‘Never seen it like this’ Seattle Kraken woes continue with fourth straight loss
For 43 seconds in the third period, there was chaos.
16:51 — Andrew Mangiapne scored to give the Flames a 4-3 lead.
17:21 — Jared McCann answered for the Kraken, tying the game 4-4.
17:34 — Before the celebration can quiet, Matthew Tkachuk gave the advantage back to Calgary.
It was a back-and-forth quick enough to give you whiplash. But unfortunately for the Kraken, the momentum never returned after that. Instead, the Flames added an empty netter with 20 seconds left to seal the 6-4 victory at Climate Pledge Arena. It was Seattle’s fourth straight loss and their seventh in eight games.
The loss — and particularly how it happened — magnified a chronic problem for Seattle. Put simply: No lead ever feels safe. It’s happened again and again this season. The Kraken take the lead or tie the game only for an opponent to score moments later.
Seattle players are aware of the problem. They’ve discussed it often this season, most recently after Wednesday’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
A night later, the issue was back again.
“We’re playing well,” said Seattle captain Mark Giordano. “We’re finding ways to lose. You can’t give up those goals, bottom line. … We got to bear down in big shifts and big momentum shifts. Puck’s finding the way into the net. There’s no explanation.
“It’s frustrating. It’s something we have to address. We’re playing hard. We’re doing a lot of good things over the course of the game. I’ve never seen it like this, where we’re finding ways to lose a lot of nights. Tonight was no exception.”
Seattle took an early lead against the Flames as Giordano found the back of the net at the 5:48 mark of the first period.
Giordano faced his former team in the preseason, but Thursday night was the first time he suited up against Calgary in the regular season. Giordano played for the Flames for 15 seasons, serving as team captain for the final eight. He’s now the first Kraken captain in franchise history.
But Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau didn’t let Giordano’s moment last long. Four minutes after the opening goal, he scored to tie the game 1-1 heading into the first intermission.
“Your mentality after you score a big goal is you have to find a way to get the puck into the other team’s zone and grind it out,” Giordano said. “If you can’t get into their zone and they come into yours, it’s got to be an all-out defense mentality.
“I think our mind’s in the right place. I think maybe just overthinking it a little bit. Just get to your spot and play solid and don’t let them on the inside. This game and last game, the shift right after a big goal we let them get to the inside and they made us pay.”
In the second, the Kraken once again got off to a fast start as Calle Jarnkrok scored just 9 seconds into the period. But that lead, too, was short-lived. At the 3:54 mark Gaudreau added his second goal to tie the game, 2-2. Then, with 5 minutes left in the second, Milan Lucic gave the Flames a 3-2 lead.
“We got four tonight and that should be enough to come away with points,” said head coach Dave Hakstol. “That’s tough to swallow at home. We’re able to find the back of the net four times and the way we played, that should be enough to come away with points — at minimum, push it into overtime.”
Yanni Gourde tied the game, 3-3, at the 4:59 mark of the second period. That score held until the flurry of goals at the finish.
“That’s just one of those parts of the game where winning teams just bear down after they score a goal and carry the momentum forward,” said goalie Chris Driedger, who started against the Flames. “We’re doing the opposite of that right now. I don’t know if we’re psyching ourselves out but it’s an issue and it’s an ongoing issue.”
Thirty-two games into their season, the Kraken are still where they’ve been most of the year — in last place in the Pacific Division. They’ll play two more games at home before heading back on the road next week.
“At the end of the day, you can’t keep looking at silver linings. … You got to find ways to win games,” Giordano said. “I think we have the team to do it. I don’t think anyone’s overwhelmed us in this league. We have to turn it the other way where we’re finding ways to win games instead of always being the other end of it.”
