Kraken able to make timely plays in 4-2 victory over soaring Red Wings
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – On a night where the organization celebrated Black Hockey History, the Seattle Kraken pulled out a tight, gritty victory against the Detroit Red Wings. With the teams' fathers/mentors in attendance, the Kraken made the most of their opportunities in a closely contested matchup with a Red Wings team that had won their last five games coming into the February 18th battle. Kraken alternate captain Jordan Eberle scored two goals through two periods and Seattle goaltender Philipp Grubauer put out another excellent performance in the win. Every point matters for the Kraken, amidst a race in the Pacific Division where the margin for error is razor thin. With these two points, Seattle remains in third place in the Pacific but are just three points from being in first.
The Kraken warmed up in Black Hockey History month jerseys designed by local artist Ari G (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Eberle exudes the dad energy on “dads trip” weekend
Kraken alternate captain Jordan Eberle has been on a tear as of late, totaling seven points in last four games including tonight’s three-point effort. Eberle began the games scoring, a goal that went five hole on Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso. With speed out of his defensive zone, Eberle nearly took the puck coast to coast before firing a shot away from the slot. Despite having three Detroit skaters surrounding him, Eberle’s shot barely caught Husso before he could get into his butterfly, clipping his inside leg leaking through for the goal that opened the games scoring up. With his goal to open the second period, the only man to score a hat trick for the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena was flirting with another one.
Eberle’s second goal of the night was beautifully set up by line mate Matty Beniers following a Detroit turnover in the neutral zone. Beniers entered the Red Wings zone with Detroit forward Dylan Larkin on his hip, drawing the attention of another skater in the process. Beniers’ effort gave Eberle just enough time and space to receive the pass and fire away at a tiny window between Husso’s shoulder and the pipes, scoring for the second time in the game. With little opportunity being given by a hot Detroit team, Eberle and the Kraken took advantage of what was given. The alternate captain continues to be productive for the Kraken, now just two points away from matching last seasons total while being part of an incredible offensively talented line of himself, Matty Beniers, and Jared McCann. One of the eldest veterans of the team, Eberle is often referred to as a “dad” of the group, and he sure showed out during the “Dads/mentors trip” weekend game.
“We responded, anytime you get scored on late in the period it can be tough and a little deflating. We got one early in the second, the one at the end of the second was big, and then early in the third. Timely goals are always key to put teams away, especially when you’re up two going into the third... you wanna try and stay on your toes to get that next one to put the game out of reach.”
Jordan Eberle celebrates one of his two goals, with teammate Adam Larsson (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Grubauer continues to be great in 2023
Since the calendar year began, Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer has been excellent between the pipes. Since his first start of the year Grubauer has a save percentage of .926, and that success continued tonight against a Red Wings team that had scored at least four goals in their last four games. Despite a heavy Red Wings attack with numerous near miss opportunities, Grubauer remained locked in and ready for the next shot throughout the entirety of the game. Grubauer, with the help of a teammates block here and there, was able to stay active in the crease and make the necessary freezes and stops to help his team get the winning edge.
Detroit’s two goals were tough, as the first came off of some chaos before Red Wings forward Pius Suter hammered it home five hole. The play started as a potential one on one but Suter was initially shut down by Adam Larsson, followed by Suter finding a teammate to pass to near the slot. A shot by Jake Walman following that pass deflected off of Grubauer and directly up, before bouncing out to Suter who fired away instantly. The shot caught Grubauer before he could get into his butterfly while also glancing off of Adam Larsson’s stick, and the game was tied. The second came as Detroit had left their net empty and had a sixth skater on the ice, stretching the Kraken out defensively, leaving Dylan Larkin with the ability to pass to a teammate backdoor or shoot. That shot put Grubauer in a tough decision to decide, and he was unable to block Larkin’s shot that rang off a pipe and in. Two tough situations that he was put in, but Grubauer still was able to remain focused and play great in net to help his team secure their 32nd victory on the season.
“It’s been incredible, I think that it started a couple of games ago. We’re doing the right things and it looks more like playoff hockey. We’re making the right decision in the moment for the team, and we’re not making any selfish plays. We just get the job done, and we’ve got to continue that. There’s not much hockey left, our division is pretty tight, so we need every point.”
“He was awesome, especially in the third when they had a big push and we didn’t have a good answer. He was able to come up with a big stop, and those are the kinda stops that change the momentum of a game; kill theirs and give us a little bit.”
Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer works through traffic (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Matty makes magic
Kraken rookie forward Matty Beniers, fresh off of a game that saw him break his point and goal scoring drought, looked excellent creating chances tonight for the Kraken. The Michigan man made three notable drives to the net, two of which resulted in crucial goals for his team to beat an opposition that really didn’t give up much. While his goal scoring has slowed down a tick from the pace that it was earlier in the 2022-23 campaign, Beniers affects his teams on ice performance just about every time that he suits up, and that was apparent tonight with his distribution of the puck.
