Scoring barrage extends Kraken streak

According to the experts, when an NHL team jumps out to a big lead it’s often difficult not to become too complacent. That’s not a problem the Seattle Kraken have had in their brief history. At least until last night.

The Kraken’s Jordan Eberle scored on the first shot on goal of the game at :38 seconds and Seattle had a 4-0 lead when Eberle scored his second goal at 16:38 causing Nashville Predator goalie Juuse Saros to get the hook after facing only six shots.

The visiting Predators  put together a strong second period but thanks to the goaltending of Martin Jones and a solid third period the Kraken posted a 5-1 victory before a sellout crowd at Climate Pledge Arena. The contest marks the fifth consecutive victory for Seattle -they never won more than three in a row last year.

“It’s a real credit to everybody in the room,” said Kraken coach Dave Hakstol. “I don’t believe anybody in this room could care less who gets the credit. Or who’s providing the offense. I think there’s confidence that somebody’s going to step up and chip in and everybody’s focus is on the success of the team.”

Eberle’s goal came right after he jumped on the ice for his first shift of the game. Andre Burakovsky, the game’s number-one star, took the puck back into his defensive zone as the Kraken changed personnel and then hit Eberle going down the left side. From about 30 feet out, Eberle drilled a shot before Saros could react.

Defenseman Will Borgen made it 2-0 at 7:29 when he fired home a shot from the point, his second goal of the season. Burakovsky also drew an assist on that goal.

On election night, Burakovsky could have been declared the game’s number-one star when he scored a goal of his own at 15:16.Alex Wennberg stole the puck from the Predator defense and his pass found Burakovsky left of the net. The winger waited for Saros to make a move then lofted the puck into the upper half of the net.

“Some games, it just works out for you,” said Burakovsky, an off-season free-agent signee who leads the team in scoring with four goals and nine assists.  “Today was one of those games. I was trying to find open ice and trying to find my teammates to set them up. I did that a few times and then ‘Wenny’ made a good play to me and I just put it in.”

The Kraken made it 4-0, 1:11 later on Eberle’s second goal. Ryan Donato didn’t get an assist on the goal but he took down the Predators’ veteran defenseman Ryan McDonough and Eberle pounced on the loose puck. At this point, Nashville coach John Hynes may have done Saros a favor by pulling him from the game (and away from the Predators’ leaky defense) and sending in backup Kevin Lankinen.

Seattle hoped to get off to a fast start. While the team boasted a 5-1-1 road record they were a mediocre 2-3-1 at home. The home woes began in their first home game as the Kraken turned in a flat effort against the Vegas Golden Knights after two solid road efforts against Anaheim and Los Angeles.

“We want to make this place the toughest place to play,” said Eberle. “It’s loud. It’s one of the fun buildings in the league to play in, you can feel the energy, especially in the first period there. “

The Predators, who came into the contest with their own three-game winning streak, weren’t going down without a fight. They had 11 shots in the second period and Martin Jones stopped 10 of them. The one he didn’t stop came when Filip Forsberg – who had 42 goals a year ago for Nashville- came in on a breakaway.

“You could feel the energy in the arena when we went up 4-0,” said Eberle. “But you can get in a comfort zone and get a little complacent. But Jones stood tall in the second period and made some big saves. I liked how we played in the third period.”

The Kraken outshot their guests, 8-6, but more importantly thwarted any attempts of a Nashville comeback. The Predators pulled Lankinen with about four minutes remaining but weren’t able to muster a lot of shots on the Kraken net.

Brandon Tanev added an empty netter with 18:49 remaining. After taking a lead pass from linemate Yanni Gourde, Tanev was pulled down but the indefatigable forward kept on going, eventually tapping the puck into the vacant net. The officials could have just awarded the goal to Tanev as the player was fouled heading towards an empty net. Tanev’s goal also meant that all four of the Kraken’s lines made the scoresheet.

“ We have different lines contributing,” said Eberle. “That’s the sign of a playoff team. And there’s a lot of chemistry within the lines.”

“We started the game well, we were opportunistic on some turnovers that we created,” Hakstol said. “We picked up where we left off at home. We’ve played really well here over the last stretch, and to have that start here was a good start to the hockey game.”

Hakstol said he welcomes the homestand and several full practice days after playing pretty much every other night from Oct. 15 through Saturday in Pittsburgh. The Kraken are off until Friday when they host the Minnesota Wild at Climate Pledge Arena.

GAME NOTES

• Seattle improves to 8-4-2 placing them second in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference behind the Vegas Golden Knights. The Kraken also have the second highest point total in the West. Their 18 points puts them one point ahead of Winnipeg and Dallas, the co-leaders of the Central Division.
• The Kraken have now killed 13 straight penalties after having problems on the PK early in the season. Nashville was only called for one penalty much to the dismay of the crowd who let the officials know their displeasure.
• Seattle recorded their first-ever regular season win against the Predators in Nashville, Oct. 14 of last year. Brandon Tanev had two goals including the game winner. The Kraken are 3-1 overall against the Predators.
• Jared McCann who’s listed as `day-to-day’ is still sidelined with an injury. The Kraken played the third period last night with only five defensemen as Jamie Oleksiak left the game with an undisclosed injury. Hakstol said the Kraken would have a better idea on Oleksiak’s status tomorrow.
• Shane Wright was a healthy scratch last night with Karson Kuhlman back in the lineup playing on a line with Tanev and Yanni Gourde. Some hockey web sites have speculated that the Kraken may loan the 18-year-old Wright to the Canadien junior team for the upcoming world championships.
• After only one season, there aren’t that many former Krakens around the league. But Nashville defenseman Jeremy Lauzon was drafted by Seattle from the Boston Bruins in the expansion draft. Last year, the Kraken sent Lauzon to Nashville at the trade deadline for a 2^nd round draft pick.

Scoring Summary

First Period

S- Jordan Eberle (Andre Burakovsky, Oliver Bjorkstrand) :38. S- Will Borgen (Burakovsky, Morgan Geekie) 7:29. S- Burakovsky (Alex Wennberg) 15:16. S- Eberle (unassisted) 16:25.

Second Period

N- Filip Forsberg (unassisted) 10:25.

Third Period

S- Brandon Tanev (Morgan Geekie) empty net, 18:49

Shots on Goal- Nashville 25, Seattle 20

Penalty Minutes- Nashville 2, Seattle 4.

Referees- Furman South, Corey Syvret. Linesmen- James Tobias, Mitchell Hunt.

Three stars- 1. Andre Burakovsky 2. Jordan Eberle 3. Will Borgen.