The Seattle Kraken kicked off their four-game homestand on Dec. 10 when they hosted the Florida Panthers. Unfortunately, the reigning Stanley Cup champs got the better of them, beating the home team 2-1 in a shootout. Despite the loss, the Kraken had some strong, and not so strong, moments throughout the game.
Chandler Stephenson With a Gorgeous Goal
Chandler Stephenson was the only Kraken to score a goal last night, and what a goal it was. Yanni Gourde received the puck from Jared McCann. Seeing Stephenson behind the defense, Gourde passed the puck to him. With a fantastic breakaway, he was able to outskate the two Panthers players who attempted to pressure him. He shot the puck into the back of the net, scoring the first and only goal of the night for Seattle.
Despite only scoring one goal, the Kraken had several good chances to score. Compared to the Panthers’ 33 shots on goal, the Kraken only had 18. In this case, it appears the quality of the shot attempts rank above the quantity. Each team only came out with one goal at the end of the shot attempts. Even though the Panthers clearly had control of the puck more often than the Kraken, the overall score didn’t reflect this.
Thank You Joey Daccord
As mentioned above, the Panthers had 33 shots. Since the winning goal came in the shootout, the Panthers only scored one goal during play of the game itself. That means Joey Daccord made 32 saves during regular gameplay.
Once again, Daccord has come to save the Kraken. On top of the 32 shots that he saved, there were an additional 18 shots stopped by defensemen. Stopping 50 shots against the current title-holders, the Kraken performed severely well in this game.
Related: Kraken Must Make Joey Daccord the Clear Number One Goalie
However, it was Daccord who’s performance came out on top. The goalie is the last line of defense. With some incredible saves, he was able to keep the Kraken within a fighting chance of winning this game. If it weren’t for him, the score would have been a lot worse than it actually was.
The OT Whiff
The Panthers and the Kraken each had three shots in overtime. With two of the shots the Kraken took, it should have ended the game. Shane Wright had a great chance to score. He skated up to the net, with only one opposing player pressuring him. He shot the puck, but it went too high.
Oliver Bjorkstrand also had a great shot attempt. He had a breakaway, but it appeared as though he lost control of the puck, his body banking too far right to put it into the net successfully. Despite a solid effort from the Kraken during overtime, it was not enough to put the game away in their favor. It came down to every Kraken fan’s dreaded fear; the shootout.
When it comes to the shootout, the Kraken are not good, plain and simple. Having to play in 17 shootouts since the start of their time in the league, the Kraken have only won seven of these shootout games.
First up in the shootout was Eeli Tolvanen. His shot attempt went too high, so already they were off to a rough start. As Aleksander Barkov put his first shot into Daccord’s net, the pressure was on for Bjorkstrand who was next up. Unfortunately, he also missed his shot, being blocked by Sergei Bobrovsky. It all came down to Sam Reinhart’s attempt. It appeared that he tried to fake Daccord out, and unfortunately, it worked. With Daccord face down on the ice before he could even shoot the puck, Reinhart had a clear shot and scored the game-winning goal.
It is interesting that head coach Dan Bylsma didn’t start Stephenson in the shootout. Being the only player to score for the Kraken in this game, it would make sense for him to be selected above Tolvanen. Perhaps this is something to consider for the future shootouts to come.
The Homestand Continues
While the one point is nice, the Kraken look to pick up two more points when they host the Boston Bruins on Dec. 12.
