Kraken's Turnovers and Penalty Kill Sink Them in Calgary

Seattle had beaten Calgary 6-1 in each of the first two meetings this month, so the matchup looked settled on paper. Calgary didn't see it that way. The Flames came in on a four-game home winning streak, playing the last season at the Scotiabank Saddledome with real momentum, and they had just beaten Carolina, Minnesota and Toronto. Getting blown out in their October 1 home opener had left a mark, and they played like a team with something to prove. My read is that the Kraken walked into a trap game and never got out of it.

The first period was fine. Seattle went to the intermission tied 1-1. Then the wheels came off over the final 40 minutes, and coach Lane Lambert didn't soften it afterward.

"I would say probably the worst 40 minutes I've been a part of here since I got here. Losing battles, turning pucks over, mistakes on the wall, allowing power play goals. List goes on and on."

Philipp Grubauer started in goal but was pulled after allowing four goals, and Joey Daccord finished the game. Neither goalie was primarily to blame. Still, neither made the timely save the Kraken needed to stop the bleeding, and the margin of a four-goal deficit made it hard to recover.

Douglas decision scrambles the lines

Lambert had called Curtis Douglas a game-time decision before the puck dropped. Douglas played, but he logged just 4:29 of ice time, the lowest total of his season. The 6-foot-9 forward has now appeared in all three games against Calgary but only four overall this season, so the choice to dress him was a notable one.

Douglas dropped the gloves on his opening shift against Adam Klapka. Klapka landed a right hand and Douglas went down, and Douglas was then assessed an extra two minutes for punching Klapka while he was on the ice. The bout didn't change the game, but it put a team already on its heels into the box, and it set a tone that didn't favour Seattle.

Morgan Frost scored on the ensuing power play, his fourth of the season, and Calgary never looked back early. The bigger question is why the lineup changed at all. Jani Nyman is on the roster, and his absence from the decision was a surprise. The move shuffled the forward group and the Kraken looked disjointed for long stretches.

Freddy Gaudreau slid up to the second line and scored his team-leading seventh goal, which is the bright spot in that picture. The cost was a fourth line that had been playing well and got broken up in the process. When a bottom unit is rolling, I'd rather leave it alone.

Penalty kill can't hold the line

Seattle was disciplined by its own standards, taking only two penalties. The problem was that Calgary scored on both power plays, which left the penalty kill 0-for-2 on the night. Seattle entered ranked 27th in the NHL on the kill, so two more power-play goals against is exactly the kind of result that drags a unit further down.

Frost's opening goal started with Calgary's zone entry. Vince Dunn and Jordan Eberle were both pulled toward the boards chasing the puck, and Matt Coronato slipped a pass to Frost, who skated into open space and beat Grubauer short side. Seattle's shape broke at the first sign of pressure.

Calgary's second power-play goal came with a bit more luck. Matvei Gridin, credited with his fifth of the season, tried to pass through the slot. The puck deflected off Ryker Evans' skate and went in. Seattle had a decent box set, and Coronato was waiting for what probably would have been a tap-in if the pass had gotten through. Instead, a set defensive play turned into a 3-1 Calgary lead.

Coronato had a big night, finishing with four points on one goal and three assists. He's now tied for the Flames' team lead with 14 points, level with Joel Farabee, who had three points Friday. Penalty killing was a problem last season too, when Seattle finished 31st in the league. It's an area that needs work before the Kraken see Calgary again on November 4 in Seattle.

Even-strength mistakes pile up

The four even-strength goals against Seattle had a common thread: each one came after a lost battle or a turnover, and on each one the Kraken had a chance to clear the zone and didn't. Calgary's forecheck was relentless, but the Kraken handed over most of these chances themselves.

Aydar Suniev's goal put Calgary ahead for good in the second period. Adam Larsson's clearing attempt hit a leg, Yegor Sharangovich forced Dunn to cough it up, and Dunn's attempted pass went right onto Frost's stick. Frost moved it to Suniev for a one-timer. The play happened fast, and Calgary deserves credit for pressure. Still, that's a sequence the Kraken have to clean up.

Farabee's goal made it 4-1. Evans tried to ring a clear around the boards, Chandler Stephenson couldn't secure it at the blue line, and Coronato held the zone before finding Farabee alone in the slot. That goal ended Grubauer's night.

The last two even-strength goals followed the same script. Mackie Samoskevich turned the puck over at center ice and Calgary countered. Coronato beat Daccord 39 seconds into the third period. Samoskevich had pulled Seattle within two late in the second, so the Kraken had some life, and Coronato's goal snuffed it out right away. Later, Cale Fleury had good position on a dump-in, but the puck got through him. Gridin collected it and fed Ryan Strome for the final goal.

Gaudreau's postgame assessment was simple. "They were better than us tonight."

It's not how Seattle wanted to close the month, but October still counts as a good one. The Kraken went 8-5-1 and sit third in the Pacific Division. The fix isn't a major overhaul. It's clean puck management in the defensive zone and a penalty kill that can stop a rolling power play. If those two things come back before November 4, this loss looks like a bad night rather than a trend.