Kraken Film Room: The Wright Line for the Job

The Kraken went into the Lenovo Center in Carolina yesterday knowing they hadn’t yet won a game there and decided it was time for that to change. Jaden Schwartz got the team on the board early, and Yanni Gourde scored the eventual game-winner but sandwiched in between came a goal from a line that’s been pretty impactful for a while.

In four of the last five games, Shane Wright has centered Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen and thus far this season, of any Kraken line that has played at least 50 minutes together, that trio has been the best in terms of gaining the edge in generating quality offense (59.6% of expected goals per MoneyPuck.com). They each played a part in the Kraken’s second goal last night with contributions in all areas of the ice.

Let’s dig in.

It was 5:38 into the second period and the game was tied. The Hurricanes were in their offensive zone and looking to create some chances. Wright and Bjorkstrand had other ideas.

As Sebastian Aho (CAR 20) moves down the left side of the ice, Wright holds the position to keep Aho to the outside.

Wright then tightens his gap to challenge Aho’s possession and force a drop to Martin Necas (CAR 88).

Now Necas is no joke. He’s tied with Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov for overall points leader (39) and was just named first star of the month by the NHL after going 7-15-22 in 15 November games. So, the Kraken needs to be aware of where he is and what he’s doing at all times.

Luckily, Oliver Bjorkstrand was.

As Aho tries to move around Bjorkstrand and pass to Shane Ghostisbehere (CAR 4), Bjorkstrand extends his front foot just enough to get his skate blade in the passing lane.

The puck is now headed out of the zone and Bjorkstrand and Necas are going to battle all the way into the middle of the ice.

Necas gains the inside edge on gathering the puck, but now Tolvanen has entered the chat.

As Necas evaluates his options with the puck, Tolvanen comes in with a big hit that keeps Necas from gaining possession and Wright is off on the hunt.

Wright battles through multiple Canes in the NZ for the loose puck and when it finally ends up on the stick of Ghostisbehere, Wright is in perfect position to deny the clearing attempt by the Carolina defender. Tolvanen and Bjorkstrand close in support to get possession of the puck after their center’s work keeps it within reach.

Bjorkstrand gathers the puck, Vince Dunn joins the play and with four of the five Carolina skaters on Bjorkstrand’s side of the ice, Dunn is basically unchallenged as he gains possession and evaluates his next move.

Dunn draws the Canes’ attention just enough to give Bjorkstrand space and the Kraken defender sends a tape-to-tape pass right back to his teammate.

As Bjorkstrand crashes the slot Carolina has to react once again and all three Canes turn to try to catch up with the Kraken All-Star. As they shift down to cover Bjorkstrand, Tolvanen takes advantage of the opportunity to get right into the slot above his linemate.

The Carolina goaltender, Pyotr Kochetkov, makes the save on Bjorkstrand’s chance, but he can’t freeze the puck, and the rebound goes right to Tolvanen who’s sitting uncontested in one of the most dangerous areas of the ice.

But even though Bjorkstrand’s chance is over, he’s not done helping out his linemate. As he comes along the goal line, his skate catches Kochetkov’s stick ultimately jarring it loose so Kochetkov is going to have to defend against a Tolvanen chance without his stick.

Kochetkov ultimately drops his stick, it slides along the goalmouth, and Tolvanen has a wide open space into which he can shoot the puck.

Tolvanen’s an incredible shot and he does not fail. He establishes a 2-1 lead for the Kraken that would be a building block for an impressive win.

Let’s watch it all at game speed.

The Wright-Tolvanen-Bjorkstrand line has been impressive not just because of what they can do offensively, but because each puts in the detail work in all areas of the ice to create opportunities to score.