Final Buzzer: Kraken Roster Contenders Drive Point Home

EDMONTON, Alta. – For centerman Ben Meyers, fellow Kraken forwards crashing the opposing net and putting pucks into it was a welcome sight indeed.

That had been the Saturday night game plan heading into a Rogers Arena contest against an almost-Stanley Cup winner from last spring, and Meyers scoring along with John Hayden and Jacob Melanson, while Ryan Winterton assisted on another goal, had the Kraken up two with the middle period winding down. But the high-octane Edmonton Oilers, who lost Game 7 of the Cup Final to Florida last June, nevertheless rallied and handed the Kraken a 5-4 defeat, scoring late in the second and early in the third before capping things on a goal by Raphael Lavoie with just 2:53 to play.

Despite the preseason loss, the Kraken liked their goals being largely generated by candidates for fourth line or reservist spots deep on the roster -- guys like Meyers doing old-fashioned grit work.

“The goals and the points sometimes come and go,” said Meyers, who finished with a goal and an assist. “But the physicality and being in the right positions needs to be there all the time.”

Meyers has been in the right place at the right time plenty this preseason, scoring another goal last Tuesday against Vancouver and throwing his weight around whenever he gets the chance. That could serve him well as he battles for a late spot against Hayden and Winterton – with AHL prospect Melanson now opening plenty of eyes as well.

The Kraken don’t have the elite fire power to get into a run-and-gun type game when Conn Smythe Trophy winner Connor McDavid is on the other side with linemates such as 54-goal-man Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent Hopkins. It would be Nugent-Hopkins opening the scoring just more than three minutes in, beating Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer off a McDavid pass with Hyman also drawing an assist.

But not long after, it would be Melanson scoring to tie the game 1-1 off a goalmouth scramble that saw Meyers banging around alongside him and drawing an assist on the play as well.

“I think I’m skating well and just using my linemates, using my teammates,” Meyers said.

It then would be Winterton, a top AHL prospect, helping put the Kraken into the first of two separate leads later that period on the power play. He feathered a nice pass over a stick to Eduard Sale – the team’s first-round pick last year – who one-timed home his first goal in a Kraken uniform parked just to the right of Oilers goalie Olivier Rodrigue.

That made it 2-1 Kraken and even though the Oilers tied it before the period ended, the visitors resumed their net-driving ways in the middle frame.

“I think getting to that area, getting to the blue paint, getting on the inside is the key to scoring goals,” Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma said of the work by his forwards contending for any final roster spot available. “And some of the goals we scored weren’t that pretty. But they were where they needed to be getting the puck.”

It looked as if the work would pay off with a win as the Kraken opened up a two-goal lead with a pair of middle period markers. First, it was Hayden putting the Kraken back ahead 3-2 by pushing toward the net, a defender draped over him, and redirecting a puck flung his general direction by Brandon Tanev.

“That was a big emphasis going into the game – getting to the paint,” Hayden said of the blue crease in front of the opposing net.

Meyers then scored his second goal of the preseason with just more than two minutes to go in the second for a 4-2 lead that seemed as if it might hold until intermission.

Melanson drew an assist on the play for his second point of the night. Hayden praised Melanson for his strong net front effort from the outset, saying the rest of the forwards “fed off of it” in pressing the Oilers much of the night.

On the stiff competition for any remaining roster spot, Hayden said of the scoresheet results being generated by top candidates: “I think it’s just healthy for an organization -- Coachella Valley up to here – when there’s guys pushing for spots. So, it’s good to see that out there.”

The Kraken looked in good shape with the second intermission nearing.

But just 26 seconds after Meyers scored, Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm narrowed the lead to one goal by beating Grubauer up high from deep in the left circle. Then, roughly six minutes into the third period, Vasily Podkolzin tied things up for the Oilers while shorthanded off a nice passing play to set the stage for the Kraken’s late-game defeat.

Saturday night’s outing for Grubauer marked a good test for a goalie that’s yet to start as well as he’s finished his three prior Kraken campaigns. After giving up four goals on 19 shots over 40 minutes of action six days prior against Calgary, his full night’s outing in this one loomed large for building the momentum he'd like to generate ahead of the season opener. He wound up allowing five goals on 36 shots in this one, so there’s fine-tuning to go.

On a team best known for resiliency and depth, the difference between making and missing the playoffs could very well be decided between the pipes with Grubauer and Joey Daccord being counted on to form a strong tandem.

It could also be decided by the Kraken’s depth across all four lines, evidenced by preseason competition still being waged on a nightly basis by remaining roster contenders. And by following some straightforward keys to success outlined by forward candidate Meyers, a late, cost-effective free agent signing with 67 NHL games under his belt at age 25.

“Just playing smart and doing the right things.”