Kraken's Florida split

 

After being idle for two weeks due to the 4Nations tournament, the Seattle Kraken were able to spend some time in sunny Florida while players from USA, Canada, Finland and Sweden fought for the honor of their country.

The Kraken arrived in the Sunshine State a few days before their weekend tilts with Florida and Tampa Bay, practicing in the Florida Panthers facility.

Seattle also may have caught a break facing the Panthers, who had more players in 4Nations than any other team, notably their best player and team leader Matthew Tkachuk, now sidelined with an injury suffered in the tourney.

The Kraken posted a 2-1 win over the Panthers on Jared McCann’s third period game-winner, Shane Wright’s two assists, and another solid Joey Daccord performance in the nets. Ironically, the first Seattle goal of the game was notched by Kaapo Kakko, the only Kraken player to compete in 4Nations as a member of Team Finland.

Seattle wasn’t as fortunate last night dropping a 4-1 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevsky stopped 36 shots in the Lightning net and Nikita Kucherov scored the game-winner midway through the third period.

One of the flaws of the 4Nation’s was that Vasilevsky and Kucherov, two of the best players in the world, didn’t compete as their home country of Russia wasn’t in the tournament. Sergei Ovechkin and Leon Draisaitl (from Germany) were also no-shows in the tourney.

Goaltender Ales Stezka, from Liberec, Czechia, made his NHL debut stopping 20 shots. The 28-year-old netminder has had a long road to the NHL after being drafted by the Minnesota Wild, 111^th overall, in 2015. He spent two seasons in the United States Hockey League but returned to the Czech Republic in 2017. He signed an entry level contract with Coachella Valley, the Kraken’s AHL farm team in 2023.

“I think Stezka was exactly what we needed him to be tonight,” said Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn. “We're all happy for him to have his first game, but obviously not the result he deserves when he plays that well. It's tough to come out of that one not on top.”

Stezka would make his first NHL save on Kucherov, but allowed his first NHL goal to Brandon Hagel at 9:27 of the second period. With the Kraken on the power play, defenseman Ryan McDonough sent a lead pass to Hagel, who came in on a breakaway, riding off a check from Oliver Bjorkstrand and then sliding the puck between Stezka’s legs into the net.

The score remained 1-0 until the final ten minutes of the game. Kucherov shot through a screen to beat Stezka and Luke Glendening added an insurance goal a minute later.

Wright once again made the scoring column for the Kraken, recording his fifth goal and seventh assist in the last ten games. Nick Paul added an empty netter in the final minute.

“I don't think 4-1 is an example of (how we played),” said Kraken coach Dan Bylsma. “It was a game we had every right to be in. We had 30 shots through two periods of hockey. Obviously, the power play gets an opportunity, and they score a shorthanded goal, and that's a big turning point in the match.”

The Kraken were also bolstered this weekend by the return of Jordan Eberle. The Seattle captain had missed four months of playing time when he took the ice Saturday against the Panthers. On Nov. 14, Eberle awkwardly crashed into the boards and would eventually need pelvic surgery.

“It's definitely the hardest thing I've gone through,’’ said Eberle. ``This was an injury that I couldn't find evidence of another hockey player having. So, to have to go through surgery, I was obviously in the mindset of, ‘am I going to be able to actually come back and play hockey again?’ Those thoughts cross your mind.”

While Eberle didn’t garner any points in the two weekend games, he took his regular spot on the Kraken power play.

Seattle’s record now stands at 25-30-4 with 23 games remaining in the regular season. The Kraken trail Vancouver by nine points for the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. However, Seattle also has to climb over four other playoff contenders including St. Louis, who the Kraken face tomorrow night.

KRAKEN-LIGHTNING

Game Summary

First Period

No scoring.

Second Period

TB- Brandon Hagel (Ryan McDonough, Eric Hilleberg) SH 9:27.

Third Period

TB- Nikita Kucherov (Brayden Point)  11:15.

TB- Luke Glendening (Cam Atkinson, Michael Eyssimont) 12:58.

S- Shane Wright 13 (Brandon Montour 18, Josh Mahura 7) 15:24.

TB- Nick Paul (Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli) 18:14.

Shots- Seattle 37 (Kaapo Kakko 6), Tampa Bay 23 (Zemus Girgensons, Nikita Kucherov 3)

Hits- Seattle 25 (Josh Mahura 4)  Tampa Bay  29 (Erik Cernak 6).

Penalty Minutes- Seattle 0, Tampa Bay 2.

Faceoffs- Seattle 43.4%. Tampa Bay 56.6%.

Blocked Shots- Seattle 8 (Shane Wright 3) Tampa Bay 12 (Brandon Hagel 3).

Referees- TJ Luxmore, Mitch Dunning. Linesmen- Kyle Flemington, Libor Suchanek.

Three Stars- 1. Andrei Vasilevsky TB. 2. Brandon Hagel, TB. 3. Nikita Kucherov, TB.

KRAKEN-PANTHERS

Game Summary

First Period-

S- Kaapo Kakko 10 (Matty Beniers 19, Shane Wright 20) PPG 6:32.

Second Period

F- Estu Luostarinen (Anton Lundell, Nikko Mikkola) 11:37.

Third Period

S- Jared McCann 15 (Adam Larsson 11, Wright 21) 3:03.

Shots on Goal- Seattle 22 (Jaden Schwartz 6). Tampa Bay (Jonah Gadjovich, Estu Luostarinen 3).

Hits- Seattle 16 (Eeli Tolvanen 4). Florida 23 (Jesper Boquist, AJ Greer 4).

Penalty Minutes- Seattle 2, Florida 2.

Faceoffs- Seattle 58.2%. Florida 41.7%.

Blocked Shots- Seattle 14 (Brandon Montour 3), Florida (Dmitri Kulikov 2)

Referees- TJ Luxmore, Mitch Dunning. Linesmen- Kyle Flemington, Libor Suchanek.

Three Stars- 1. Jared McCann, S. 2. Joey Daccord, S. 3. Estu Luostarinen.