Seattle Enters Break Two Points Out Of Last Wild Card Slot
The Seattle Kraken are angry now, right? Seething. Ready to chew sandpaper. Losing 2-0 to the San Jose Sharks in the final game before a week-plus break has them incensed, right? By the time they return to the ice, they'll be one snarling mass of pent-up rage, right?
Wrong.
Kraken fans are sure feeling that way. They have a right to. The team that shut out their heroes Tuesday at SAP Center was the same one Seattle thrashed 7-1 in Seattle. Letting the cellar-dwelling Sharks hang around until a 3rd period Marc-Edouard Vlasic goal broke a scoreless tie is inexcusable, right?
Fans can afford to indulge such extreme emotions. Players and coaches shouldn't, as Kraken bench boss Dave Hakstol said after last night's game.
"We lost a hockey game. We're disappointed," said Hakstol, half-chuckling at the notion that players would be packing frustration along with suntan lotion for their vacations.
"The fact is, over the last 23 games, we've dug ourselves out of a deep hole. Over the next 32 games we control our own destiny."
Hakstol also defended his team's intensity level. "In terms of effort, we played hard. Guys need to get away, need to take a break. I'd feel differently if we looked past this game, but we didn't."
The Kraken don't play again until Feb. 10 against the Flyers in Philadelphia. A four game road swing will also take them to New Jersey, Long Island and Boston, before returning home to face the Red Wings on Feb. 19.
The coach actually prefers his charges flush the memory of a frustrating offensive evening and two points fumbled in the Bay Area.
"I want our guys to wash this pretty quickly, get a little rest, and come back with a great mindset. When we meet back on February 8 to touch the ice for the first time, it's a sprint to the finish."