Brandon Tanev (Photo by Jenn Goldberg, via Emerald City Hockey)
Sunday April 30th @ 9:19pm
Five hundred thunderous voices inside Queen Anne Beer Hall shouted at once, “I believe that we have won!”
Over and over and over again.
That cheer usually belongs to the Emerald City Supporters during Seattle Sounder matches, but during the Seattle Kraken first-ever playoff series- BELIEVE was the mantra. PNW hockey fans did, and the team felt it all the way to Denver. And today, the road continues to Dallas for the Western Conference Semifinals.
I hoped to see this matchup in the first round, but it’s still a better second rounder than the alternative- with only two wins versus Vegas or Edmonton in eight combined regular season games.
All the Seattle Kraken vs. Dallas Stars matchups this year played out in the span of 11 days in March.
It started on March 11, when center Joe Pavelski tied the game in the third period before Dallas won 4-3 in overtime at The Greenhouse. Two days later, the Stars scored three powerplay goals at Climate Pledge to win 5-2.
The Seattle Kraken managed to get a little payback in the Metroplex. At the American Airlines Center on March 21, Brandon Tanev had a three-point night while Adam Larsson’s clutch defense saved Seattle’s victory in OT.
The original North Stars team moved to “Big D” in 1993 and has been in Texas longer than they were in Minnesota. 1999 was the franchise’s third trip to the Stanley Cup Final, and Brett Hull scored a Game #6 goal in triple overtime that won the Cup- and changed crease rules forever.
For the Seattle Kraken to win round two against Dallas, here are my three keys to victory.
Based on the season series, I’ll be shocked if the Seattle Kraken totally reverses their faceoff woes against Dallas (41%). This translates to a gap of 10 faceoffs lost per game when the average has been 55 total taken per 60-minute contest.
Each of those three faceoffs per period means a potential scoring chance or defensive re-group. Not a recipe for success, especially in the CORSI era.
Yanni Gourde and Morgan Geekie led the Kraken during the regular season in faceoff percentage. Still, both were under 50% compared to eight Dallas players over that percentage.
The Seattle playoff leader is Jared McCann, who can hopefully join the team soon. Let this video from late February be a reminder for teams not only winning faceoffs but also being prepared to receive them as well.
Center Roope Hintz may be on a playoff hot streak, but Stars top-line defenseman #4 Miro Heiskanen has been a true Kraken killer this season (2G, 5A, +4). He either scored or assisted the game-winner for both wins in Seattle.
In Dallas’ only defeat to Seattle, Miro still notched a goal and an assist while playing solid defense on the blue line with a +1 rating. His six assists are tied for the Stars’ third-most playoff points, and the Finn also leads in plus/minus with his blueline mate Ryan Suter.
Left winger and team captain #14 Jamie Benn has also been a barnacle on Seattle’s boat this year (2G, 4A, +3). The Victoria, BC native has spent his entire 14-year career “Deep in the Heart of Texas” and led Dallas in powerplay goals, short-handed points, and faceoff percentage this season.
So far in the 2023 playoffs, “Chubbs” has upped his dot-winning percentage to an impressive 67.95%. That number is ranked top-five for all players in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Martin Jones helped the Seattle Kraken backstop a winning mindset earlier this year. And Philipp Grubauer rebounded during the second half of the season.
Now after an exhausting seven-game campaign to open the playoffs, Gru needs to keep earning that massive contract. He can do it by closing open windows on shooters.
During the regular season series, the Seattle Kraken used all top-three goaltenders against Dallas, while the Stars gave consistent work to Jake Oettinger- who, in my opinion, is one of the best goalies to ever play at Climate Pledge Arena.
“The German Gentleman” has a top-three playoff save percentage (.926%), but his Goals Against Average ranks eighth (2.44). And the only win against Dallas this year belongs to Joey Daccord, now in Palm Springs for the Firebirds AHL playoff run.
Tonight ESPN will showcase Game 1, and Game 2 will air Thursday on TNT. Two years ago, sports bars across the PNW, like Moonshine BBQ, the Angry Beaver, and Queen Anne Beer Hall, would not have been so invested.
But now, after seven playoff games? They still believe- with their Kraken tentacles on the ground and reaching for the stars. ⚓