This wasn’t the best timing for the Kraken in trying to land another franchise-first victory against one of a handful of NHL teams that have kept on haunting them.
The visiting St. Louis Blues are among the streakiest teams in NHL history; either winning or losing with impunity. Earlier this season, they set a league record by winning seven in a row immediately after having dropped a franchise record eight straight. Right after, they lost six of their next seven and nine of 11.
But they were back on the upswing by the time the Kraken caught them Tuesday night at Climate Pledge Arena – having won five in a row. And for the Kraken, playing their second of three consecutive games against teams they’ve never beaten as a franchise, the challenge facing a Blues squad they were 0-3-1 against since their franchise debut was obvious.
“I think a lot of the games have been pretty close,” Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn said of facing his former Blues squad, which routed Vancouver on Monday night for win No. 5 in a row. “I don’t think there’s anything we need to be afraid of. There’s no need to overthink. We’re doing really well this year and we know why we’re doing really well. We play as a team and we trust each other out there to make the right play.
“So, I think we just need to come in confident knowing we can beat anyone. We’ve beaten really good teams, even last year. And I think our team looks a lot different this year. It’s a lot better team. So, we know we can compete with anyone out there.”
The Kraken lost all three games against St. Louis last season in regulation by a combined 11-2 score, then dropped an Oct. 19 home game 4-3 in overtime. But they were coming off a one-goal win over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, a team they’d previously gone 0-3-1 against in four lifetime contests.
They also have an upcoming Thursday night contest against the Vancouver Canucks – against whom they are 0-5-0.
That will be the Kraken’s fourth game in five facing the only NHL teams they’ve now met at least three times without defeating. Last week, they lost to Tampa Bay and fell to 0-3-0 against them.
“They’re coming off a back-to-back, so they’re definitely going to be ready to go tonight,” Dunn said of the Blues. “Their legs will be in it. Their minds will be in it. So, for us, it’s trying to dictate the game from the start, using our building to our advantage and just being responsible. They make a lot of high-end plays, so it’s just being good with the puck and not feeding their transition game.”
Dunn admitted it was “really difficult – I can’t lie” — facing his former club last season; having won a Stanley Cup with them in 2019 before being made available in the July 2021 expansion draft. But now, it’s more about his new Kraken team, which he said got a boost by finally beating the Jets.
“I think last game we were pretty solid throughout the whole game,” he said. “We weren’t getting too far away from our systems at any point of the game.”
Notes
- The Kraken entered Tuesday’s game with the NHL’s 29th-ranked penalty killing unit – and only 30th best at home – having yielded both goals in their Sunday contest against Winnipeg while shorthanded. Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said pregame he’s been pleased with the penalty kill recently but lapses cost them in the Jets contest and couldn’t keep happening against the Blues and top scorers Vladimir Tarasenko, Brandon Saad and Ryan O’Reilly.
“We’ve got to get back to some hard basics, make sure that we get our clears and do all the little things right and fight through to get the two-minute kill,” Hakstol said. “This is one hell of a power play we’re facing. When you look at their personnel on both units, they’re outstanding.”
The Blues entered with the league’s 20th best power play at 21.2% but were particularly adept against the Kraken with the man advantage last season – scoring on the power play in each of their three victories. They did not score with the man advantage in their Oct. 19 overtime win this season
- The Kraken’s Ryan Donato scored a goal in the first period Tuesday night, setting a personal mark with goals in four straight games. He had – two goals and five assists — in his previous seven games against the Blues.
- Leading Kraken point-getter Andre Burakovsky entered Tuesday’s contest with 14 points his last 14 games against St. Louis. Since Jan. 1, 2020 only his former Colorado teammates Nathan MacKinnon (23) and Cale Makar (19) and Mark Stone (16) of Vegas had more points.