Kraken Take Down Mammoth in Another Chaotic Clash
The chaos continues. From a goalie ricochet to an empty-netter, the Kraken again found the auspices of Lady Luck - and a stellar showing from Philipp Grubauer in net - to take one at home from a Central-leading Utah side.
When Freddy Gaudreau intercepted a neutral zone pass from Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and eased it into the empty net with exactly a minute left to go, the Kraken’s hot start continued apace.
It didn’t matter that Sergachev had racked up two assists, or that the Mammoth had gone into the final minute of the game still leading on expected goals (xG), or that Sergachev was the most productive player on the ice according to Post Hockey - the Kraken had a devil’s luck once again. They are 7-3-1, currently third in the Pacific, and though there are still questions regarding the sustainability (it looks at times like one of those classic Sabres Octobers), the momentum is formidable.
The moment was made possible by both kinds of luck that we mortals know of in this world: the luck that is bestowed upon us by some act of the universe and the luck that we make for ourselves. Jordan Eberle began the scoring with a missed shot that bounced off the backboards, off the back of Mammoth goalie Karel Vejmelke, and into the net, one of the more bizarre entries on a scoresheet you might expect to see. And on the other end of the ice, Philipp Grubauer continued his renaissance as he blocked, grabbed, and kicked his way to a clean second period and a win.
And in between it all was another game where the Kraken got a two-goal lead, lost it, and then roared back to win.
“Good response by us,” said Matty Beniers after the game, “But yeah, we’ll get more comfortable in those situations and shut teams down.”
A minute after Gaudreau’s goal, the final horn rang out and the final score of 5-3 was in the books.
The power play giveth…
Although the Mammoth out-hit the Kraken 30-14 and found long periods of physical dominance outside of the Kraken defensive zone, the visitors came out of the gate without the precision to really capitalize on it.
