The Kraken went up against Los Angeles – a team that is known for besting opponents when it comes to shot volume and quality – and found themselves facing a similar fate. Outshot and with fewer quality looks, Daniel Sprong and Morgan Geekie were able to put pucks in the net, but ultimately, the Kings played to their strengths and did all the things that are most predictive of leading to a win.
The Kraken now have the rare opportunity to face the same opponent for a second straight game and see if they can make adjustments to address the challenges the Kings present.
Let’s look at the game “by the numbers.”
- The Kraken were unable to consistently tilt the ice their way in even strength play. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Seattle earned 44.61 percent of all shot attempts and 45.64 percent of all shot quality, only gaining an advantage in shot volume in period two and a shot quality edge in period three.
- The Kings’ defensive structure quieted the Kraken attack. Seattle had one scoring chance off the rush according to Sportlogiq, and just two odd-man rushes while Los Angeles had six odd-man looks and nine total chances off the rush.
- Sprong continues to make the most of his opportunity with Seattle. He led all Kraken skaters in offensive zone possession time (:40), had one slot shot on net, and one scoring chance off the rush.
- Yanni Gourde didn’t earn a point on the scoresheet but he led his team in individual shot quality and his line had the best advantage in shot quality when on the ice (58.32%). The Geekie line was second in terms of building an edge in shot quality and was the only line to best Los Angeles in terms of shot volume.
- Two players made their Kraken debuts in this game. Victor Rask played 14:31 and had four shot attempts, two of which were scoring chances. Derrick Pouliot played 15:31, and while playing with Will Borgen, the pair tallied the lowest shot quality against of any Seattle pairing in the game (per MoneyPuck.com).
Here’s a look at our data-driven Instant Analysis from Sportlogiq (Click HERE for how to read this graphic):