LOS ANGELES — Still scratching their heads over blowing a winnable season opener, a determined Kraken group notched their first victory Thursday night by cleaning up some of the mistakes that had previously derailed them.
The Kraken tightened up considerably in their 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings, putting an early chokehold on what was a 99-point Pacific Division playoff team last season. Gone was the run-and-gun style of relentless back-and-forth action that permeated Wednesday’s opener against the Anaheim Ducks, with the crosstown Kings playing a more disciplined formation that clogs up the neutral zone and requires patience to circumvent.
The discipline by both teams was evident, with just 21 combined shots between them by the game’s midway point. But one of them, a nice effort by Brandon Tanev to dig the puck out of the corner before jamming it past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, snapped a 1-1 tie early in the second period and helped send the Kraken to their first victory of their sophomore campaign.
Alex Wennberg added a third Kraken marker seven minutes after Tanev’s and this time, unlike the prior evening, his team didn’t squander the multi-goal lead. Instead, they tightened up in front of Kraken backup goalie Martin Jones — who stopped 27 of 28 shots — and limited the number of up-close chances.
Adam Larsson closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal with 61 seconds remaining after Quick was pulled for an extra attacker.
Kraken forward Ryan Donato had talked earlier Thursday about how disappointed his teammates had been about securing only one point in the prior night’s overtime defeat after dominating much of the game.
“We created so much [offense] that we were like, ‘How could we ever have them come back and win?’,” Donato said. “It’s tough. It’s bitter now. But I think if we worry about the things we can fix and know that we did a lot of good things and build on it. Then, we can bring it into the [Kings] game.”
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol had sounded much the same tune about his club, which outshot the Ducks 48-27. But an ill-timed Donato penalty at the end of the second period, with his team up 3-1, led to an Anaheim power-play goal that seemed to wake up the home side.
It was a similar situation again Thursday, with Jamie Oleksiak taking a penalty for an illegal hit to the head with the Kraken up 3-1 and fewer than four minutes remaining in the middle frame. This time, though, unlike the Anaheim game where they got caught up ice short-handed for a 2-on-1 break against, the Kraken stuck to a disciplined approach and limited the Kings’ power play.
The Kings earlier had scored their only goal of the game with a man advantage as Alex Iafallo stole a puck behind the net and put a wraparound try behind Kraken netminder Jones. That tied things 1-1 after Jaden Schwartz had opened the scoring five minutes in on the power play, poking home a rebound off an initial shot by Jordan Eberle.
It was the fourth power-play goal for the Kraken in the first two games, one more than they’d registered in their first 10 contests last season.
The sight of Schwartz and Tanev both scoring for the Kraken after returning from season-ending injuries was a welcome one. And a notable sign of the kind of game played by their team, given both players are noted for going to the net and getting the tough goals on nights the opponent doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for freewheeling.
The Kraken nearly had another goal when Matty Beniers redirected a puck into the net with six seconds remaining in the first period. But the goal was waved off when it was ruled Beniers used a high stick to bat the puck out of the air.
The teams headed to the intermission still tied 1-1 until Tanev’s goal regained the lead for a Kraken squad that never looked back. It was how they’d looked against the Ducks for most of the first two periods Wednesday before surrendering the power-play marker that changed the game’s pace and complexion.
“There were so many parts of our game that we liked,” Hakstol said earlier Thursday of the prior night’s overtime defeat. “And so many things that we did really well. But we have to address some of the management of our game, especially as we have a lead.”
Message received, loud and clear.
By managing their lead here, the Kraken left California with three points of a possible four and headed back for Saturday’s home opener, looking like a squad ready to play a different brand of hockey this season.