Seattle Kraken coach Lane Lambert has preached aggressive pressure hockey from the first day of training camp. On opening night of Kraken season six Thursday in Calgary, Lambert’s players executed that strategy to near perfection.
Jordan Eberle, Vince Dunn and Freddy Gaudreau scored 1st period goals and Seattle never looked back, dominating the Flames, 6-1. Chandler Stephenson, Matty Beniers and Kaapo Kakko added 3rd period scores.
Eberle appeared to have a wide-open net in the middle period after Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf misplayed a carom off the end boards, but Wolf recovered to make a sensational glove save on an otherwise disastrous outing.
At the other end, Joey Daccord (24 saves) played well when he needed to, but the best news is that he didn’t have to very often. Daccord also picked up an assist on Stephenson’s goal.
1st Period Goals
1-0 Seattle: Jared McCann’s power play wrist shot hits Jordan Eberle, skating just above the crease. The captain found the puck before anyone else. The opening tally of the season required just six seconds of PP time.
2-0 Seattle: After scoring the first goal in each of the last two Kraken seasons, defenseman Vince Dunn gladly settles for second-best, 32 seconds after Eberle’s goal. Dunn’s 65-footer got home because Shane Wright provided the screen in front. (Dunn added two assists for a three point evening).
3-0 Seattle: Freddy Gaudreau finishes a brilliant cross-ice pass from Kaapo Kakko (avoiding three Calgary sticks) with 30 seconds left in the period. Wolf saved just three of six Kraken shots. Woof!
2nd Period Goals
The undisciplined Flames went shorthanded four times in the 2nd period, but Seattle couldn’t extend its lead. However, it’s hard to make up a three-goal deficit when you’re repeatedly on the PK.
3rd Period Goals
4-0 Seattle: Chandler Stephenson removes any remaining doubt about the outcome. The seas parted when Calgary defensemen Zach Whitecloud and Yan Kuznetsov touched skates, sending both to the ice. After accelerating through center, Stephenson leaps over Whitecloud at the blue line, and it’s clear sailing for a 5-hole backhand, highlight reel goal.
5-0 Seattle: Beniers joins the fun, firing a 30-foot bullet past Wolf.
5-1 Seattle: Ryan Strome ruins Daccord’s shutout.
6-1 Seattle: 26 seconds later, Kakko makes Calgary pay for breaking the shutout. Jared McCann, who took the original shot, picked up his third assist.
Kraken Notables
Daccord bailed out defenseman Ryker Evans with a close-range 1st period glove save when Mikael Backlund skated past Evans. In the 3rd period he refused to bite, no matter how many moves Connor Zary tried.
Beniers and Ryan Lindgren made painful blocks to help kill a Calgary power play.
As Calgary’s Matt Coronato tried to fish the puck out from a fallen Josh Mahura, Jacob Melanson skated over and leveled Coronato.
A combined 449 pounds of Melanson and Curtis Douglas, making his Kraken debut, crunched Simon Nemec behind the Calgary net.
By The Numbers
Goals by period: Calgary 0-0-1 (1); Seattle 3-0-3 (6)
Shots by period: Calgary 6-8-11 (25); Seattle 6-12-13 (31)
Power Plays: Calgary 0-1; Seattle 1-5
Next up: The Kraken travel to Edmonton for a Saturday showdown with the Oilers; puck drop at 4 pm Pacific.
Earlier Kraken:
— Beniers Certain Kraken Can “Outperform The Projections”
Earlier Canucks:
— Canucks Surprise Oilers; A Troubling Edmonton Microcosm
VIDEO: Fun, five-minute recap … “Kraken Reaction” …
