Preseason Game 2: Seattle Kraken vs. Edmonton Oilers

They call it Training Camp for a reason. While the scoreboard at the end of Tuesday's game in Edmonton read 0-6 in favor of the hometown Oilers, it's key to remember where the focus lies in these weeks before the regular season starts and that's building, learning, and putting pieces together one at a time.
Dave Hakstol has continued to talk about building the foundation of this Kraken team "from the ground up." Going into Edmonton, the coach and his team were focused on continuing to work lineup combinations, reinforce how players need to play, and give players new and different opportunities.

This wasn't a game where Hakstol was going to chase "matchups" - trying to play certain Kraken players against specific Oilers players - eight Kraken players were seeing their first preseason action as they lined up against one of the best players in the game in Connor McDavid. The Edmonton center has won the Hart Memorial Trophy (NHL MVP as voted by the media) two times; the Ted Lindsey Award (MVP as voted by the players) three times; and has led the league in points three separate seasons.
Here's how it broke down.

1st Period

Backstopped by Chris Driedger, Seattle started the game with pace, controlling the ice and not allowing Edmonton to get a shot on goal until 3:07 into the opening period. They earned a power play when Mason Appleton was tripped just a few second later, but after the penalty expired, Darnell Nurse created his own breakaway to open the scoring for the Oilers. And then McDavid got to work. The Oilers captain assisted on the next two goals, including one power play tally after Seattle went down two skaters to create a 5-on-3 advantage, to push the score to 0-3 at the end of the first period.

2nd Period

Brandon Tanev continued to show his gritty game pushing early for a Seattle scoring chance to open the middle frame, and a few minutes later Kole Lind found opportunity at the net as well. But Mike Smith turned both away. Mikko Koskinen would replace Smith in the middle of the second, and Ryker Evans had a chance to test him, but lost control of the puck. The Kraken held serve until an untimely line change allowed Brandon Perlini to find open ice and the man advantage. He skated with Devin Shore in a two-on-one against Connor Carrick to beat Driedger for Edmonton's fourth of the night. With just 1:36 remaining, McDavid added a power play goal on his team's only power play of the period to push the home team's advantage to 0-5.
3rd Period
As Hakstol had planned prior to the game, Joey Daccord came in to protect the net for the final 20 minutes. Perlini added a second goal just over two minutes, and while Seattle steadied their play, including successfully defending a second five-on-three penalty kill, they were not able to put the puck in the net.

Three Takeaways

Learning to Play Fast
Hakstol wants his team to play fast and that doesn't just mean foot speed. The Kraken found themselves challenged to find passing lanes and were sometimes slower to the play. Edmonton was also able to disrupt Seattle's entries on the power play. That's to be expected of course, but valuable reminders of why speed will be necessary in many forms when the games matter were on display.
Tightening Discipline
Sloppiness is to be expected in almost every NHL preseason game. Even for established teams, players are rediscovering chemistry with teammates and reacquainting themselves with NHL pace. Penalties are going to happen. But, Seattle was called for five infractions total including two instances where the timing gave Edmonton a two-man advantage. Edmonton was able to convert those opportunities into two goals.
Stick to the Plan
Seattle has shown the way they want to play - aggressive, challenging on the forecheck, and moving out of their own zone without much delay. Tonight's Seattle lineup wasn't able to pressure Edmonton consistently in their own zone to take the puck away, and instead found themselves defending in their own zone for longer stretches. When that happens, the need to change for fresh linemates meant that opportunities to create in the offensive zone were left wanting.

By the Numbers

• Seattle earned thirty-three shots on goal to Edmonton's thirty-four. Connor Carrick led all skaters with 7.
• The Kraken had the edge on the dot, winning 52-percent of all faceoffs, led by Riley Sheahan who won 13 of the 23 faceoffs he took (57%).
• In his preseason debut, Luke Henman had 8:49 of ice time, one hit, and was 4-of-9 in faceoffs.