3 Takeaways From the Kraken’s Frustrating 7-4 Loss to the Senators – The Hockey Writers – Seattle Kraken

On Saturday, March 7, the Seattle Kraken faced the Ottawa Senators for their final meeting of the season. The Senators held an advantage in the season series after edging out the Kraken 4-3 in a shootout on Oct. 16. 

After their prior shootout victory, the Senators looked to complete the sweep in this game. The Kraken took an early lead, but the Senators answered back with two goals to be up by one after 20 minutes. In the second period, the Senators added two more goals before the Kraken responded with one. Ottawa scored three more in the first half of the third period. Although the Kraken made an attempt at a late comeback, the Senators left with a 7-4 win, sweeping the season series. 

Melanson Continues to Prove Himself 

While this season might be Jacob Melanson’s first real chance on NHL ice, he continues to prove that he deserves his spot on this Kraken team. He opened the scoring for Seattle eight minutes into the first period. He skated up to the net with Ryan Winterton and Ben Meyers, and while Winterton had the puck, he took a shot. Meyers tried to direct it into the net, but it bounced off the pad of Linus Ullmark. Melanson collected the rebound and sent it past Ullmark to put the Kraken on the board first. 

This goal marks Melanson’s second in his NHL career. In 27 games, he has five points. He has been playing left wing on the fourth line, and in his last four games, he has been averaging 11 minutes on the ice.

Melanson has been earning more ice time, which is a great thing for him. He has the second-most hits this season with 148, just one behind Eeli Tolvanen’s 153. He is a very physical player, and he’s not afraid to get involved in the action. Melanson might just be on the fourth line and in his first NHL season, but he continues to prove he deserves a spot on this Kraken team.

Kraken Can’t Lose Any More Players 

Ahead of this game, the Kraken announced Frederick Gaudreau and Ryan Lindgren would not play due to illness. Already missing a forward and a defenseman, the Kraken were not off to a great start. The Kraken at least had Meyers, Winterton, and Melanson to round out a younger fourth line with the absence of Gaudreau. On top of that, they had Cale Fleury on the roster, too, so he slotted in for Lindgren. 

Related: Meet the Newest Seattle Kraken: Bobby McMann

However, during the game, Jaden Schwartz took a skate to the face and exited the game to be evaluated by the medical staff. It was later announced that he would not return to the game. 

With illness running rampant and players getting injured, the Kraken need to have a healthy team as they get into the later part of this season. They are currently still holding onto their playoff spot by the skin of their teeth; let’s hope they keep it that way. 

Kraken Attempted the Comeback Too Late 

Towards the end of the game, the Kraken were losing 7-2. Despite being down by five goals, Matty Beniers scored 10 minutes into the third period. Brandon Montour scored a power-play goal with three minutes remaining to end the game with a 7-4 score. 

The Kraken were down by a lot, yet they didn’t let this deter them. They still made an attempt at a comeback. Unfortunately, this comeback attempt came too late in the game to make a real difference. 

Kraken Back on Tuesday

The Kraken will try to correct their mistakes in this game on Tuesday, March 10, when they host the Nashville Predators.