to have three different defensemen score a goal, joining the New York Islanders and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Kraken have had 11 different skaters score a goal this postseason, which is tied for the second-most in the league. Only the Lightning have had more players score a goal (12).
Seattle's two power-play goals tonight give the Kraken power-play goals in consecutive games (three PPG in two GP).
The Kraken's 43 shots on goal are the most in a home game (regular season or playoffs) in franchise history. The team's plus-21 goal differential is the best mark in a game by any team this postseason.
Jordan Eberle's overtime game winner was the second of his career (his first was in 2020 while playing for the Islanders in Game 5 against the Lightning).
Jaden Schwartz's assist on Eberle's overtime goal gives him 58 points (28 goals, 30 assists) in 92 Stanley Cup Playoff games, which leads the Kraken.
With 10 shots on goal, Schwartz set a new record for shots on goal in a postseason game. His previous record was seven while playing for St. Louis in Game 5 against San Jose in 2019.
Both Will Borgen’s and Daniel Sprong's goals were the first playoff goals of their careers.
Sprong's goal and assist tonight give him his first postseason multipoint game of his career.
Justin Schultz's assist on Sprong’s goal extended his postseason point streak to four games. It marks the first time in his career that he has recorded a point in four consecutive playoff games.
Brandon Tanev earned his 12th point in his postseason career with his assist on Borgen's goal.
What’s next?
The series now switches off into individual games instead of the two game blocks through the first four. The Kraken will head back to Colorado for game five of this series, taking place on Wednesday April 26th with a puck drop at 6:30PM PST. Seattle, coming off this historic victory, will be gunning to keep the pressure on the Avalanche but will have to do so without 40-goal scorer Jared McCann, as the forward was taken out after the whistle by Colorado defenseman Cale Makar. The win tonight guarantees we will have a game six, which will take place on Friday, April 28th with a puck drop that is still to be announced back at Climate Pledge Arena.