Jared McCann, Seattle Kraken.
The Seattle Kraken went into Game 4 of their 1st round Stanley Cup playoff series down 2-1 in the best-of-7 against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche. Seattle came out flying, outshooting their opponent by a 10-1 margin to start the game.
The crowd was buzzing after the Kraken went up 1-0 on a slapshot from the point by defenseman Will Borgen just over 3 minutes into the game. Then at 8:24 of the 1st period, everything changed.
With forward Yanni Gourde in the penalty box for a roughing penalty, the Seattle Kraken found themselves down a man. After a great block by the penalty killers, forward Jared McCann snuck behind the Avalanche defense and sprung on a breakaway.
He took a hard wrist shot, which Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev made a routine save on. The puck immediately flew in the air and went over the netting into the stands, where fans were seen jumping in an attempt to catch a free souvenir.
Everything seemed pretty routine -until it wasn’t. Colorado defenseman Cale Makar made a great effort to recover from the defensive lapse, skating hard to catch McCann before he took the shot.
Directly after the shot went out of play, Makar skated next to McCann in the corner and gave him a slight shove. Again, very routine, especially in the playoffs.
The two disengaged as the puck went out of play. After 2-3 seconds of the play being dead, Makar continued skating toward and shoved an unsuspecting McCann hard into the boards.
McCann’s head went forcefully into the boards, and he immediately crumpled to the ice. Their 40-goal scorer had to be helped off the ice by the Seattle Kraken medical staff. Shortly after, he was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
No penalty was called on the play. After the fans erupted into a “Ref You Suck!” chant, the officials gathered by the penalty box to assess a 5-minute major for interference to Makar.
In the playoffs, the referees automatically review any major penalty by looking at replay footage. Upon review, they reduced the penalty to a 2-minute minor.
Understandably, the fans were outraged by the change. This was a classless hit on an unsuspecting and defenseless player, which led to a head injury, something the NHL is allegedly serious about eliminating.
With or without a penalty, Makar should know better after taking a nasty headshot himself in February that put him out of action.
McCann’s injury understandably threw a wrench into the Kraken’s game plan, as Coach Dave Hakstol was forced to juggle the forward lines in order to fill the top-line slot and number one power play unit.
As part of the lineup shuffle, Daniel Sprong was promoted to McCann’s spot on the man advantage, and he made the most of his opportunity. The minor penalty proved costly for the Avalanche. 1:45 into the penalty, Sprong slammed a slapshot into the back of the net, making it 2-0 for the good guys.
After the injury, the fans not only booed Makar whenever he touched the puck for the remainder of the game, the Seattle Kraken began playing an even rougher style of play. They threw a team-high 52 hits in the game.
Seattle also did what any good hockey team does, avoid retaliation. They played smart hockey and threw clean hits. Unlike their opponents, the Kraken didn’t go out of their way to target players.
After the game, the players wouldn’t comment on the hit. Hakstol, however, had no issue speaking his mind.
“This was a hit on an unsuspecting player – well after the play. I watched the play live – and reviewed the footage. The hit occurred as a fan is jumping for the puck that is clearly out of play. The result is our 40-goal scorer is not available for the rest of this game. He will not be available for Game 5 – and likely much longer than that. I do not agree with the call on the ice. To change the penalty to a minor is the wrong call. A 2-minute minor for interference is not an accurate description of the play.”
H/T News Tribune
These words likely had some pull, as a day later, the NHL scheduled Makar for a disciplinary hearing with the Department of Player Safety for his actions. This hearing resulted in Makar being suspended for 1 game, one that may very well determine the outcome of this series.
It didn’t take long for the Seattle Kraken to take full advantage. Emerald City’s team went on the road in Game 5 and defeated Colorado 3-2 to take a 3-2 series lead. Seattle stuck to their aggressive, grinding, defensive style of play, and it paid off.
While the Kraken will miss their top-scorer, they have no shortage of offensive threats, sporting some of the best depth-scoring in the league (3rd most team goals this season). They also had some kharma on their side.
With McCann out, the Seattle Kraken called up rookie Tye Kartye from Coachella Valley as his replacement. The AHL rookie of the year netted his first career NHL goal on a beautiful play and with his parents in the crowd (Nathan MacKinnon showing his frustration was an added bonus).
Many Kraken fans are calling for retaliation, saying Seattle should target one of the Avalanche’s top players. They overlook that the Kraken already retaliated where it matters most, on the score sheet.
They stayed out of the penalty box and won Game 4 in overtime. (On a play in which forward Jordan Eberle shot the puck past Makar and into the net. If that’s not sweet revenge, what is?
The Seattle Kraken are up 3-2 in the series, with a chance to finish the series at home in front of their faithful fans at Climate Pledge Arena. This will not be an easy feat to pull off.
It’s important for the Kraken to stay out of the penalty box and not physically retaliate on Makar. Instead, their best plan is to beat Colorado, where it hurts the most, on the score sheet.
There is an unwritten rule in hockey: if you injure another player, be prepared to answer the bell (in the way of a fight). And Friday night will be Makar’s first game back since the suspension.
However, the way this retaliation should be remembered forever is by pulling off the upset of the year. Imagine how the defending Stanley Cup champions losing in the opening round, when all the major analysts deemed the Seattle Kraken as significant underdogs, will look in the headlines.
Besides, no one said Makar had to pay for his crimes immediately. The Seattle Kraken can afford to be patient.
How do you think the Seattle Kraken should respond to Makar’s return?