Shorthanded Kraken Play Tough, Pay For Lapses

TORONTO – Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen reflected postgame about a flurry of letdowns that cost his shorthanded team on an otherwise solid night against an opponent stacked with elite forwards.

Going up against the high-octane Toronto Maple Leafs, minus two-way offensive generator Brandon Montour and a previously injured Vince Dunn, the Kraken knew they had to keep such lapses to a minimum. Unfortunately for them in Thursday night’s 4-1 loss, the puck wound up in their net the few times they left Toronto’s top players to freewheel a bit too openly.

“I feel like the first half (of the game) we were sloppy with the puck,” Tolvanen said. “We had a lot of turnovers. I think we gave them everything that they got in the first half. In the second (half), we cleaned it up a little bit, but it’s not enough.”

Indeed, by the time Tolvanen finally scored after the Kraken pulled goalie Joey Daccord down 3-0 with 5:34 still to play, the Leafs had already seen top stars Auston Matthews and William Nylander take advantage of lapses to help pop goals for the home side. Matthews, who’d assisted on an opening strike by Matthew Knies late in the first period, wound up scoring on an empty net with Daccord still pulled for an extra attacker with under two minutes to play in regulation.

Nylander, meanwhile, scored twice in the first half of the second period after being left uncovered to Daccord’s right both times and finding an empty half of the net to easily deposit incoming passes into.

The absence of Montour, for a great reason in attending the birth of his new daughter, came just two days after he’d recorded the first hat trick of his career on a four-point night in Montreal. But Montour was a lot for the Kraken to replace on the heels of Toronto-area native Dunn, who’s had some of his biggest games in front of Scotiabank Arena crowds, also being out with a prior injury.

That meant some big skates to fill both offensively and defensively, with seldom-used AHL call-up Cale Fleury being tasked with “quarterbacking” the team’s power play. Fleury put in a strong effort, but the power play failed to connect on three chances.

The Kraken actually played a very strong opening period, other than a lack of battling at times after faceoff attempts. Finally, the Leafs took advantage on another faceoff with just eight seconds to go in the first, with Matthews ceding the draw to Chandler Stephenson but then immediately springing forward to seize control of the loose puck.

Matthews then fed it out front to Mitch Marner, who completed the tic-tac-toe play by passing to Knies for an easy goal in close with just four seconds to play until intermission.

“The faceoff at the end of the period dented what was a pretty good period from our team and kind of rolled,” Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma said. “I really think that second goal in particular – we get down in the first with that faceoff goal with four seconds left, and that’s a big, big hurt.”

And it changed the tenor of the game as the Kraken came out flat in the second and left Nylander all alone to Daccord’s right, where he was fed a Morgan Rielly pass and easily deposited the puck into an open side of the net at the 1:39 mark.

Toronto then made it 3-0 midway through the frame as a poor line change allowed an odd-man rush in which Nylander dished the puck to Max Pacioretty before sneaking around behind the net ahead of emerging on the opposite side.

The ensuing Pacioretty shot was stopped, but John Tavares pounced on the rebound and spotted the wide-open Nylander coming around the net uncovered to take a pass and score.

Bylsma said the loss of Montour with Dunn already out was a challenge. But he had confidence in the players out there – especially Fleury, who he saw plenty of at AHL Coachella Valley the past two seasons – and felt the biggest difference was simply the handful of lapses.

“Did we circle No. 88 at the beginning of the game? Yeah, we did,” Bylsma said of Nylander. “And twice, we let him find open space and do what he can do. And he made us pay for it tonight. That’s not an individual thing. That’s a team thing. You just can’t let one or two mistakes dictate the pace of the game. And tonight, we made some mistakes and gave them some opportunities.”

Kraken goalie Daccord, left helpless on all three scoring plays, quickly noted the Leafs have forwards considered some of the world’s best players. Other than the few lapses, he felt the team played rather well -- especially in Montour’s absence.

“It probably could have gone either way if we’d been able to bury one or two more of our chances.”

Those became more plentiful once the Kraken settled down defensively and began taking the attack to their opponent. Tolvanen wound up hitting the post that second period and felt the increased offense helped limit the chances against by keeping the puck away from Toronto’s tough shooters.

“I think we just had the mindset to go forward with the puck,” Tolvanen said.

The hard work finally paid off with 3:28 to go in regulation when his 31-foot shot found its way through heavy traffic and spoiled goalie Joseph Woll’s shutout bid. But by then, it was too late to overcome prior damage.

Tolvanen said the Kraken have always had a “next guy up” mentality and that the team did well enough in Montour’s absence. What he’d like to see more of against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night is the Kraken limiting those handful of lapses so costly here.

“I think it’s our play with the puck – clean that up,” he said. “Get back to Kraken hockey. Play physical, play fast.”