Kraken overwhelm Coyotes with tidal wave of goals for critical victory in playoff race
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – The Seattle Kraken begin the final two weeks of the NHL regular season, with the first of two games in three days against the struggling Arizona Coyotes. Seattle washed Arizona away, tallying eight goals total and four in the third period to really emphasize their victory. Jared McCann potted two goals in his 500th career NHL game, while 15 of the 18 Kraken skaters and even goaltender Philipp Grubauer recorded a point for the largest margin of victory in franchise history. With the win, and the Nashville Predators loss, the Kraken magic number to clinch a playoff berth sits at six points.
Seattle’s Jaden Schwartz creates traffic in front to help aid Jordan Eberle’s game-opening goal (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Jared McCann celebrates his 500th NHL game with flair
Kraken forward Jared McCann is on his way to becoming a “legend of the deep” for the Seattle franchise, as he was the first player in team history to sign a contract extension and led the team in goals during the inaugural season. Again, he leads the team in goals (and is on pace for 40, at 37), while sitting just a tick behind the team lead for points. He got those marks with today’s performance, on a special day, as he scored two goals in his 500th career NHL game. McCann’s goals came short-handed (he now has the most short-handed goals in franchise history), and then off a nifty toe-drag to sling the puck against the pipes. Seattle’s top sharpshooter continues to knock ‘em down for the Kraken, and they will need McCann's play to continue as they approach and hopefully enter the postseason.
“Yeah, no, definitely not. It’s been a journey for me. Definitely not your Cinderella career, obviously. And I’ve had to grind my way at some point, but I feel like it’s kind of made me a better person.”
“Yeah, I’m not a guy that’s really focused on numbers. I want to win the Stanley cup. That’s the main thing, right? Your time in the NHL goes by so quickly. Ask anybody on our team that’s been in league, Jordan, Jaden, those guys, even some of the guys that have won a cup. You work so hard for it, you have to work so hard for it. And if you get in the playoffs, it’s special and you need to take advantage of it”
“Jared’s killed in the league for a lot of years. First half of the year, before Christmas, we didn’t have him involved in the kill as much, trying to spread some minutes out. We changed the structure of our kill a little bit. He fits the structure of this kill very well and he’s done a nice job. He’s meshed. He’s been able to mesh really well with Gourdo, so that chemistry has been good.”
Seattle Kraken forward Jared McCann lets a shot fly (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Kraken depth shows through in the deep
It’s been stated all season, and tonight’s blowout victory highlighted it to a tee, the biggest strength of the Kraken is the scoring depth that they have up and down the lineup. Up and down their four forward lines, and even the same through the three defenseman pairings. It’s been displayed throughout the course of the year, as all the players who have played more than 15 games have tallied at least 15 points and Seattle is the only team with 13 ten+ goal scorers (if Jamie Oleksiak scores again, they will have 14). This victory displayed that to a tee so well, that the Kraken saw their first ever goalie point as starter Philipp Grubauer got the secondary assist on Jared McCann’s second goal. The depth of this Seattle team is serious, and they will need it to click once again as the playoffs approach.
“Yeah, we’re moving the puck well. We’re getting pucks on net. We’re playing with confidence on the power play, and we’re taking the chances we need. And the looks are there, we’re capitalizing on it, so it’s good momentum for us, especially near the end of the year.”
Seattle Kraken defenseman Will Borgen didn’t even seem to realize or register that he had scored his goal late in the game (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Not falling for the first obstacle in a week of “trap games”
The remaining regular season schedule for the Kraken is interesting, to say the least. The team will wrap up its second year in existence as an NHL franchise by playing teams that sit 25th (Vancouver), 27th (Arizona), and 32nd (Chicago) in the league standings, but then their final two games are against the Western Conference leading Golden Knights. By then, in an ideal world and situation, Seattle should have clinched a playoff berth and will effectively not have much to worry about. Until the race is “finished,” though, the Kraken cannot afford to think that way and must keep up their sense of urgency while also keeping in mind that these teams aren’t just going to lay down. While the Coyotes effectively did that tonight, why wouldn’t the Canucks want a chance at being a pain in the behind of the Kraken one last time this season? Why wouldn’t the players on Arizona and Chicago want a shot to prove themselves a little and potentially earn more money when free agency begins? Point being, it’s not going to be easy, so Seattle must remain at their best.
“Yeah, I mean, biggest thing is just kind of stick up for teammates. Obviously, we don’t need to do the running around. We just kind of try to close out the game, play solid, focus on what we do good. But the biggest thing is stick up for teammates when it’s necessary. But we weren’t really looking for it. They kind of were.”
“No, go out and finish the game. We had the three goal lead going into the third, needed to get out and get a good start and finish the period. We got the early goal to stretch the lead and finished out the next 20 minutes. That’s all.”
