Here are three observations from Game 2 of the Kraken vs. Stars on Thursday night.
Does this division of the first and second games appear different from the first round?
Mr. Geoff Baker Absolutely different, yes. The Kraken knew they should have been up 2-0 in the Colorado series, but they ended up splitting. This time, there is no need to be concerned since Dallas completely overpowered them in Game 2.
And this split ought to be a wake-up call for the Kraken. They opened the Avalanche series with two of their greatest performances of the playoffs and two less impressive ones here against the Stars.
They were rather lucky to part up. Jake Oettinger, the goalkeeper for the Stars, contributed to Game 1’s loss, yet the Kraken still came close to losing before triumphing in overtime. After the first few minutes on Thursday night, they applied very little pressure to Oettinger, and you can’t defeat him that way.
This squad seemed worn out. I am aware of the temptation to put everything down to penalties, and it is true that the Kraken received an excessive number of pointless ones. I’m referring about penalties that didn’t block a goal-scoring opportunity. However, they skated much more slowly until they were called for a penalty at the conclusion of the first period. Philipp Grubauer, the Kraken goaltender, was then the target of open season, and things quickly became interesting. Prior to that, I recall telling you, Kate, that it was the most dull playoff time we had ever experienced.
Although the Kraken slowed down the Stars in part, the offense’s somnambulism during the interval accounted for the most of it.
For me, at least on the surface, Kate Shefte. The first session was routine but secure. However, the five minutes after Tye Kartye’s goal and their 2-1 deficit looked like the last genuine window of opportunity for them to win Game 2.
I would be more worried than interested if we hadn’t already seen them do it in the previous round. However, the Kraken has just followed the script. These two days off are just what we needed to recharge, spend time with family, work out any kinks at practise on Saturday, and then try again at home.
Aside: This weekend brings more playoff hockey at Climate Pledge Arena. Amazing, isn’t that?
Keep your distance from the Panthers-Maple Leafs score on Thursday night. That’s just how nature heals. With the Stars’ arsenal, the most anybody can hope for is a split on the road versus the higher-seeded club. Although not ideal, the Kraken’s decision to ease off the gas was reasonable.
Comment here with your opinion on the proverb’s veracity: “Until someone loses at home, a series hasn’t started,” If this is the case, the Kraken has already begun the series on time twice. (I’ll concede it depends on home-ice advantage really being an advantage. In this situation, the jury is still out.)
What are some places where the Kraken might become better?
Baker: To paraphrase a Shefte proverb from the previous sentence, they may begin by winning rather than losing at home. Gracias por la entrada.
They must avoid the penalty area as well. The Kraken stepped all over the narrow line between being appropriately aggressive in the playoffs, even when officials are letting you get away with more. Beyond that, I didn’t see the intensity that was there in the Stars’ zone when they faced the Avalanche. The finest hit of the night came from Kartye, who levelled a player in the neutral zone on the same shift that he scored. It’s a concern when you depend on a player with four NHL games under his belt who just returned from the AHL.
I didn’t anticipate the Kraken hitting excessively to create scoring opportunities given all the fouls they received for being extremely aggressive. To make things tough for Oettinger, not enough of them were willing to pay the price and take a beating in front of him. I again blame exhaustion for it. The penalties are the same. The lazy thing to do when you’re feeling sluggish is to cheat a little, and that’s when the consequences start to accrue.
You see, the Kraken are just people. The exhaustion from the continuous back-and-forth movement in the Colorado series and the abrupt change to this one is still there for you and me. We also don’t participate in NHL contests. Even so, we’ve both been doing what we’re paid to do while running on adrenaline. And the hotel on the Kraken was finer. They must thus utilise the additional day between games to reassess and return to the strategies that helped them win the Colorado series. Heavy forechecking and unwavering mental and physical concentration on the current work are both at equal strength.
Shefte: Groundhog Day keeps happening… We could have been better off reposting the Three Things from Game 2 of the previous round. The power play doesn’t appear to be moving very much. Just for two minutes during the power play, the Kraken are mostly safe from being scored against. The situation would be much better if that posed a genuine danger.
The Kraken knew heading into this series that they wanted to avoid the penalty box, and the second-period penalties from former defence mates Carson Soucy and Will Borgen were boneheaded (although Geoff previously addressed this). Seven seconds after the first one finished and in the second, the Stars scored. Focus on the goal, men.
Vince Dunn of the Kraken, speaking directly, said, “I think we made the game a lot harder than it needed to be.”The players who give their team momentum touched the pucks a little bit too often tonight. Their escapes were a little too simple. Through the neutral zone, we needed to have them go more slowly. We may have been a little bit too aggressive. We must be more assertive collectively.
In what shape was Philipp Grubauer?
He seemed to be a man who could triumph in any series, according to Baker. Truly, I adore Grubauer in the postseason. Someone made the remark on the game narrative I published the previous evening that Grubauer seemed unsteady on two of the four goals conceded. Well, I guess you could attempt to establish a case if you slowed down the recording and focused on minute aspects. But context is important. The man was under attack. He took 37 bullets, several of which came from just outside his door. Dallas stormed the net front. When it occurs, it is impossible to criticise a goalie’s technique. He used every tool at his disposal to keep the puck out of the goal. He was being bombarded by waves of stars.
On a Southwest aircraft, it’s a little like a stampede to obtain the best seats. You adore that airline, I know. Only this time, all the exit row aisle-seekers were rushing aboard as Grubauer was attempting to depart the aircraft because he left his goalie mask in the VIP lounge your favoured airline doesn’t really provide. The dread.
Shefte: You just had to aim for my lovely Southwest. It happens daily, folks.
Okay, I’ll nitpick: maybe he should have responded to the Evgenii Dadonov wraparound goal a little bit sooner. On the other hand, he almost had Tyler Seguin’s tip on Dallas’ fourth goal after tracking it down. He really gave the Kraken an opportunity to enter it and then exit it. Thursday night, it wasn’t going to happen.
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