The Seattle Kraken’s one-game winning streak to start their NHL existence came to an abrupt halt at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday at Edmonton’s Rogers Centre.
Connor McDavid, known to some as the best player in the NHL, is one reason why the Oilers cruised to a 6-0 victory.
McDavid took control with his free-wheeling style and his teammates rallied around him.
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol filled his lineup with younger prospects, many who didn’t see action in the team’s preseason opener, a 5-3 victory over Vancouver on Sunday in Spokane.
A screenshot of Edmonton’s Brendan Perlini controlling the puck along the boards against
Seattle defenseman Connor Carrick. Perlini scored on a give and go with teammate Devin Shore
on this play. The Oilers beat the Kraken 6-0 in a preseason game at the Rogers Centre.
And the youth showed. While it’s true that the Kraken were outclassed by Edmonton, Seattle’s team effort looked nothing like it did just two days earlier. Breakouts were harder. Excellent scoring opportunities were rarer. Positioning was not as tight.
That’s not to say there wasn’t any effort by the Kraken. There was. It was just a lot more disjointed than the opener. Somehow, Seattle outshot Edmonton 34-33.
Darnell Nurse rushed from behind his own net across the Seattle blue line and let go a slap shot that beat Kraken goalie Chris Driedger for a 1-0 lead at 5:50 of the first period.
Not long after that, Driedger robbed McDavid from the side of the night on the power play.
Two more goals came quickly for a 3-0 Oilers edge headed into the second period. McDavid was in on a bang-bang-bang play with a 5-on-3 advantage and it turned into a goal for Jesse Puljujarvi. Then McDavid did his famous flying around the perimeter with the puck before gliding a pass to Zach Hyman at the back door for another goal.
In middle period, Brendan Perlini, on a 2-on-1 give and go with Devin Shore, found the net in the second period before Seattle’s penalty killing unit was caught chasing McDavid and then letting him slip away for a rebound tally.
Perlini added a third period goal for the 6-0 final.
Seattle Had No Luck Scoring Despite Solid Chances In The Second And Third Periods
Seattle’s best scoring opportunities came in the second and third periods. Wingers Brandon Tanev, Kole Lind, Nathan Bastian and defensemen Will Borgen and Jamie Oleksiak all had outstanding chances to put it in, but they were thwarted.
Defensemen Vince Dunn and Conner Carrick, who didn’t play against Vancouver, were bright spots on the back end, playing lots of minutes Tuesday.
Only 8 Skaters And A Goalie From The Canucks Game Were In The Lineup Vs. Oilers
Only eight Kraken skaters against the Oilers — Bastian, Tanev and Olekshyiak, centers Riley Sheahan, Ryan Donato, Morgan Geekie and Mason Appleton, winger Marcus Johansson — and goaltender Driedger also played in the victory over the Canucks.
Notables missing Tuesday were center Jaden Schwartz, wingers Jared McCann, Joonas Donskoi and Jordan Eberle, defensemen Mark Giordano, Carson Soucy, Dennis Chowlowski and Haydn Fleury, and projected regular season starting goalie Philipp Grubauer.
Those missing players accounted for a goal and six assists against Vancouver.
GM Ron Francis Gives A Shout Out To Fans
On a Root Sports broadcast interview after the second period Tuesday, general manager Ron Francis made sure he connected with the Kraken fans wh0 were watching.
“We certainly don’t underestimate how much we appreciate our fans and how much they mean to us,” Francis said. “We can’t wait to get into our new building with that intimate setting. If they’re half as loud as they are at the Seahawks games or the Souders games, it’s going to be an unbelievable atmosphere and we’re looking forward to playing there and hopefully the fans can be proud of the team, not only on the ice but how they represent our organization in the community as well.”
Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis,
when he was playing for the Hartford Whalers.
And for new fans who might not know, Francis is fifth on the NHL all-time points list with 1,798, behind only Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr, Mark Messier and Gordie Howe. He scored 549 goals with 1,249 assists in a 23-year career with the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes.
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