Final Buzzer: Early Trouble Drops Kraken

There are slow starts and then there are nightmarish starts. The Kraken experienced the latter Monday night at Climate Pledge Arena in the second matchup of the current four-game homestand.

Veteran sharpshooter Jeff Carter scored on the first Pittsburgh shot of the game at 1:47 of the first period. Ninety seconds later, Philipp Grubauer responded with a stellar point-blank save on future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby.
But Crosby struck less than two minutes later. He won a faceoff after a teammate was booted from the faceoff circle. The Penguins cycled the puck with Crosby eventually knocking in a loose puck under the skates of Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak to make it 2-0. Crosby finished the night with a goal and assist; he now has 11 points in his last six games.
Twenty-five seconds later, Pens forward Danton Heinen scored his seventh goal of the season on a knuckleball of a shot from the top right faceoff circle, beating Grubauer. Heinen, signed as a free agent from Anaheim on a one-year deal, matched his goal total in 43 Ducks games last year in just 24 games.
The three-goal advantage turned out to be enough for the victory, which ended in a 6-1 win for visiting Pittsburgh. The Kraken's record is 9-14-2 with a Thursday night home game against Winnipeg next on the schedule. It was just the Kraken's second loss in the last eight games.
After the disappointing start, Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol decisively called for recent call-up, goalie Joey Daccord, to take over net duties just 5:07 into the game. Daccord made a highlight-reel save on a Kraken giveaway soon after and another big save early in the second period on a wrap-around attempt by Pittsburgh's Jason Zucker to limit things to a three-goal margin.
When asked post-game about the early breakdown, Hakstol was brief but straightforward: "Indicative of our start, we gave three goals on the first four shots."
Next question: What did Hakstol think of Grubauer's short night?
"I won't even speak to one individual performance," Hakstol said. "We weren't sharp to start the hockey game. It's disappointing to come off arguably our most complete performance a couple nights ago (Friday's 4-3 win over Edmonton). It's disappointing to come out with that type of start tonight."
Hakstol said two days of practice will help the Kraken "turn the page" before facing Winnipeg Thursday and Columbus Saturday, both at home.
"It's not an acceptable way to start the hockey game," Hakstol said. "We all know that. We all own that. I'm not gonna explain more of it away."

Breaking Through

The Kraken punctured Penguins backup goalie Casey DeSmith's shutout bid with a picture-book goal. Jaden Schwartz carried the puck into the offensive zone, falling to his knees but still skillfully steering a pass to Jordan Eberle, who moved the puck to Alex Wennberg.
Wennberg skated toward the goal, drawing defensive attention, then slipped the puck back to an open Eberle and open portion of the net for the score. Double-digits for everybody: Eberle's team-leading 12th goal, Schwartz's Kraken-leading 13th assist and the 12th assist of the year for Wennberg.

Eberle Take on Mistakes

Eberle, along with Schwartz, returned to the lineup after missing two games. Eberle called his goal "a non-factor," expressing disappointment about both the game's nightmare start and the letdown leading to two goals late second period that cinched the game for Pittsburgh.
"A good team like that, they defend hard," Eberle said about the three goals in the opening five minutes. "It can't happen. It's home ice advantage in the opposite way."
Eberle lamented having a chance to make it 3-2 on some scoring attempts, then the Kraken "getting sloppy on breakdowns" that led to two-on-one rushes that "hang our goalie out to dry."
Eberle identified missed faceoff assignments and "bad pinches" (defenders making an offensive-minded move at the risk of missing a defensive stop) as two types of mistakes that hurt Seattle both early and later in the second period.
"There's a fine line between pushing back (into the game) and giving yourself a chance (to keep the score close)," Eberle said.

Second-Period Late Surge for Penguins

Daccord faced only five shots in the first 16 minutes of the second period, but contributed a couple of big saves after Seattle made it 3-1.
Pittsburgh's surge in the last four minutes of the second period produced two goals and eight shots. The fourth goal was a 2-on-1 odd man rush that won't play well when Kraken coaches watch the video.
A giveaway at the Pittsburgh blue line was collected by one of the Penguins' fastest skaters, Evan Rodrigues, who used his speed to get up ice past Riley Sheahan and freeze defender Vince Dunn. Pittsburgh forward Jake Guentzel was wide open on the right wing, just waiting to wrist his shot past Daccord for his 14th goal of the year and the Pens' fourth of the game.
Guentzel added a second goal midway through the third period on another quality setup by Rodrigues. Guentzel now has seven goals in the last four games (including a hat trick against Vancouver Saturday before that franchise fired both its head coach and general manager). He has the NHL's longest point-streak this season, now standing at 13 games.
Carter, acquired in a midseason trade last season, was credited with the fifth goal even though Daccord made a solid save on Carter, the rebound ricocheting to Oleksiak's skate and into the goal.
Carter was also impressive on the Pittsburgh penalty kill, which blanked a second-period Kraken power play. The Penguins lead the NHL with 92 percent success rate on preventing power-play goals.

Monday's Lineup

After both of Seattle's leading scorers missed the last two games, Schwartz and Eberle returned on the same line. The pair was centered by Yanni Gourde, who played with Ryan Donato and Joonas Donskoi to significant success in their absence.
Donato and Donskoi moved together to play with veteran center Sheahan, replacing Colin Blackwell and Kole Lind, who were scratches Monday along with D-man Haydn Fleury. Will Borgen subbed in for Fleury and paired with another younger defender, Jeremy Lauzon.
The two other lines starting play Monday remained the same from Friday's big win over Edmonton: Jared McCann-Morgan Geekie-Brandon Tanev and Marcus Johansson-Wennberg-Mason Appleton.

Praise for 'Climate Pledge'

Earlier in the day, several Pittsburgh players and their head coach ambled out to the ice a good hour before they took their morning skate. Everyone was curious to take a look at Seattle's brand-new arena - a common occurrence for first-time visitors.
"It's a beautiful building, physically," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said during a mid-day media scrum. "The architecture is really cool. It's neat how it's kind of set down into the ground.
"The natural light in it is terrific. I've read a little bit about it and seen some games on TV. It seems like it's an exciting atmosphere to play in right now. There's a lot of buzz around the city."