On Tuesday evening, the Seattle Kraken took to Vancouver to play the Canucks at Rogers Arena. Head coach Dan Bylsma came with a different lineup from Sunday’s preseason opener, which was to be expected. The Kraken defended their honor with better intent on Tuesday but still fell 3-1. Here are the takeaways.
Montour Paired With Oleksiak, Closer Game
As previously alluded to, this was a superior effort than what fans witnessed on Sunday night, which saw Seattle get schooled 6-1 by the Calgary Flames. The roller coaster that often is September hockey has a lot to do with radically altered lineups from match to match. In Vancouver, Matty Beniers, Ryker Evans, Chandler Stephenson, and Ty Kartye – among others – were nowhere to be found. In their place were the likes of Brandon Montour, Ty Nelson, Andre Burakovsky, and Ryan Winterton.
This group executed a sturdier game than their predecessors. Vancouver did not have the luxury of tossing Seattle players around like Calgary did. The hits were relatively close, favoring the host Canucks 23-19. Things got impressively heated for a preseason tune-up, such as when Will Borgen opted to give Conor Garland a shove into the boards and the latter’s teammate Tyler Myers responded with a piece of his mind.
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Seattle had no shortage of opportunities to take an early lead or tie in the third period when down 2-1. Jaden Schwartz and Burakovsky were stoned walled on different sequences by Canucks netminder Arturs Silovs. Pure larceny.
Just as part of the excitement of Sunday’s match was witnessing offseason signing Chandler Stephenson play his first match in Kraken colors, on Tuesday it was defenseman Montour’s turn. Paired with Jamie Oleksiak, Montour was featured a lot, playing 27: 20 of ice time. He had a game-high three takeaways and was credited for four missed Vancouver shots. Lines are still being juggled, but this was a solid display from the duo.
Ben Meyers’ First Goal as a Kraken
Lost in the kerfuffle of Montour and Stephenson arriving in free agency was the signing of 25-year-old forward Ben Meyers. A former Colorado Avalanche and briefly an Anaheim Duck, Meyers was given a one-year, $755,000 contract on the first day of free agency.
If readers haven’t heard of him, that’s okay. In four seasons with the Avs and Ducks, he suited up for a total of 67 games and has never averaged more than 10:27 of ice time. But one must take advantage of all the opportunities one gets. At 25, the Delano, Minnesota native is at that stage in his career where the chances to impress coaches and teammates grow ever more precious.
Knowing that, being placed on the top line alongside Burakovsky and Jaden Schwartz was his golden moment. Lo and behold, he was the only Kraken to put the biscuit in the basket. It happened 10 seconds into the final frame. Seattle won the faceoff and made quick work through a Vancouver defense that probably never saw it coming. Both Meyers and Schwartz raced out. Schwartz, holding the puck, launched a successful backhand pass to Meyers who managed to tap and squeeze it past an outstretched Silovs.
Whatever decision is made regarding Meyers’ role with the team this season, at the very least he can claim he made a preseason point being useful. When a team lacks offensive punch as Seattle does, one takes notice of newcomers who light the lamp.
Penalties Sink Seattle
Back to the rough stuff for a moment. Tempers flared versus the Canucks. Seattle’s John Hayden and Brandon Tanev both got into tussles with Canucks big boys and received majors for their pugilistic inclinations. There might not have been as much tension as a playoff game but it felt a bit like a dress rehearsal for one.
But ultimately, Seattle’s lack of concentration and silly mistakes handicapped them. Not once but twice were the Kraken penalized for having too many men on the ice. Additionally, goalie Joey Daccord (who safeguarded the net for two periods) sloppily played the puck outside of the trapezoid area. Even though the Canucks were sent to the sin bin for some naughty business too, it wasn’t nearly as often as the Kraken, who awarded their oppositive number six power play opportunities. The hosts happily obliged on a pair of them and, notwithstanding the empty netter late, that was the difference in a game that was 2-1 extremely late.
All in all, there were signs of improvement, although the humungous caveat is that the lineup was very different from the opening match. The Montour-Oleksiak defensive pairing might be the one fans didn’t know they wanted. It was also nice to see 2023 first-round draftee Eduard Sale on the ice, albeit for only 10:15. With so much of the conversation surrounding Shane Wright (did not play) and this past summer’s first-round selection Berkly Catton (did not play), it was a reminder that Sale is another top prospect.
The Kraken head home and continue training camp for a couple of days before completing their home-and-home with the Canucks on Friday evening.
