Here’s how the Seattle Kraken are handling another extended break from games
The Seattle Kraken were supposed to play three games this week.
Instead, they won’t return to the ice until a game at Colorado on Monday.
That means a week with no games for the Kraken, who have lost five straight and eight of their last nine. It’s the second lengthy break for Seattle, which also didn’t play for 10 days at the end of December due to game postponements and a league-wide pause stemming from a COVID-19 surge.
The Kraken’s three postponements this week are COVID-related. The Senators and Islanders are dealing with COVID issues while all games in Canada have been postponed due to restriction issues.
“We have to find the positives in it,” said head coach Dave Hakstol. “Obviously, it can be frustrating mid-season to have this long of a break. But as I look back over the last month, we’ve had a lot of stop-and-go. There’s been a lot of days where there’s been some indecision, some days where we stayed away from the rink due to some of the threat of COVID and things like that.
“In reality, we really haven’t had a ton of good practice time over the last month as we came through Christmas break and other things. We have to really grasp at it and take advantage of this week and have great quality practices. It’s not the same as game action. We have to minimize the effect as we get back into a game a week from now, but we have to do that by having great practices.”
Areas of concern
One of the biggest benefits of the break, Hakstol said, is the opportunity for players and coaches to clear their minds. It’s been a difficult stretch for Seattle as familiar struggles from earlier in the season have returned — from early deficits to quick-response goals from opponents to the defensive issues that plagued the Kraken during Saturday’s loss to Vancouver.
The goaltending hasn’t helped. Heading into the season, Seattle had a promising tandem of No. 1 goalie Philipp Grubauer and backup Chris Driedger ready to take the ice. So far, the two haven’t lived to the billing. Grubauer, who has played in 25 games, is allowing 3.30 goals per game, which ranks No. 56 among NHL goalies. His .882 save percentage is 70th. In nine games, Driedger has a 3.49 GAA (No. 63) .892 save percentage (No. 64).
After two lengthy practices on Monday and Tuesday, Hakstol reflected on his team’s practice habits and what needs to improve during the remainder of the season.
“If I can be blunt, the competitiveness of our practices has to increase,” Hakstol said. “At times, our practices are too nice. There’s certain drills that have to be competitive, and they’re meant to be game-like. That’s an area that we’d like to see improve within our team. Not just practicing hard. There’s a difference between that and a little extra competitive level.”
While there’s a line in practice — “You never want to put a teammate in a bad spot,” Hakstol said — there’s a certain level of competitiveness that’s been lacking in Seattle’s practices this season.
“That game really comes down to a lot of 50-50 battles,” Hakstol said. “It’s very much a team game, but within the team game, there’s a lot of individual battles, 50-50 battles, us-or-them type of battles. You have to get as close to that edge in practice, or else there’s no way it’s going to consistently happen in a game. And for us, right now, we’re not consistently there in games.
“There’s too many points in games where we’re making critical mistakes. You can call them systematic. You can call them individual. They’re happening. We do a ton of good things as a team, but at the end of the day, you don’t add up the good things and the positive things that you do. It’s about doing everything that needs to be done to build a win over 60 minutes, and it gets harder and harder.”
Defenseman Carson Soucy agreed that the biggest thing Seattle can do during its week away from game play is up the competition with each other in practice.
“I know we’re just going against each other in practice, but there’s no more time to just take it easy on each other like you kind of do in training camp or coming in just skating before the season or at the end of summer,” Soucy said. “We’re right in the mix of the season, so we have to play each other just to be ready for when we come back. Those are obviously huge games when we get back, and we can’t afford to come off this break slow.”
Looking ahead
The Kraken have a daunting amount of ground to make up if they want even a chance at making the playoffs. With 24 points, they are in last place in the Pacific Division — nine points behind seventh-place Vancouver and 21 points out of first place. They are also 14 points out of a wildcard spot.
“I think we’re realizing how big just those single points are,” Soucy said. “Obviously, our record in three-on-three (overtime) for the extra point there hasn’t been great for us. You got to scrape together any points in this league you can get now.”
The league is planning to reschedule postponed games for the three-week break in February originally allotted for the Olympics. So while the Kraken are dealing with extended game breaks now, their schedule could be packed come next month.
“I don’t know if we’ve really given it much thought,” said forward Morgan Geekie. “I think we’re just trying to take it a day at a time, trying to have a good week of us ahead at practice and training. It’s about staying healthy and taking the precautions and everything. Obviously, they are going to have to fit games in somewhere and I think everyone is kind of aware of that so we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Here’s how the Seattle Kraken are handling another extended break from games."
