ABBOTSFORD, BC - The fifth of six pre-season games took the Kraken to Abbotsford, BC, the home of Vancouver’s AHL squad. With a packed house of 7,000 plus that was peppered with more than a few Kraken jerseys, Andrew Poturalski put Seattle on the board first, before former Kraken defender, Carson Soucy, tied things up at one before 40 minutes passed.
With scoring chances coming at a premium for Seattle, Joey Daccord backstopped his team through 40 minutes denying high-danger chances when they came, particularly in the waning minutes of the middle frame.
The deciding third period featured Eeli Tolvanen. Playing on a line centered by Shane Wright with the familiar Oliver Bjorkstrand on the other wing, that trio had flustered the Canucks the most throughout the game. And as they pressed with solid movement off the cycle, Cale Fleury joined the play firing a puck at Casey DeSmith that rebounded right to Tolvanen on the left flank where he finished with his powerful shot to secure the win.
Sludge and Grudge at the Start
There’s been a bit of a growing rivalry between the Kraken and their NHL neighbors to the north and after a high-flying offensive affair Monday versus Edmonton, it was a much more defensive game on Wednesday. Seattle and Vancouver’s heavy checking disrupted each other’s transition game throughout the opening frame putting possession time at a premium. It took 4:31 for the first shot of the game to occur (Pius Suter drew in close to Joey Daccord but the Kraken goaltender was ready), and through the first 20 minutes of play, both teams registered a total of six shots on net. The pace did quicken as the game progressed but shot totals stayed low until a late flurry brought the final shot count to 15 for Seattle and 23 for Vancouver.
“(There was) not a lot of flow to the game,” Dave Hakstol said. “We give our guys credit for pushing back in the third period and being able to turn the game a bit.”
There were some feisty moments as well. John Hayden playing in his third pre-season game, challenged Tyler Myers a little over three minutes into the game. It was more of a stalemate between the two players who are known for their physical play, but Kraken fans may remember that it was Hayden who, with that same edge, helped rally his team to a comeback win over the Canucks in the fourth preseason game last year on Sept. 30.
Make and Meet Opportunity
Going into this game, Dave Hakstol talked about players’ execution rising to meet the increased intensity as pre-season draws to an end. Two key moments of poise helped put his team on the scoreboard first.
The Kraken earned the first power play of the game courtesy of Kailer Yamamoto who drew a hooking penalty from Guillaume Brisebois. The first unit out, quarterbacked by Ryker Evans, was able to generate the first shot of the game for Seattle when Eeli Tolvanen fired deftly from the left circle.
Seattle wouldn’t score with the skater advantage, but as Hakstol has talked about, special teams' play can create momentum to build from. The Kraken did exactly that.
Just two seconds after the power play expired, Filip Hronek sent a clearing pass from below his own goal line. As it careened across the slot, Poturalski intercepted the puck and immediately tucked it behind DeSmith for the first goal of the game.
Net Battle
Both Daccord and Chris Driedger saw time in this game. Through the first 40 minutes of play, Daccord survived a period where shots came sporadically – sometimes upwards of five minutes apart and then came up big in the second frame when Vancouver picked up the pace and peppered the netminder with pucks – a particular sequence with 4:36 to play stood out as he denied Anthony Beauvillier and Pius Suter in quick succession at net front.
“In that in that first period, I didn't have a ton of action,” Daccord said. “So for me, I just think about the process all the time. I just (stay) focused on my process and how that gets me to my end result of hopefully making the save. I'm just trying to stay focused on my process as much as I can.”
Daccord stopped 15 of the 16 pucks fired at him before Driedger took over in the third period. He too was solid and responded well to chances that came his way stopping all seven shots he faced including just under two minutes of six-on-five play when Vancouver pulled DeSmith in hopes of finding a tying goal. Hakstol was pleased with the effort by both goaltenders saying they “both fought hard.”
