Mrs. Butters

It’s a peaceful night in Riverside, CA, the white noise of the freeway drifting in through the screen door. The shift key on my laptop is sticking like the humidity that’s drifted in from outside. I’m not sure humidity does that—drift, I mean— but it’s the only real way to describe how it permeates the house during Autumn. 

Tonight, amidst this picture of California, my grandma sits beside me on her off-white couch (the one she spilled bruschetta on earlier today.) She is comfortable now, sipping on a glass of half wine, half water like some sort of miracle worker. With M*A*S*H airing reruns in an hour, I convince her that there is something on the T.V. to tide her over until then. 

I turn on the Kraken game, the opening faceoff against the Nashville Predators filling her screen.

Thus begins our journey into the first period of Kraken hockey. 

“So you know all these guys?” she asks, I don’t know how to capture the nuance of my experience working with the Kraken while she struggles to hear, so I say “Yes.”

She nods.

“That’s Yanni Gourde.”

“Johnny?”

I smile, “YAWN-EE” I say again, exaggerating the pronunciation.

She smiles, “Yanni.”

The Kraken are on a tear out of the gate, their systems clicking from the get-go, while the Preds are caught flat-footed, falling behind as they find their bearings. 3:37 in, Larsson connects with Evans, who scores from his apparent favorite spot.  

“Oh my god! I didn’t see it happen!” My grandma leans forward, squinting at the replay in an attempt to find the puck. I tell her there will be a closer look and she sighs in relief. “Why don’t they keep the camera on the puck the whole time?! It’s so small!” I tell her hockey takes a minute to adjust to, and that it takes some time to understand the game. She nods, says something along the lines of “They’re putting their lives on the line, going so fast. Really, Marlo! They move very fast!” I nod as gameplay continues. 

There’s a strong offensive presence from the squids. It’s working in tandem with their defensive play as they keep Nashville from establishing significant zone time early on. It’s a marked progression from the first few games, that foundation continuing to build into their team identity and on-ice play. 

I tune my grandma back in as Kartye ruffles feathers and she comments: “Is he a bad boy, number 12?” I laugh, I can’t help it. I tell her yes. She asks if they can fight in hockey, I explain ‘dropping the gloves.’ She isn’t impressed, thinking they should be able to use their sticks if they really want to fight. We both crack up, and while we do, the stream cuts out. She wonders aloud if it will ever come back, or if she needs a new T.V. I tell her it’s alright, it’ll come back. We return to the stream just as Bjorkstrand flips the puck over Saros on a silky smooth pass from Stephenson. 

“Like butta’” is my slogan for this game. Everything seems so simple as their systems become habit and they learn where to be and when. I think about Nashville and their usual defensive play and wonder where it is. Are we really neutralizing them as well as it seems, or are they off their game? 

It turns out to be a combination of the two as the second half of the period sees the Predators turn up the intensity. 

While Nashville regains their control, my grandma pipes in after watching a clip of Joey Daccord, “They’re bent over a lot…I worry about their health when they grow up.” 

Then, as the pace of play picks up, “The thing* and the thingies** are the same color! How am I expected to see it?” (puck* sticks**) I tell her about Wennberg’s white stick and tape and she says it should be a new NHL rule. I jokingly assure her I’ll bring that up at the next GM roundtable. 

Back on the ice, Dunn shines through as he stops a breakout from Evangelista, it’s good to see him out there after missing a game. 

As the Predators build momentum off of that energy, John Forslund mentions “The Maestro” for the umpteenth time. My grandma jumps each time and asks “WHO IS THE MAESTRO??” 

“Oliver Bjorkstrand.” 

“‘All of the B.O. friends?’ Is that a locker room thing?” 

Truly, you can’t make this stuff up, I think she should livestream her hockey reactions ‘cause I am rolling at this point. I calm down enough to repronounce it and explain that “The Maestro” is his nickname. She says “That’s probably a good idea.” …

We are still talking about Bjorkstrand as Nashville’s push proves successful and they are able to capitalize on an opportunity with a goal from McCarron at 14:97.

“They scored, Grandma.” 

With a swig of wine, “I couldn’t tell ya. You can see the sticks but ya can’t see the fuckin’ puck!” 

At the 17-minute mark my Uncle calls and, as Nashville’s Tommy Novak ties the game up at 2-2, my grandma relays to him “Lemme tell ya, this game makes golf look like kiddie play.” 

The tie is short-lived when Tanev scores with that signature speed and puts the Kraken up one at the conclusion of the first period. 

During the first intermission, I poached an egg for my grandma, and put on M*A*S*H for her. 

I should be commended for my exceptional multitasking skills as I hunkered down to watch M*A*S*H on the T.V. and the Kraken out of the corner of my eye. 

I rejoined the game a bit into period two, where the Kraken went on their second powerplay of the contest. With only 2 shots in their first PP, I wasn’t expecting much, but they managed to deliver a solid performance, although Saros was able to keep them at bay. I hope that rebound control becomes a fine-tuning focus for them as the season continues. There were several good chances for rebounds that they were simply not able to benefit from. 

Truthfully, the Kraken in this game were like a wave beating against the rocks at the base of a lighthouse– breakthrough seemed inevitable if they were to keep at it. This is the Kraken of two seasons ago, the one that lures teams in like a siren, and then uses their depth to form waves of offense to suppress them. 

Despite this strong and consistent play, Brady Skjei scored during 4-on-4 hockey at 17:17 and tied the game yet again. The Predators were clawing their way back into the game. Daccord was able to tame them, with a notable save on Stamkos, followed by two quick, solid saves against Forsberg to end the period. 

The third period was no exception to the ease that the Kraken seemed to be playing with all night. Jaden Schwartz started them off with an aggressive drive to the net and a give-and-go play with Bjorkstrand. Schwartz sent the puck backhand over Saros’ left pad like it was nothing. The chemistry found in this new line (Schwartz-Stephenson-Bjorkstrand) is a welcome change from Coach Bylsma.

After this goal, Seattle seemed to be moving as one organism, cycling and moving smoothly together. When they were in their element, they were just… flowing, no other way to describe it. This flow led to an buttery pass from Mccann to Eberle, and resulted in a goal at 2:40. 

With a 5-3 lead, I admittedly tuned into M*A*S*H, waiting to hear another goal horn in my headphone. (Imagine if I broke into a M*A*S*H episode recap right here like “Well, it turns out the chicken was actually a baby and–”) 

My attention was brought back to the game when Mccann scored his second of the season at 11:57, and with a 3-goal lead, it was an even-keeled finish for the Kraken. Nashville attempted to mount a comeback with an empty net, but even that was fruitless as Adam Larsson sent one in on a straight shot and tallied the 7th goal for Seattle. 

I might need to get my good luck charm of a grandma back to watch another period of hockey on Thursday, especially if I’m to collect more absurd quotes for future articles. 

Her takeaway? “These guys must burn 100 times the calories of football players with how hard they work.”

My takeaway? When it was all said and done, the Kraken produced 7 goals from 7 unique goal scorers. This was their strongest game of the season so far, and not because of the obvious. The reason those goals came so ‘easily’ was a direct result of the team learning their systems and sticking to them. That ease I spoke of was not easy to execute–it has been hard work through trial and error. The Kraken have been, and should continue to be, fearless in the face of failure. They will continue to reap the rewards if they are willing to learn from their mistakes. There will be ups and downs as the season drones on, but with that acceptance, there will be progress.

So, yes, it was hard work that won this game, (but who’s to say that the hockey gods didn’t spread a little butter on the ice to ease the way?)