“Joy is a Good Thing”
I’m not gonna lie, the original title for this recap was going to be “Stick Season” as an ode to the defensive nature of this matchup, but when Bylsma was quoted as saying “Joy is a good thing” I knew I had to pivot a bit and touch on this encouraging outlook.
It rings true and permeates through the rink, the team, and the organization. The culture of success that Bylsma is building in the locker room is apparent. The new Kraken Head Coach encourages celebrating great moments, leading by example with several notable celebrations caught on camera already this year. In hockey, the culture encourages players to stay even-keeled, but this means you do not grow from the positive reinforcement that joy allows you to have. Instead, success becomes a weight on your shoulders, a burden, rather than a good result built off of hard work.
The weight, although it is early in the season, appears to be lifted. A shift in culture and a sustainable identity is emerging in Seattle. Depth has been their success story, but that is hard to keep up when you lose players in the off-season. With the new lineup this year, and several players signing on for more term, there is hope that those key players throughout the roster can keep it rolling from season to season ahead.
Jordan Eberle is also certainly a part of this joyful culture shift. He is a humble captain, mentioning that the Kraken is led by committee, with a smile on his face. He doesn’t mention his 7 points through 6 games played or the absolute tear he’s on right now. He’s earned this, and I believe when rough waters come, he will continue to keep the culture of encouragement, perseverance, and undeniable effort until the buzzer sounds.
Tonight was no exception.
The Kraken and Flames met at Climate Pledge Arena for the first time this season, and it started hot right out of the gate. The Flames gained possession first and came at Seattle like wildfire, the Kraken following shortly with a wave of their own. Both teams were driving hard, however, defense stole the show, keeping shot counts low despite multiple breakouts and strong cycles in the offensive zones.
Sometimes, in hockey, the sticks seem to fade into the background, just a sidenote in the journey of the puck, but that was not the case in this game. Both teams were battling with their sticks constantly. Whether it was to steal the puck, to block a shot, or to change the course of the game, they were on full display tonight. It was good to see this particular defensive skill highlighted, especially in a game that was so evenly matched.
In such a 1:1 game, the goaltenders can make the difference. Dan Vladar was strong in net, stopping 21/23 shots with a few point-blank saves, and earning himself Third Star of the game. Although Daccord miscalculated during the penalty kill, which led to a goal from Blake Coleman late in the 1st, he stood tall throughout the rest of the game.
Along with Joey Daccord’s disciplined play in the last two periods, sticks and blocks by his team were a massive helper for him and the reason the Kraken won this game. One moment that comes to mind was late in the 3rd period when Mahura had a great net front block on Kadri that redirected the puck right to Joey.
Another moment of “stick-to-itiveness”? Jordan Eberle breaking up Kadri’s would-have-been rush in overtime. It was a sneaky good move from the Captain.
The play was fluid and almost invisible on a first watch, sending the puck to Montour, who completed the steal and whipped the puck on goal. It rebounded, and, where chaos would have typically prevailed, Montour’s poise and maturity under pressure won the battle. He got the rebounded puck back to Eberle, who was able to think fast and lift it over Vladar for the win.
This win ended Calgary’s 4-game streak, gave Chandler Stephenson his first goal with the Kraken on a 5-on-3, and brought the joy back into Climate Pledge Arena.
In this contest, the Kraken proved that they can win in any situation. They can win with offensive prowess and 7 unique goal scorers, they can bet on defense when the stakes are high and the score is low… they can even win a shootout. This is a must-watch season for Seattle as they navigate the waters of the 82-game season, using joy as their north star.
Oh, what a joy to watch Kraken hockey, oh, what a joy!