After a disappointing 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, Seattle rebounded big against the Buffalo Sabres. A year ago that may not seem too impressive but Buffalo has played good enough to sit 4th in the Atlantic Division. Like in Edmonton, Seattle was able to pour on the shots, outshooting the Sabres 38-21. While Seattle only scored one goal in the first period, they were dominant most of the period. Natural Stat Trick had the High Danger Chances at 5 on 5 5-2 in favor of Seattle but Tokarski held strong. It was the third period where the damn finally broke and the goals came.
In honor of a hat trick, here are 3 thoughts of the game and where Seattle heads from here.
1) Scoring Eberle: Eberle was brought in to be a goal scorer in Seattle. Most of you picked him to be the team leader in goals in the poll I posted before the season started but the season started rough for Ebs and through his first 10 games he only had two goals. That changed with three goals last night; his fourth career hat trick and the first in Seattle Kraken history.
The first goal came from a great forecheck by Jaden Schwartz who centred the puck to Eberle who was left all alone in the slot and made no mistake to tie the game at 2-2. The second goal occurred at 4 on 4 where after Will Butcher took a tumble for Buffalo, Wennberg took advantage to push the puck up to Eberle who fought off Kyle Okposo and chipped another goal past Tokarski. The third goal resulted from another strong move by Schwartz to push past Will Butcher (rough night for him) and start an odd man rush where Eberle faked a slapshot and snuck a sneaky wrister under the pads of Tokarski.
All three goals were different and showcased why Eberle has been one of the most consistent goal scorers over the past decade. He may not be the fastest player or biggest in the NHL but his shot placement is close to elite. 2) Use The Schwartz: In my interview with Sean Maloughney, the Oilers blogger, I cited that Jaden Schwartz scoring his first goal of the season against the Oilers could turn the tide for the player and it appears I was right. The empty net goal was a nice cherry on top for Schwartz but more important were his two key assists on the Eberle goals. Schwartz now has points in his last 5 straight games and a total of 7 points in those games.
3) Down But Not Out: Seattle currently sits last in the Pacific Division with 9 points, tied with Vancouver and LA but having played one more game than those teams. The Kraken had an ugly start to the season but since their home stand they have played much better hockey, even in their losses. Right now the Oilers and Flames are looking strong and I could easily see any of the remaining teams from the #3 to #8 positions being in the mix for the remaining two spots. Even Calgary I believe is dealing with a bit of imposter syndrome and could see them falter.
The Kraken are 1-1 in the month of November and if they can find a way to post a winning record in November that should be seen as a huge accomplishment for this young new team.
Thanks for reading!