Divisional Duel: Many Flows and Then ... Ebs!

When Jordan Eberle was announced as captain before the season opener, there were good feelings all around about the Kraken original. Those positive tidings, well, it’s groundswell level right now with Eberle scoring his second high-impact goal to get the additional standings point that comes with a win in overtime (that was Saturday at home before a high-volume, crazy happy crowd) or (shootout, that would be last Saturday night on the road).

Head coach Dan Bylsma, now riding a three-game winning streak and a 4-2 record in the Kraken’s first half-dozen matchups, has a theory about Eberle already racking up five goals plus that shootout winner, not counted in the stats as an official goal: “I don't even know how old he is right now [34], but he just looks like a young Jordan Eberle [maybe like the one who scored 34 goals for Edmonton in his second NHL season and averaged a point per game]. “He's skating well. He's competing well and he's got a sneaky skill to his game, a sneaky compete to his game ... Being named the captain, it's awesome to see him also lead the way in the score sheet.”

Kraken End Two Streaks with One Overtime Goal

On a night when Calgary was looking to go 5-0 to open a season for the first time in 52 seasons as a franchise while the Kraken were out to beat the Flames for the first time at Climate Pledge Arena, this tightly-contested affair, of course, went into overtime. But then it tilted Seattle’s way in a big way on a Jordan Eberle game-winner.

Both Joey Daccord and Calgary’s Dan Vladar played solid games in goal to signify this game as a defense-first showdown. Both of the goals scored in regulation were during man-advantage situations.

Daccord was especially superb with Calgary pressuring in the final minutes. He stopped several close-in shots and kept himself positioned in way that some pucks hit him even if maybe he didn’t all of the shots cleanly [post-game, he allowed he’s not sure he saw any of them]. Daccord faced five high-danger chances in the third period, most of them within the last four minutes of regulation. During a late sequence, the raucous crowd broke into its first high-decibel “Joey! Joey!” chants.

Not to be overlooked: Kraken killed off an early-third period Calgary power play with more stellar work from the likes of Chandler Stephenson (who scored the first Kraken goal), Brandon Tanev, Jamie Oleksiak and Adam Larsson. Stephenson said post-game he thinks the PK units are “reacting now and not as chaotic or teams getting us running around.”

The free-agent signee has been playing on both special teams and he has lofty goals for both the PK and power play.

“I think it's just going to keep building here,” said Stephenson. “Guys feel confident with [special teams] ... we can be a good PK team and we want to be top 10 in both categories [PK and power play].”

Stephenson Gets Second Chance, Scores First Kraken Goal

With the score 1-0 visitors 12 minutes into the middle frame, the referees were kind enough to call two penalties (one drawn by Brandon Tanev and the other by Matty Beniers) close enough to afford Seattle 47 seconds of 5-on-3 play. While new-guy center Chandler Stephenson was stopped on his first shot from the mid-right face-off circle, teammates Jaden Schwartz and Brian McCann set up the free-agent signee for another try, this one beating Vladar trying to track the shot through or around a screen set by Schwartz. The alternate captain maneuvered his way out of the shot’s path and even jumped straight up to make sure he didn’t inadvertently block it.

The result was Stephenson’s first goal in Kraken blue. To that point, the game’s pair of scores were both powerplay goals tallied by two-time Cup winners (Stephenson was on title teams with Washington in 2018 and Vegas in 2023).

“We just wanted to take advantage of being at home here for five games,” said Stephenson. “To get one at home, the first one, get it out of the way, off the shoulders.”

Bylsma said the probability of a team scoring is not statistically high, “but it feels like you should score.” Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell drew up a play for the player's bench side after Bylsma called a timeout to consider how to leverage the 5-on-3. Stephenson confirmed what Campbell schemed was what ensured to tie the game.

“We wanted to open up Ebbs to be able to find Canner [Jared McCann] or myself to shoot it. I think you want to try to do that on a five-on-three, shoot the puck. It seems like any team that shoots it, it usually goes in, rather than teams that try to make the perfect play.”

Appreciation for Schwartz

It’s not news to avid Kraken fans, but Schwartz’ detail work in all zones can be lost at times when purusing the scoresheet. Yes, he gets a number of assists by retrieving a puck in the defensive and quickly sending it up for a scoring sequence. Other times, he does the same but touches too many teammates’ sticks to earn an assist.

He makes any number of smart and effective defensive plays on the forecheck too. By all accounts, he is a vocal leader in the dressing room and has been the teammate who hosted dinner when young teammates such as Matty Beniers and Shane Wright arrived in town to play their first playoff games.

Near-Misses Scattered Throughout the First Period

While the first period here Saturday night felt dominated by several near-miss scoring attempts by the Kraken, the final result was not only a 1-0 lead for Calgary but also five high-danger chances for the Flames compared to one for Seattle. The lone goal materialized on a late-period power play with defenseman Josh Mahura whistled off for slashing during a net-front sequence in which CGY forward Nazem Kadri had two close-in wrist shots plus a poke shot, all saved in succession by goaltender Joey Daccord.

With Mahura off, the Kraken penalty killers held the Flames to one shot on goal for the first minute-plus of the PK. Following a PK clear, the Flames re-entered the Kraken zone with less than 15 seconds to play but lost control of the puck as it headed left of the goal. Daccord, normally surehanded when he comes out of his crease to play the puck, whiffed this time, and the puck ended up at the left point on the stick of winger Blake Coleman when teammate Mikael Backlund rimmed it around the boards.

Daccord was back in net but likely not fully settled. Coleman’s shot zipped past net-front traffic that included elite killer Brandon Tanev trying to block the shot and Calgary defenseman Rasmus Anderson setting a screen (not his usual locale on the ice). It’s the first 2024-25 goal for Coleman, who won two Cups in Tampa Bay playing with Yanni Gourde.

About those several tantalizing Kraken chances: Leading scorer Jared McCann (seven points in five games before Saturday) had two Grade-A shots on an early-game power play, with one blocked and the other shot wide. On the same power play, Andre Burakovsky couldn’t quite corral a high hockey-IQ pass from Jordan Eberle, missing out on a gaping net.

Mid-period, linemates Jaden Schwartz and Oliver Bjorkstrand looked to be securing another highlight-reel 2-on-1 rush with the Schwartz pass allowing Bjorkstrand to deke Calgary goalie Dan Vladar out of position, but Bjorkstrand lost the puck just before he was ready to backhand it over the goal line. There were more near-misses, but you get the idea.