Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Game 22: Kraken @ Sabres: Enjoy The Ride

November 29, 2021, 5:33 PM ET [17 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Seattle Kraken Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
This past week has easily been the most fun Kraken fans have had likely since the Expansion Draft. The Kraken have won three of their last four games against opponents who certainly aren't slouches. The Capitals, Hurricanes, and Panthers are all strong teams and Seattle beat them to the tune of 11-4 in total. Finally we are seeing the goalies make the key saves and the players in front are finally playing a more defensive first game, preventing shots from getting through and then pushing forward. We can sit here and preach about growth and learning from the mistakes but ultimately people want to see wins. Winning is fun and clearly this team is having some fun right now.

Don't look now but the Kraken are surging up in the standings, moving from 8th in the division all the way up to 7th. Okay, it might not truly be surging but let's take what we can get. Seattle is now ahead of the team that is supposed to be their biggest rival, at least in terms of geography in the Vancouver Canucks. I am pretty amazed that a team that hasn't yet been around for a full calendar year is run better and is less dysfunctional that a team that has employed the same GM for the past... I want to say two decades? Feels like Benning has been around since the beginning of time at least.

Cracking jokes is far easier to do when the team is winning and Seattle will hope to continue those winning ways in Buffalo tonight against the Sabres. The shine has started to wear off of Buffalo and in typical Sabres fashion they are starting to crawl back down the standings once more. After going 5-2-1 in October, Buffalo has struggled through November with a 3-8-2 record, one of those losses being at the hands of the Kraken in a game which marked the first hat trick in franchise history scored by Jordan Eberle.

This Sabres team desperately misses Craig Anderson. The 40 year old netminder had a 4-2-0 record and a 0.921SV% before being injured. Neither Tokarski nor Dell have been really up to the challenge of taking over the starters gig. Tokarski has a 0.910SV% and a 3.05GAA while Dell has been brutal in his 3 starts with a 0.862SV% and a 4.56GAA. I'm a little surprised Buffalo didn't take a flyer on Matt Murray who was placed on waivers on the weekend. This team needs some help between the pipes.

Speaking of goaltending, Chris Driedger had the bounceback performance that the team so desperately needed against the Panthers. Driedger stopped 33 of 34 shots fired at him by the Panthers in their 4-1 victory. The lone goal scored was a tough deflection that just slipped by him. Driedger will get the nod in net once more tonight.

To the surprise of no one, Hakstol will go with the same lineup that garnered a win against Florida. Jarnkrok will sit out for the third consecutive game with an undisclosed injury. I wish him a speedy recovery but again I feel like the lineup as a whole has played much better in his absence. I'm not pointing fingers, simply making an observation.

Big shout out to Jamie Oleksiak who scored his first of the season on an empty net and first as a Kraken. Oleksiak has been given more leash by this coaching staff to test his offensive prowess and it's been working. Oleksiak also registered his 6th assist of the season playing in his 21st game. Oleksiak's career high in assists was 10 in 47 games way back in 17/18. I think it's safe to assume he is going to surpass that this season, potentially as early as December.

Haydn Fleury will continue to get ample ice time and more starts with Mark Giordano still in COVID Protocol. Who would you run when everyone is healthy? The obvious answer would be Giordano with Larsson, Oleksiak with Dunn and Fleury with Soucy. Hakstol has had his guys jumping all over the place, playing their off sides on numerous occasions with different partners. At some point I would like to see some more consistency and give these guys a chance to build some chemistry with a single linemate.

If Seattle wins tonight they will have gone 5-8-0 in the month of November. It should go without saying that that is not good enough to be a playoff team. Moving forward I want to see the team playing the same type of game they have played this week and eliminate the boneheaded mistakes they made earlier in the month. Seattle has plenty of catching up to do in the standings but for now they simply need to focus on the game in front of them.
Join the Discussion: » 17 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Sean Maloughney
» Eberle Signing Looking Less Likely - Trade to Edmonton?
» Seattle Trades Wennberg To Rangers
» Wennberg Healthy Scratched For Trade Related Reasons
» Should The Kraken Trade or Keep Jordan Eberle?
» Should Seattle Be A Buyer?