Puck Management
For the first 20 minutes of play, the Kraken weren’t as responsible with the puck, especially in their own end, and that hurt their ability to breakout or create scoring chances. In the first period at even strength, Seattle recovered just 22-percent of loose pucks in their offensive zone and Montreal turned some of their recoveries into shots on goal.
That’s how the first goal of the game came to be when Josh Anderson jumped on an available puck low in the zone and immediately fed Sean Monahan at the backdoor. Brandon Tanev told ROOT Sports’ Piper Shaw during the first intermission that the team’s puck management wasn’t where it needed to be – “we need to understand where we are with the puck on the ice, (play) simple hockey…and win 50-50 battles.”
Gritty Work by Grubauer
The Kraken were able to claw back thanks in large part to the stabilizing play of Philipp Grubauer in net who denied numerous grade-A chances, particularly in the first period including a wraparound save. His level of play continued into the third as the goaler denied the likes of Tanner Pearson in quick succession, and Juraj Slafkovsky off an odd-man rush as the Kraken fought to complete the comeback.
“Our goalies have been great all year,” Vince Dunn said. I don't care what anyone wants to say (about Grubauer or Joey Daccord). . .We're giving them too many Grade A's. They're making a lot of big saves to keep us in games. Even in these games, where we're outshot, they give us a chance. They're doing their part back there. It's a team game, but they're playing good for us. They are giving us a chance we have to find a way to do our part up front.”
Messy Middle
Montreal widened the gap in the second period with two goals in the first seven minutes of play. Tanner Pearson scored off Brendan Gallagher’s rebound. Just under three minutes later, with key penalty killer Adam Larsson in the box due to a tripping call, the Habs set up in their formation with Nick Suzuki low in the zone. Suzuki lined up on the goal line to Grubauer’s right and his team cycled the puck through him a couple of times – on the second chance, he fed Sean Monahan in the bumper position who promptly fired a puck past Philipp Grubauer.
A Lifeline
In the latter part of the second period, the Yanni Gourde line – always dependable for energy and pressure on the play – set up for an extended shift in the offensive zone. The new-look line of Alex Wennberg, Jared McCann, and Brandon Tanev came over the boards next and continued the efforts.
Setting up shop in Montreal’s zone, the Kraken’s puck movement pulled at the Habs’ defense and broke down coverages before Vince Dunn sent a pass into the slot onto the tape of McCann. McCann traveled to the top of the right circle, found a soft spot of ice, and fired through traffic to put the puck past Sam Montembeault.
