BOSTON — Before they head home from the longest trip of the season, the Kraken can become the first team in NHL history to sweep a road trip of seven or more games.
Not “since.” Ever.
That would require a win Saturday over the Chicago Blackhawks, who were tied for fewest standings points in the league Friday morning.
However, Seattle has already lost once this season at United Center — 5-4 in regulation Oct. 23. That was before the Kraken morphed into one of the NHL’s top road teams. Their 15 wins were tied for most in the league.
Seattle became the seventh team in history to win each of the first six games of a trip with Thursday’s resounding 3-0 win over the league-best Boston Bruins, who hadn’t lost in regulation at home all season or been shut out. The last NHL team to win each of the first six games of a road trip was the 2015-16 San Jose Sharks. The Sharks went to the Stanley Cup Final that year, and there’s even better company — three of the other five teams on the list went on to win the Cup.
But these are weighty comparisons. For now, a few reactions from Thursday’s win over the Bruins, the buzziest win in the Kraken’s short history.
Playing with the best
The Kraken straightened out after a slow start and picked away at the NHL’s standings leader. This wasn’t the lackadaisical team defense of Seattle’s 4-7-1 December swoon.
“Nothing was easy coming down the ice for them,” Kraken forward Yanni Gourde said. “Even if sometimes they beat one guy up the middle of the ice, we always had someone protecting or tracking that puck well and preventing them from making the second play, which is the most dangerous.”
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery echoed those comments after his team’s first look at the Kraken this season.
“Their team structure is excellent. I thought their speed, defensively, gave us a lot of problems,” Montgomery said.
“We were kind of one-and-done in the offensive zone, and I thought that was a credit to how fast they played defensively.”
Time to send the Predators a fruit basket
Winger Eeli Tolvanen, a promising former first-rounder who had become a spare part in Nashville, fell to Seattle after going on waivers. Even though they already carried too many game-time options at forward, the Kraken went for it.
That decision came with a goodbye as Karson Kuhlman was waived to make room and claimed by the Winnipeg Jets. Sort of like a three-team trade where the Predators left empty-handed.
“This could be a mistake on our part,” Nashville general manager David Poile said recently, according to Nashville radio host Robby Stanley. “That’s on me if he turns out to be really successful. We thought we tried him in a lot of different areas, different places.”
After another 2 1/2 weeks of healthy scratches with Seattle, Tolvanen has four goals in seven appearances, all Seattle wins. On the Kraken, only Matty Beniers has scored more during that span.
Tolvanen fit in well on the third line and scored in his Seattle debut, then every second game since. He put the Kraken on firmer ground Thursday in Boston. Oliver Bjorkstrand’s shot from the point didn’t make it through. Tolvanen spun, got Boston goaltender Linus Ullmark to drop and sent a shot whizzing into the top of the net. It caromed out again so fast that it took a few seconds for the goal light to catch up to the Kraken’s new 2-0 lead.
Tolvanen has tallied six points in his seven games in Seattle. He had two goals and two assists through 13 games but just one point in his latest 10 appearances when he was waived by Nashville on Dec. 11.
He’s 23 years old and has another year on his deal at $1.45 million.
Jones keeps up
The last time Martin Jones, who turned 33 Tuesday, recorded back-to-back shutouts was Oct. 10-13, 2015. He made 27 saves on the Bruins and blocked the NHL’s second-leading goal-scorer, David Pastrnak, on a breakaway.
“There were some saves on scramble plays around the crease that he was really strong and solid on,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said.
Jones was in net for the first six of seven games of the current win streak instead of an available Philipp Grubauer, the team’s highest-played player. Jones is now, more than ever, the go-to until Grubauer insists otherwise.
Jones’ 2.68 goals-against average is 22nd among his fellow NHL goaltenders (minimum 13 games) and his .898 save percentage is further down at 38th, but the Kraken are 20-5-3 when he’s back there.