Playing With Ease: Kartye Party-eh?

Thursday’s game between the Anaheim Ducks and Seattle was a wild one. It set a record for power play opportunities in any Kraken game (10), and tied the most opportunities with an extra skater in any NHL game since the 2021-22 season when Seattle first took to the ice.

But in all parts of the game, Tye Kartye was a factor. The rookie – who has stepped up and played at both wing and center this season – played 20 shifts (including 1:26 of penalty killing time), had five blocked passes, 12 transition plays, and stood up for his teammates numerous times in a chippy chippy game.

As a result of his tenacious play, Kartye – who is tied for third most minor penalties drawn this season (15) - put the Ducks in the penalty box four times. That was the highest number of drawn penalties in the entire game across both rosters.

And so it seemed a just reward for Kartye to get a goal as a reward for his overall efforts – and ironically it was the only even strength score of the game.

So how did that goal come to be?

As part of our Playing With Ease series presented by GEICO, let’s dig in.

While Kartye’s goal was scored in 5-on-5 play, it did come right after a power play – 14 seconds after, in fact – so the Kraken had some of the momentum generated on their second time with the skater advantage during which they generated four shot attempts.

In the final seconds of the power play, Anaheim gets the puck out of the zone and knowing play is about to go back to even strength, and having been out for a minute or more already, most of the Kraken power players are going to go for a change.

Ryker Evans retrieves the puck and sends a pass across the neutral zone to Oliver Bjorkstrand. While the Dane and Matty Beniers turn to enter the offensive zone, Evans, Logan Morrison, and Eeli Tolvanen can get off the ice.

On come Yanni Gourde and the Will Borgen-Jamie Oleksiak defensive pair – all with fresh legs as play returns to the offensive zone.

It’s worth noting that the Anaheim clear also gives the visiting team time to change out their personnel. Only Urho Vaakanainen (ANA 5) stays on the ice as the other penalty killers change and Jackson Lacombe (ANA 60) who was in the box for a holding the stick penalty take to the ice.

Beniers gets to the puck along the boards and while Lacombe and Leo Carlsson (ANA 91) pressure him in an attempt to end the Kraken’s possession, Beniers uses his body to shield the puck while he rotates against the boards. Because two Anaheim players are working against Beniers, that means there are some open Seattle players out there.

Beniers passes to Borgen high in the zone.

The defender dusts off the puck, works a little lower and fires off a shot. But it’s not just about the shot. Knowing the Kraken have possession and are attacking offensively, Beniers knows he has the seconds to go for a change after a long power play shift.

Also high marks to Bjorkstrand who has worked lower in the zone and is now in support of a possible rebound or tip opportunity.

Borgen’s shot goes wide left and everybody’s puck watching. Oleksiak is in the best position to gain possession as the puck rims around.

Oleksiak gets possession and sends it along the boards to Gourde below the goal line.Knowing the puck is still on Kraken sticks and going low in the zone -  Bjorkstrand knows he has time to go for a change – all the power play skaters are off the ice.

All this puck movement and the Borgen shot have Anaheim scrambling a bit, and as Gourde gets the puck on his stick and looks up to survey his options, the Ducks’ defense has all come mostly below the faceoff dots…leaving the top half of the zone wide open. After all, they can see Borgen and Carlsson can move to cover that passing lane, right?

But while the Ducks have the Kraken skaters they are in the zone covered, they forgot to count. Two more players are coming. Lacombe recognizes it first. But Gourde has already clocked that a streaking Kartye is coming into the zone.

In comes Kartye with a whole bunch of space so he can take what he needs to set up his shot.

The puck is on and off Kartye’s stick like a slingshot and because it’s so fast, even as Anaheim tries to recover, the shot beats Lukas Dostal clean.

Why this shot works so well is that, although it looks like there are a lot of bodies between Kartye and the net, the lane is open. Also, Dostal, who was playing to the puck when it was on Gourde’s stick now moves to his right to play the newly presented scoring threat.

Dostal gets set at center but there’s just enough space for the puck to bounce off the Anaheim goalie and go in for what would be the eventual game winner.

Now let’s watch it all come together at game speed.

On a night when Tye Kartye contributed in significant ways on and off the scoresheet, it seems a fitting reward to score the goal that would seal the Kraken 4-2 victory over Anaheim.

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