As has been the norm for the Kraken, they came out in the first period looking a little rusty. The Penguins threw 11 shots at Grubauer, while Seattle sent only seven shots at Tristan Jarry. Neither goaltender yielded the elusive first goal, and the teams went into the first intermission tied 0–0.

It was much of the same in the second period, as well. Seattle managed only two shots on Jarry this time, while Pittsburgh put nine shots on Grubauer. Neither period was boring, though. Each goaltender seemingly outdid the other at each end, which set up an intense third period.

The game stayed scoreless until the Penguins got a fortunate power play 7:23 into the third period after Marcus Johansson collided with Jarry and was called for goaltender interference. Just over a minute into the power play, Evgeni Malkin took a feed from Kris Letang and beat Grubauer with a cannon of a shot on one of only four shots that Pittsburgh had in the entire third period.

Seattle could have very well curled up and fallen apart, but they went the other direction, outshooting the home team 18–4 (20–4 if you count overtime) the rest of the way. With just under four minutes remaining in regulation, McCann bit his former team with a nifty redirection of a Vince Dunn point shot. As regulation time expired the teams were deadlocked at 1–1.

In overtime, the Penguins were maybe a bit too careless, letting Alexander Wennberg set up Adam Larsson for a long shot that beat Jarry and gave the Kraken the extra point.

FIRST OT WIN IN KRAKEN HISTORY! pic.twitter.com/Iw1zUPyBZM

— ROOT SPORTS | NW (@ROOTSPORTS_NW) January 28, 2022

Anchor points

Goaltending will make or break this team, and it made the Kraken in a big way this time. Grubauer was incredible from beginning to end. He was aggressive and sharp all night. No matter who scored, Grubauer was the first star for Head Coach Dave Hakstol.

It was really nice to see this team band together and fight one out. McCann has become an unsung leader, and we may be seeing the beginning of an identity for this organization. Better late than never, but, coming so late, this is just building the personality for next season.

The Wennberg-Ryan Donato-Joonas Donskoi line had the most time on ice and held a 70% 5-on-5 Corsi-for percentage. On the back end, Haydn Fleury and Jeremy Lauzon got crushed in their own end 5-on-5, getting out-chanced 12–6. I am not a fan of Lauzon and this certainly did not change my opinion.

The big third period had the overall possession analytics in favor of Seattle:

5-on-5 Corsi (total shot attempts) 51%–49%
5-on-5 Fenwick (Unblocked shot attempts) 52%–48%
5-on-5 High-danger chances for 62%–38%
5-on-5 Expected goals for 53%–47%
Face-off percentage 63%–37%

The Kraken will play matinee games in New York against the Islanders and Rangers on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, before the all-star break begins Monday. The puck drop is scheduled for 11 a.m. PST on Saturday and 10 a.m. PST on Sunday.

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According to head coach Dave Hakstol, Joonas Donskoi, Calle Jarnkrok, Marcus Johansson, Jared McCann and Jamie Oleksiak are all on the COVID-19 protocol list. They will need negative COVID-19 tests to return to team activities as opposed to 14-day quarantines that unvaccinated players would need.

In what was supposed to be the big announcement of the day, Mark Giordano was named the first team captain in Kraken history. Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Adam Larsson and Jaden Schwartz were named as Kraken alternate captains for the inaugural 2021–22 season.

Mark Giordano was named first captain of the Seattle Kraken on Monday. He will be Seattle’s on-ice leader when it begins its inaugural season against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) https://t.co/CGUdQjVniJ via @NHLdotcom

— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) October 11, 2021

As the news rolls in of more players in COVID-19 protocol, the Kraken claimed Tampa Bay Lightning forward Alex Barre-Boulet off waivers. Barre-Boulet played 15 games for a stacked Lightning team last season scoring three goals. The 5-foot-10, 181-pound, 24-year-old forward has shown he can put the puck in the net at the AHL level (69 goals, 67 assists, 0.94 points per game) and has been looking for a spot to take his shot in the NHL. This will be a great opportunity for him.

Alex Barré-Boulet, placed on waivers by TB, played 15 whole games that looked pretty good. Why not eh? pic.twitter.com/am6lQHwKJx

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) October 10, 2021

Stay tuned  for more news and follow us on Twitter: @TheRinkOfficial, @TheRinkSeattle, @KrakenHostile and @PuckinHostile

The post Kraken Anchor Points — Team captains, COVID-19 protocol, waivers appeared first on The Rink.

One of the worst-kept secrets, in recent days has been the rumored signing of Florida Panthers free agent goaltender Chris Driedger. Driedger was not protected by the Panthers, but is also an unrestricted free agent.

Driedger is coming off his best NHL season as the part-time starter for head coach Joel Quenneville with a 14–6–3 record, 2.07 goals against average and .927 save percentage. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the 6-foot-4, 210-pound, 27-year-old goaltender has a deal in place that would pay him $10.5 million over three years ($3.5 million average annual value).

As we await what SEA decides with Carey Price, word is that the Kraken are closing in on FLA’s Chris Driedger at 3x$3.5M. I dont believe that precludes them from selecting Price, but one goalie appears locked-in.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 19, 2021

Depending on the results of Wednesday night’s expansion draft, Driedger could emerge as the Kraken’s starter when the season begins in two October.

In addition to the goaltending news, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravelli reports that the Kraken have agreed, in principle, to contracts with former Edmonton Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson and former Dallas Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, who will become Seattle’s expansion draft picks from their respective former teams.

Early word is #SeaKraken are closing in on contracts with two UFA defensemen: Adam Larsson (EDM) and Jamie Oleksiak (DAL).

Not finalized. But barring any last minute change, the expectation is those players will be the selections from #Oilers and #GoStars.@DFOHockey

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 21, 2021

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnson followed up to report that the terms of the Larsson contract are believed to be $16 million for four seasons ($4 million AAV). No terms for the Oleksiak deal have been discussed.

Larsson and Oleksiak would nail down two very good defensive defensemen for Kraken General Manager Ron Francis to build around. Larsson has re-emerged as one of the top shutdown defensemen in the league, and Oleksiak’s 6-foot7, 255-pound frame brings an immediate element of size and physicality to the Kraken back end.

Last season with the Oilers, Larsson had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 56 games. Oleksiak finished last season with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) while playing for Dallas. Points are not what makes these players desirable to Francis, though. Their jobs will be to keep opponents from filling the Kraken net.

More to come following this evening’s expansion draft, which will be held at 8 p.m. EDT, 5 p.m. PDT. The expansion draft will be broadcasted in the United States on ESPN2 and will be the first NHL event broadcasted on the ESPN family network since the NHL’s United States broadcasting rights changed from NBC this offseason.

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