Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected

      SJS at SEA | Recap

      For an offensively-gifted player like Brandon Montour to not have scored a goal in 20 games, neither fans nor media types were focused on it. That’s because Montour shoots with frequency (team leader, in fact), sets up teammates for scoring chances pretty much every night and creates all sorts of offensive chances when he joins the attack (which is often). You, me, all of us were likely figuring it’s just a matter of time before Montour goals dot the scoresheet.

      That time was Thursday’s second period, with the Kraken free agent signee notching a pair of goals to help transform a 1-1 tie into a commanding four-goal lead at the second intermission and the eventual 6-2 highly entertaining final score that was thoroughly enjoyed by the capacity crowd. The first goal from Montour came just 51 seconds after Oliver Bjorkstrand scored just 2:03 into the frame. Montour cashed in a deft pass from No. 51 Shane Wright, who is consistently finding teammates with elite-level assists.

      “We rely on him to make plays,” said Vince Dunn, whom Montour passed to now lead Kraken defensemen with 10 goals. “He makes them when we need them to. For him to get a couple there, I'm sure that feels really good for him. By no means has he been struggling, especially playing 5-on-5. You know, goals don’t mean everything, but it’s nice for him to get rewarded.”

      Video Player is loading.
      Current Time 0:00
      Duration 0:00
      Loaded: 0%
      Stream Type LIVE
      Remaining Time 0:00
       
      1x
        • Chapters
        • descriptions off, selected
        • captions off, selected

          Vince Dunn speaks with the media following Thursday's win over the San Jose Sharks.

          Hockey Karma Unfolds

          As karmic experiences go, the Bjorkstrand was a bit of payback fortune with Vince Dunn’s shot caroming off a San Jose defender and landing on “The Maestro’s” stick blade net-front (OK, I don’t typically call Bjorkstrand by his nickname but with Kraken Hockey Network play-by-play man John Forslund on a mini-furlough due to an ESPN national game, somebody’s gotta do it). The San Jose goal in the period was redirected past winning goalie Joey Daccord via the skate of fellow future core teammate Shane Wright, who was doing his job as a two-way center defending deep in the Kraken zone. It's just a bad bounce, and Dunn got it back, whether you concur on the karmic reference or not. For those scoring response goals at home or, ahem, in the KHN studios (that would be esteemed Kraken colleague Alison Lukan), the Bjorkstrand/Montour scores were indeed response goals, beating the two-minute span by more than a minute.

          So, can we agree, pretty solid response to the Sharks getting even late first period? For good measure, the Kraken scored twice more before the eight-minute mark, including the second score from Montour.

          “It's been a little cold, I don't even know, the last 15, 20 games,” said Montour. “But you keep creating. You get in cold spells. You try to find other ways to help the team. It’s just nice to kind of get a couple, hopefully a couple more keep coming.

          “I think we kept the energy going with big plays at times when we needed them. The physicality was good, obviously, Dunner was key with a scrap to kind of keep going and protect each other, which is obviously huge and what we need to be good moving forward ... We just kept it up shift by shift. Get one, you get two, you get three, you get four. Big plays one after another. When you do that, it's a dangerous hockey club.”

          Let’s Call It a Schwartz Revenge Goal

          More karma on the fourth goal: Jaden Schwartz whistled off at 3:47 for a what he did not believe was a hooking penalty drawn (or not drawn if you side with Schwartz and what the aforementioned Forslund calls the “unpaid officials” in the stands) by Sharks forward Mikael Granlund. Five seconds after he exited the penalty box after a spotless penalty kill, Jamie Oleksiak executed a final clear of San Jose pressure and Schwartz raced to the puck to succeed on a breakaway because he held onto the puck just one beat longer than 22-year-old San Jose goalie Yaroslav Askarov anticipated, with the Seattle alternate captain slipped a goal between Askraov leg pads. The fourth goal ended Askarov’s night, pulled in favor of former Colorado and New York Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgie. What goes round, or least what sends Schwartz likely unfairly to the penalty box, comes round: 4-1 Kraken.

          Video Player is loading.
          Current Time 0:00
          Duration 0:00
          Loaded: 0%
          Stream Type LIVE
          Remaining Time 0:00
           
          1x
            • Chapters
            • descriptions off, selected
            • captions off, selected

              SJS@SEA: Schwartz scores goal against Yaroslav Askarov

              And the Entertainment Continued Post-Haste...

