Kraken Callup Melanson Makes Presence Felt In Loss

Kraken forward Jacob Melanson didn’t waste any time Sunday making his presence felt all over the Climate Pledge Arena ice in a rare NHL opportunity, hitting one Buffalo Sabres opponent after another from his first shift through his last.

Unfortunately for the Kraken, the energy supplied by emergency AHL callup Melanson crashing and bashing his way through the opposing roster didn’t do much for his own injury-and-illness-depleted lineup. Melanson’s game-leading seven hits from the fourth line in a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at times seemed the only energy his team could muster, but his on-ice presence grew less frequent by the final period as the Kraken shortened their bench in a desperate quest for a tying goal.

“Yeah, the way I play, I play physical and I bring energy,” Melanson said after his team’s seventh loss in eight games. “And the easiest way to get into it is to get that first big hit. I felt much better than that.”

Melanson therefore must have been feeling great by the first intermission, given he’d already been credited with four hits – which is more than any player other than Buffalo defenseman Bowen Byrum managed all game long. Then again, any gleefulness on his part would have been tempered by his Kraken taking just three shots that opening frame and falling behind on a Noah Ostlund goal off a 2-on-1 break.

Tage Thompson put Buffalo up by two in the second period when he and Peyton Krebs found themselves all alone in front against Joey Daccord. Krebs slid the puck across to Thompson and Daccord got get only a piece of the ensuing shot that was the deciding goal in the game.

Chandler Stephenson got the Kraken on the board with just under eight minutes to go in the second on a power play wrist shot through traffic from the left circle on only the 10^th shot of the game by his team. The Sabres have the league’s second best penalty kill numbers so Stephenson scoring with the man advantage was a big deal, though the Kraken again could not produce enough at even strength.

Zach Benson scored an empty net goal in the final minute to clinch it for Buffalo.

Melanson, a fifth-round pick from the franchise’s very first draft in 2021, found out two hours before Sunday’s late afternoon puck drop that he’d be making his second NHL appearance. That’s because Mason Marchment was deemed too ill to play after a bug swept through the Kraken dressing room for much of the past week.

The team was already dealing with long-term injury losses of forwards Jared McCann, Jaden Schwartz and Berkly Catton and was going to need Melanson to bring some fire to his shifts.

“I did like it,” Kraken head coach Lane Lambert said. “I thought it was exactly what we needed. He had some youthful energy and certainly he finished his checks. I thought he played well.”

Lambert wasn’t as charitable about other aspects of his team’s game. While he felt the Kraken generated some quality shots, especially in the latter part of the contest, he wasn’t thrilled about defensive breakdowns leading to the Buffalo goals.

The opening goal came off the 2-on-1 when defenseman Jamie Oleksiak pinched into the Buffalo zone and forward Tye Kartye failed to cover for him. Ostlund and Norris rushed back up-ice the other way and engaged in a masterful passing sequence that left lone defender Ryker Evans with a case of whiplash before the puck wound up in the net.

“When our D stands in, our protocol is our forward has to back them up and he doesn’t and it’s a 2-on-1,” Lambert said. “You can’t do that. It’s happening too often and there’s no excuse for it. These players, the guys have to do the job. They have to do the job. They have to do the job that’s required.”

The second goal came off a neutral zone turnover. Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn moved up to pressure the puck carrier just inside the defensive zone, leaving Krebs alone behind him to take a pass and dish it off to Thompson for the goal off a 2-on-0 break.

“Right now, we have to play the perfect game to give ourselves a chance to win,” Lambert said. “And there are mistakes here and there that are reaching up and biting us.”

Lambert refused to blame the team’s shortcomings on a depleted lineup that seemed short of energy at critical times. He said he felt the energy, especially from Melanson, was sufficient for the most part but a lack of execution did his team in.

The Kraken fortunes might have changed for the better with a little first period luck. Despite mustering only three shots that period, Freddy Gaudreau broke in 2-on-1 with Stepheson in a still-scoreless game and used his deft hands to put a backhander past goalie Alex Lyon that rang off the goal post.

“I mean, obviously that would have been nice,” Stephenson said. “First 10 minutes, first goal, those are the bounces you need to get the momentum. And yeah, I mean, it just seems that’s the way things have been going right now.”

Stephenson added the team’s recent stretch of games played minus key players has been “tough” on morale, but players can’t start using the injuries and illness as an excuse.

“You’ve got guys like Mel coming in and being physical and bringing energy,” he said of Melanson. “And that’s kind of what we need is a guy like that just being physical and stirring it up a bit.”

Melanson’s seven hits were registered in just under eight minutes of total ice time, meaning he packed plenty of wallop into his limited shifts.

“Everyone's been welcoming and happy to have me,” Melanson said. “And I thought tonight, I brought my energy, brought my physicality. And I'll keep bringing that when the team needs it. I feel like I could be a big part of that.”