No Quit in Kraken But Fall, 4-2

WASHINGTON, D.C. ­– The Kraken played a lot of hockey over the weekend. They saved plenty of energy and competitiveness for this last of three games in less than 72 hours but fell short on a late Washington goal, resulting in a 4-2 final. It was disappointingly fitting that the winning goal was tallied when Kraken goalie Joey Daccord was shoving foes to get a look at the shot from the blue line. Daccord’s clean record against soon-to-be-the-greatest goal scorer Alex Ovechkin, who iced the game with an empty-net goal for the Eastern Conference leader with Daccord on the bench.

That letdown was all after the penalty boxes here were bursting at the seams mid-third period. What started with Capitals forward Tom Wilson (foes do not like him, but D.C. faithful are big fans) on Kraken D-man Josh Mahura escalated when Wilson pushed Mahura and kept him down, shoving him. That set off nothing short of an inspiring rallying of Kraken teammates coming to Mahura’s aid. All five skaters on both teams ended up in each penalty box, including the entire fourth line of center John Hayden and wingers Mikey Eyssimont and Tye Kartye, plus defenseman Brandon Montour, who was last seen jawing at Caps defender John Carlson in a verbal exchange featuring two of the league’s best defensemen.

In the Kraken penalty box, Hayden was yelling at Wilson and Caps center Pierre-Luc Dubois for a couple of minutes as the referees and scorekeepers sorted the penalties. It ended with a power play chance for the Kraken that didn’t pan out. Most of the calls were for roughing, with a couple of misconducts.

Coach Dan Bylsma said he liked “fight and the compete” from his players over 60 minutes: “Real good first [period]. Dipping early in the second, but you saw compete all over the ice. You saw it defensively. You saw it offensively. It was a contested match. It was a good one for our group. Just disappointed it wasn't enough. It was a hard-fought game all the way to the end.”

Bylsma did allow that Sunday’s game was one “in which the power play needs to step up for you.” The Kraken managed just four shots, ending the day with no goals in four tries, including minutes of 5-on-4 following the melee.

“We got several opportunities to get a goal with a power play. It didn't. That turns out to be the difference in the game.”

As for the scrum, Bylsma saw “teammates hanging together” and clearly approved. He added: “It wasn't that wasn't the only time. Mikey and John Hayden and Karts, in the dip in the [first three minutes of] second period, it was their line that got us back into the match, drew us into the fight. “You saw a couple of clouds of dust in that there.”

Veteran captain Jordan said he couldn’t recall any game in which five players were in each penalty box at one time, but he went straight to approving of his teammates’ grit: “I just like the compete in the group. I like the guys sticking up for each other. That's important. It shows team camaraderie. That's kind of the stuff we've talked about over the last little bit about what we need and saw that tonight.”

The Captain and Stephenson Team Up Tie It

Eberle missed 40 games due to a rare fractured pelvis injury. During his Friday press conference to talk about the NHL Trade Deadline, Kraken GM Ron Francis noted that it might require another 10 to 15 games before fans can expect the Seattle captain to be playing at full speed and pace. Eberle appears ahead of schedule. He had some good chances in Saturday’s win at Philadelphia and another in the first period Sunday.

In the middle period, Eberle hit paydirt, taking a pass from new linemate (three games) Chandler Stephenson during a two-on-one rush, then squaring up in a deep knee to wrist a powerful shot past Caps goalie Logan Thompson, who entered the game with a 27-4-5 record.

“It's a tough road back, being out and being out with no activity for a long period of time,” said Bylsma. The type of injury is a little bit of an unknown. I can't talk enough about Jordan's work ethic and determination in rehab and getting himself ready to come back. Early on [in his return, he’s now eight games in], there was adrenaline, and it was excitement about getting back. You have to expect the grind of continued play. I'll say it's great that he scored. Jordan had a few opportunities last game. Didn't cash in. I think cashing in tonight with the play from Chandler is an exclamation point on where he's at.”

Anytime it goes in the net, it gives you confidence,” said Eberle post-game. “Prior to that, it’s trying to get the timing back and get your speed back. I missed that many games; it's not easy coming back, but I feel like I'm up to speed.”

Who’s Tired?

The Kraken didn’t look tired in the first seven minutes of Sunday’s matchup with Eastern Conference leader Washington. By the first TV timeout, both Jordan Eberle and Eeli Tolvanen had near-net grade-A scoring chances. Eberle was in the slot, and Tolvanen unveiled a grade-A and got the puck behind Capitals goalie Logan Thompson, but the trickling puck went wide.

In fact, the Seattle squad didn’t look fatigued at any point of the opening 20 minutes. They outshot their hosts 14 to seven, with three Washington shots coming on a late power play that Joey Daccord and teammates kept goal-free. The Kraken deserved the one-goal lead by the end of Period 1. The aforementioned Thompson robbed Jaden Schwartz mid-period, along with Tolavanen. But the guess here is that coaches and players alike reminded each other during first intermission that the Capitals were down 2-0 on Friday before scoring four goals in eight minutes in the middle period to secure a 5-2 win over Detroit.

Unfortunately, the Washington second-period trend reared its ugly reappearance 35 seconds into the middle frame when WSH forward Martin Fehervary scored on an odd-man rush, then before the three-minute mark Caps first-line center Dylan Strome, playing in his 500^th NHL game, wired a right-corner mid-range shot through several bodies to beat Daccord, who likely never saw the puck. Strome’s 19^th goal, the game-winner, puts him one away from joining four teammates, who have already notched 20 or more goals.

Wright, Kraken Take the Early Lead

All eyes are on D.C. superstar Alex Ovechkin these days, but after his first-period long shot was turned aside by Joey Daccord, Ovechkin and his teammates were caught deep in the zone while the Kraken quickly transitioned to a four-on-two rush up ice. Kraken winger Jared McCann did his best impression of veteran teammate Jaden Schwartz by zipping up ice to set up three teammates who subsequently earned points on the game’s first goal.

Once in the Capitals' zone, McCann moved the puck to Adam Larsson (joining from the blue line), pass slowed down and happily redirected to Andre Burakovsky by the Seattle stalwart D-man. Burakovsky pivoted and turned toward the slot, looking for and finding linemate Shane Wright for the goal. That’s the No. 15 for Wright, who is making a run for 20 or more.

Compacted Road Trip: Three Games, 67 Hours

Let’s do the math: with the daytime games on the weekend, Kraken completed three games in 63 hours. Three games in four days, yes, but the first game started at 8 p.m. Eastern Thursday. Thirty-eight hours after the final buzzer in Nashville, the puck dropped in Philadelphia for game 2 of the compact road trip. Then Sunday, with daylight savings time factored, the Kraken were on the ice for a third game – facing the top team in the Eastern Conference – just over 24 hours after finishing the 4-1 win in Philly.