Things got really chippy and scrappy between the two teams, as multiple fights broke out throughout the course of the game (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Magic number explanation/what to look for
Following tonight’s blowout victory against the Coyotes and the loss by the Nashville Predators, a team that is clinging on to dear life for a potential Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, Seattle’s magic number has come into heavy conversation. There were a few different numbers flying around twitter, and I believe that it is best that we consult Circling Seattle Sports’ resident statistics man, Nicholas Kilmurray, about the real number and scenarios for the Kraken to clinch a playoff berth, which could happen as soon as Wednesday.
On why the magic number is 6 (points): The magic number is 6 because Calgary is the first team out of the playoffs and if they win out, they can reach 97. With the Kraken currently at 92 they’d need 98 points to surpass the most points Calgary can obtain.
On when the soonest the team can clinch is: If the Kraken win tomorrow in regulation, Calgary and Nashville both lose in regulation and then Calgary loses in regulation Wednesday. Seattle would have clinched the tiebreaker over Nashville in that scenario and Calgary couldn’t catch up.
“Every two points is big. We talk about all the time and look too far back. You don’t look too far forward, right? Just worry about working and doing what you have to do to get two points. Score doesn’t matter what it is at the end of the night, we earned the two points tonight. Quick turnaround now. Let’s get on the plane, get up to Van and get our focus on that game tomorrow.”
Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn continues to lead the team in points (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Quick notes
Tonight marks Jared McCann's 500th NHL game, becoming the 10th skater from his draft class (2014) to reach the milestone. In his career to date, McCann has played in 147 games for the Kraken, 143 for the Panthers, 141 for the Penguins and 69 for the Canucks.
With his goals tonight, McCann recorded his 30th and 31st points (15 goals, 16 assists) in 30 games dating back to Jan. 25. His 31 points during that span are leading all Kraken skaters.
His first-period goal marks his third shorthanded goal of the year (Feb. 16 vs. Philadelphia, Mar. 9 vs. Ottawa) and the Kraken's fifth this season. He leads the franchise in shorthanded goals, with four dating back to last season.
With his first-period goal, Jordan Eberle earned his 100th point as a Kraken, joining McCann as the second player in franchise history to reach 100 points. This is his 16th goal and 56th point of the season.
According to NHL PR, this is Eberle's eighth game-opening goal with the Kraken, behind McCann with 11.
Will Borgen reached a career high three goals tonight, exceeding his previous record of two which he set last season.
Vince Dunn recorded his 200th NHL career point with his assist on Oliver Bjorkstrand's goal.
His 50 assists are tied for ninth among all defensemen this season.
Daniel Sprong has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his last 13 games played dating back to Feb. 28 at St. Louis, with three multi-point games during that span.
Justin Schultz (six goals, 25 assists) reached his 30-point milestone tonight for the fourth time in his career. 13 Kraken skaters have now hit the milestone this season (last year only six skaters reached the mark).
Tonight marks the second consecutive game played against Arizona in which both Carson Soucy and Morgan Geekie have tallied multi-point performances.
This is also Soucy's second multi-point game in a seven-game span, with two assists on March 21 at Dallas.
Morgan Geekie reached a career high of 8 goals tonight for his 25th point of the season (eight goals, 17 assists).
Alex Wennberg's assist on Borgen's goal gives him assists in four consecutive games-played against Arizona. He has an assist in every meeting against the Coyotes as a Kraken.
Yanni Gourde has five points (one goal, four assists) in his last five games against Arizona.
Tonight's 8-1 win marks the largest margin of victory in franchise history, with the next highest being a five-point margin reached on three occasions.
This is Seattle's fifth eight-plus goal game, which leads the league. The only other teams to do so are Buffalo, Los Angeles and Washington (all twice).
With the win, the Kraken surpassed the Oakland Seals for the highest wins differential by an NHL franchise from its inaugural season to its second campaign, according to NHL PR.
Tonight marks the Kraken's third consecutive game played with a powerplay goal (reached on three other occasions), along with the fourth in five games.
Seattle Kraken forward Ryan Donato scored the teams eighth goal of the night, with a score that took place with under a minute left in the final period (Photo by Liv Lyons)
What’s next?
Seattle has a quick turnaround following this massive victory over the Coyotes at home, as they’ll travel up North to Vancouver for their final game of the season against the Canucks. While things seem good for the Kraken after scoring eight goals tonight and having beaten Vancouver the last time that the two division rivals met, Seattle cannot afford to try and cruise through this game. The Canucks have been a massive thorn in the Kraken side for Seattle’s existence as an NHL franchise, and Vancouver has a winning record in their past ten contests. The Kraken must again put together a 60-minute effort and handle business against the Canucks, so that they can continue their march to the playoffs. That game is on Tuesday, April 4th with a puck drop at 7PM PST.