              Just a bit more a half- minute after the Schwartz Revenge goal, the Kraken skater didn’t much like how the Sharks were crowding Seattle’s Joey Daccord in his crease. Shoving, yanking and jawing ensued in several hot spots, but the main bout was Vince Dunn taking on San Jose defenseman Henry Thrun with a decisive advantage and punch count going to Dunn. They both went off for five-minute fighting majors while SJS forward was whistled for a two-minute roughing minor for starting the whole brawling interlude.

              “Our home record, overall, has never been good enough,” said Dunn when asked in a happy Kraken locker room about the second-period melee. “We want to make this place a hard place to play in. That comes with attitude. Sometimes things happen like that [on the ice]. I think everyone just came out and battled hard. We know, obviously, the tough situation with our goalie [Philipp Grubauer reassigned to AHL Coachella Valley] and they kind of come after our goalie a little bit there, so we got to stand up for him there.”

              “I think our team and Vince Dunn are at their best when they are engaged and emotional and playing with aggression,” said Dan Bylsma post-game. If that leads to fisticuffs, that’s OK.”

              When former University of Wisconsin star Luke Kunin tripped Chandler Stephenson, Kraken coach Dan Bylsma called a timeout to let assistant coach Jessica Campbell get out her whiteboard for a 5-on-3 go of things. That’s when Montour notched his second goal of the game and period, with assists from Jared McCann (he’s got a lot of those lately) and Stephenson.

              Video Player is loading.
              Current Time 0:00
              Duration 0:00
              Loaded: 0%
              Stream Type LIVE
              Remaining Time 0:00
               
              1x
                • Chapters
                • descriptions off, selected
                • captions off, selected

                  SJS@SEA: Montour scores PPG against Alexandar Georgiev

                  One more fun fact: Eeli Tolvanen scored in the third period to match a career-high four-game goal streak. The Finnish winger now has 15 goals on the season.

                  Making the Connection

                  The Kraken jumped out to the start they wanted Thursday night, bagging the game’s first goal on the sort of connected play that coach Dan Bylsma seeks from his squad. After a faceoff in the Kraken zone, defenseman Jamie Oleksiak got control of the puck behind the Seattle net, finding Eeli Tolvanen along the far sideboards. Tolvanen quickly located linemate Oliver Bjorkstrand in the neutral zone, moving the puck to him. Bjorkstrand faked going up the ice and instead spun to find center Chandler Stephenson streaking unattended up the right side because two San Jose defenders were anticipating Bjorkstrand skating with the puck.

                  Bjorkstrand was patient enough to get those two defenders committed his way before snapping the puck to Stephenson for a breakaway and quick-release score that slipped past Sharks rookie goalie Yaroslav Askarov’s right-hand glove. Shooting the puck quickly paid off for Stephenson’s ninth goal of the season, with Askarov just a split-second too slow with the glove. The goal was scored just under four minutes into the contest.

                  Grubauer Heads to Coachella Valley to ‘Get His Game Back’

                  There were plenty of glum teammates when the news came that goaltender Philipp Grubauer was placed on waivers Wednesday, then clearing Thursday. The original Kraken is now assigned to American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Valley, which plays back-to-back games in Tucson this weekend. Teammate Adam Larsson was clear that not only would Grubauer be missed but that the team would let down the German-born goaltender.

                  Dan Byslma, who post-game said his squad’s response was in part about feeling accountable about Grubauer’s Wednesday waivers, weighed in after Thursday’s morning skate, echoing alternate captain Larsson’s take: “Seeing a teammate and a friend and a guy who’ original part of the Kraken, and seeing a guy you've had success with and seen him play good hockey, it's a difficult thing for obviously, Grubi, but the rest of the guys as well. This is ultimately a team game, and we all bear responsibility for the results of the team.”

                  Kraken GM Ron Francis met with Grubauer about the waivers and the plan if he wasn’t claimed. When asked about the conversation, Bylsma said he regarded that as a private matter. Instead, Bylsma explained the Kraken schedule between now and the 4 Nations Faceoof break is spaced every other day, allowing that Grubauer wasn’t likely to get much playing time nor much meaningful practice time either.

                  “Going to CV will give him some practice time and give him some game time to try to get his game back to where we all know and believe it can be,” said Bylsma.