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RECAP: Oilers spoil Kraken return home, win 5-3

  
EDMONTON OILERS VS. SEATTLE KRAKEN
Chris Driedger of the Seattle Kraken makes a save in front of Tyler Benson of the Edmonton Oilers during the first period at Climate Pledge Arena on December 18, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

After a loss to the Anaheim Ducks, Wednesday, the Seattle Kraken returned home to face the Edmonton Oilers. Saturday evening. Seattle was on a bit of a skid after an emotional win in San Jose, Tuesday night, while the Oilers put a hurtin’ on the Columbus Blue Jackets two nights previous.

Coach Dave Hakstol was without defenseman Jamie Oleksiak for this game, who was in COVID-19 protocol. Chris Driedger was given the start over Philipp Grubauer, who left Wednesday’s game with an injury but was available to play. Edmonton was without some of their top contributors in Zach Hyman, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Kyle Turris.

The Kraken came out with some energy in the first period, scoring goals by Red Hot Ryan Donato and Jared McCann in the first half of the period, but Edmonton finally wiped the sleep from their eyes and game battling back to tie the game on a goal by Evan Bouchard and a power play goal by Warren Foegele before the teams could hit the intermission. Unfortunately for the Kraken, the Oilers led in shots 20–7 but Driedger weathered the storm enough to keep the score tied.

The game settled down a bit in the second period, with Edmonton leading in shots once again, but only by a 9–7 margin. The teams traded goals by Edmonton’s Colton Sceviour and Seattle’s Carson Soucy, which set up a 3–3 game heading into the third period. The Kraken had to be feeling fortunate that they were still in the game despite the 29–14 shot disparity.

After two periods where they fought and clawed (mostly by their goaltender) their way to stay in the game, things just fell apart in the third period. The Kraken managed only three shots on goal, while the Oilers threw 12 shots on the Seattle net. Foegele scored his second of the game 8:54 into the third on a disputed goaltender interference call and Connor McDavid (remember that guy?) put the cherry on top with an empty net goal in the final minutes of play.

In the end, the Kraken were probably lucky to even be in the game as late as they were, so they might be able to dress this loss up as a moral victory. Driedger certainly should.

Anchor points

⚓  Driedger might want that Bouchard goal back, but overall, he played a solid game and put the team in a position to win. When your team cannot manage 20 shots on goal and they give up 41, you should not be within one goal in the third period.

⚓  The Kraken only had one power play of their own and were not able to convert. On the other hand, Edmonton converted on one of their two power plays.

⚓  The game was not a total loss. Seattle had several close calls at the Edmonton end of the ice, as they appeared to go for quality over quantity. There were posts hit and a couple of big saves by Edmonton starter Stuart Skinner.

⚓  Edmonton crushed the Kraken in every relevant possession metric, which predictably figured in the final score:

🔱 5-on-5 Corsi (total shot attempts) RECAP: Oilers spoil Kraken return home, win 5-3 70% – 30%
🔱 5-on-5 Fenwick (Unblocked shot attempts) RECAP: Oilers spoil Kraken return home, win 5-3 67% – 33%
🔱 5-on-5 High Danger Chances For RECAP: Oilers spoil Kraken return home, win 5-3 65% – 35%
🔱 5-on-5 Expected Goals For RECAP: Oilers spoil Kraken return home, win 5-3 66% – 34%
🔱 Faceoff Percentage RECAP: Oilers spoil Kraken return home, win 5-3 58% – 42%

⚓  The Kraken were supposed to face the Toronto Maple Leafs later tonight, but the game was postponed due to Covid-19 concerns (along with Thursday’s game in Calgary). As a result, their next contest will be Tuesday at Climate Pledge Arena against the Arizona Coyotes. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. PDT (allegedly).