That first assist came on that previously mentioned Eberle goal, where Beniers kept the puck away from a persistent Dylan Larkin before feeding Eberle right in the slot for his second goal of the night. Beniers’ second assist of the night was on the critical Jamie Oleksiak goal that came with under ten ticks to play in the second period. Leading up to it, Matty had two big opportunities on net that may have been goals if not for a few inches of difference, which possibly displayed his regained confidence since ending that point drought. Following that second opportunity on net and after receiving a pass from Eberle, Beniers rifled a pass from the faceoff circle into Oleksiak waiting at the top of the crease. Having inserted himself into the play, noting the time ticking down before intermission, the Big Rig simply had to tip the puck into the net. The vision and confidence displayed by Matty are another example of things to be excited about if you’re a fan of the Kraken organization.
“When he has confidence and he’s playing, the biggest thing for me is trying to get him to turn off his brain. He’s a very cerebral player and sometimes that gets in the way. You gotta just turn your brain off sometimes and play. He’s got some confidence right now and that’s a big thing, but it’s 82 games. It’s gonna be tough sometimes, ups and downs. You see the stuff he’s doing at a young age, not many players in the league can do that.”
Kraken forward Matty Beniers crashed the net all night long, sometimes literally (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Reflecting on a game that felt like playoff hockey
The back and forth of the chances that these two teams swapped and the intensity level of the game made this matchup feel very much like a playoff battle. This Kraken team has shown time and time again that they are far improved from whatever product we saw last season, as they continue to learn and adapt in a situation this franchise has never been in. Seattle is ahead of schedule, as we’ve mentioned several times before, but they don’t look out of place in the current Pacific division race. With Grubauer playing out of his mind in net, defensemen pairings that are improving slowly but surely, and four forward lines that provide waves of offensive pressure, the Kraken are a threat in the West. While they sit at third in the Pacific Division, it should be noted that five of the teams in said division are in the top 16 of the NHL standings.
Seattle has had to mitigate injuries to some of their top stars (currently Andre Burakovsky, but formerly Matty Beniers, and Jaden Schwartz), wild games in November, and now their tight divisional race as they continue to establish themselves as a unit and franchise. It should be reminded that their have been six Seattle professional teams in playoff hunts since 2022 (Seahawks, Mariners, Storm, Kraken, Reign, Seawolves), and all but one of those teams actually made the postseason. That one team is the Kraken, and they’re well on their way to joining that list. The return of Andre Burakovsky to this lineup (and potential move before the trade deadline to bolster the defenseman pairs?) adds even more offense to a team that can score from any line. Simply put: hockey in Seattle is good, and it should be good for years to come. Enjoy this Seattle, and all of your sports teams.
“I think that every line has been awesome, that’s the beauty of our team; you can have one night where every line’s scoring, all four are coming at you at waves. That’s pretty hard to defend, not a lot of teams have that.”
“I’ve been saying it all year, the strength of this team is the depth that we have. We have contributions from each line each night, from the back end each night. For me, when you come into playoffs and you have that, that’s a tough thing to beat and match up against. When we have four lines rolling and six D going we’re tough to beat. ”
Seattle forward Eeli Tolvanen scored his 12th goal of the season, and his 10th with the Kraken (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Quick notes
The Kraken are the first team in the league to have 11 different players score at least ten goals on the season.
Daniel Sprong recorded his 100th career NHL point tonight with his assist on Eeli Tolvanen's goal. He has 61 goals and 39 assists in 248 games played.
With tonight's three-point performance, Jordan Eberle has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his last four games played.
According to NHL PR, he recorded his fourth three-point game since joining the Kraken. He moved ahead of Andre Burakovsky and Jaden Schwartz (both with three) for the most three-point games in franchise history.
Eberle now has 15 points (11 goals, four assists) in his last 13 games against the Red Wings.
Tolvanen's goal gives him points in five consecutive games (two goals, three assists), matching his career high that he set from March 20 to 30, 2021.
With his third-period goal, he now has at least a point in 14 of the 22 games he has played since joining the Kraken.
Jared McCann set a career-high five game point streak with his assist on Eberle's second goal. He has three goals and two assists during that span.
Matty Beniers has tallied four points in the last two games. Along with his two assists tonight, he had a goal and an assist on Thursday against Philadelphia.
Jamie Oleksiak's goal gives him points in three consecutive games. He had assists in each of the last two games against Winnipeg and Philadelphia.
Philipp Grubauer improves his record against the Red Wings to 3-0-1 and finished the game tonight with a .913 save percentage.
What’s next?
The Kraken will head down to California for a quick one game road trip before returning home for two major matchups to end the month of February. On Monday, February 20th, the Kraken head to San Jose for a Presidents Day battle with the Sharks. Puck drop for the divisional battle of the aquatic teams is at 1PM PST, as the Kraken will look to collect their third win in a row against a Sharks team that has lost their last three. Following the aquatic down in San Jose, the Kraken will have two titanic sized matchups at Climate Pledge Arena, as they host the Boston Bruins on February 23rd and the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 26th.