‘The Guys Have to Do Their Job’: Kraken Skid Continues in 3-1 Loss to Sabres
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Seattle Kraken center Frederick Gaudreau (89) stops the puck during the third period against the Buffalo Sabres at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Blake Dahlin-Imagn Images [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash — Players not shooting quick enough and forwards failing to back up defensemen were just two of the glaring mistakes Seattle Kraken coach Lane Lambert pointed to in its 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday, Seattle’s eighth loss in nine games (1-7-1).
Prior to Zach Benson’s empty-net goal at 19:14 of the third period, both Sabres goals came off odd-man rushes.
First, with Kraken forwards Jacob Melanson and Ben Meyers forechecking deep in Buffalo’s zone late in the first period, Tye Kartye and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak jumped in to help at the blue line, which left Ryker Evans all alone as Buffalo broke out. Noah Ostlund finished off the 2-on-1 with Josh Norris to put the Sabres ahead 1-0 at 17:09 of the first period.
If that wasn’t enough, Seattle allowed a 2-on-0 on the second goal when Alex Tuch batted down Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn’s pass from the defensive zone and sent it ahead to two teammates all alone in front of Joey Daccord. Tage Thompson ultimately finished it off to extend the lead to 2-0 at 10:08 of the second period.
“Their first goal, our (defenseman) stands in. Our protocol is our forward has to back him up, and he doesn’t,” Lambert said. “It’s a 2-on-1. Can’t do that. And it’s happening too often, and there’s no excuse for it. The players, these guys, have to do their job. Have to do their job. Have to do the job that’s required.
“Obviously the second one was a costly turnover. So right now, we have to play the perfect game to give ourselves a chance to win. There’s mistakes here and there that are reaching up and biting us.”
The Kraken generated just three shots on goal in the first period, going the final 12:48 of the frame without one, but still put up solid offensive zone production in the first part of the period, out-chancing Buffalo 8-7 with a 5-on-5 Corsi For Percentage of 57.14 (16-12) in the opening frame, according to Natural Stat Trick.
As the game wore on, more of those chances started to make its way to the net, but it wasn’t enough. Either the timing to maximize the shooting lane was off, or Sabres goalie Alex Lyon (23 saves, 20/20 at 5-on-5) came up with the stop.
The lone goal came from Chandler Stephenson, who slipped a shot inside the left post and off Lyon’s back on the power play at 12:24 of the second period.
“Seems like kind of the same thing every game: Effort’s there, but (we’re) not winning hockey games right now,” Stephenson said, citing strong performances from the goaltenders and improvement in the special teams, but not enough elsewhere.
One of the few bright spots for Seattle was Melanson, who made his season debut following his recall from AHL Coachella Valley on Saturday. The 22-year-old forward has seven goals and 14 points in 23 AHL games this season, and he made an impact in just his second NHL game.
Melanson threw his body around to the tune of seven hits — the game-high by a wide margin (Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram had four) — bringing the physicality and energy that the skidding Kraken sorely needed. His efforts drew praise from Lambert and Stephenson alike.
“Everyone’s been welcoming and happy to have me,” Melanson said. “And I thought tonight I brought my energy, brought my physicality and I’ll keep bringing that when the team needs it, and I feel like I could be a big part of that.”
The 2021 fifth-round draft pick has likely earned a few more cracks in the lineup as the roster looks to get healthy both from injuries and illness, the latter of which kept Mason Marchment out of the lineup just two games after Kartye was out for the same reason.
Meanwhile, as the Kraken fought for an equalizer in the third period, Lambert shortened his bench. Jani Nyman — who performed relatively well in a line with Shane Wright and Ryan Winterton, but has not earned the trust of Lambert in tight, late-game situations — took his final shift of the night in just the second minute of the third period.
In his place, Wright double-shifted in the bottom six with Meyers and Winterton on the third line as well as Kartye and Melanson on the fourth. Seattle outshot the Buffalo 10-7 in the third period, but could not get the goal it needed.
“I thought he was going,” Lambert said of Wright. “I thought he was skating well, and I thought that getting him out there more would potentially be a turning point or tipping point for our team.
“I thought we had some good chances, like I said, in the third period, and I thought he played well.”
The Kraken are one late-game surge removed from being in the midst of a nine-game losing streak, and with four games left until Christmas, the team is desperate for things to start turning in the right direction.
“It’s a hard league,” Stephenson said. “It’s hard to stay positive when things are going this way. But yeah, I think that’s kind of the M.O. right now, is that it’s going to come. That’s kind of the hard thing, that you’re just kind of waiting for it. … Hopefully we can have some energy and have some juice and get something going here before Christmas.”
