Depths Digest, Nov 24: Finding Swagger
All the highlights from Seattle Kraken morning skate, straight from KCI
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After a day off for Thanksgiving, the Seattle Kraken were back on the ice today for a quick, thirty-minute morning skate— the season waits for nobody! Here’s what went down:
André Burakovsky was a red no-contact jersey participant in morning skate. This should be the first time he’s been on-ice with his teammates since his injury Oct 21. Burakovsky is five weeks into his 6-8 week injury timeline.
“It’s always good to have Burky around,” head coach Dave Hakstol said, “he adds a little bit of life. He’s obviously working through the process and it’s nice to be able to get him back on the ice with the group.” Burakovsky’s return isn’t “imminent,” but Hakstol called this development a “significant” step forward in his rehab.
Burakovsky’s drill participation was limited. He was on-ice the entire time but understandably wasn’t giving (or couldn’t give) full effort.
Chris Driedger spent a majority of the session in the starter’s net but Joey Daccord was off the ice first— the net should Daccord’s tonight against the Vancouver Canucks. Neither goalie has recorded a career win against the Canucks.
Lines and power play units were the same at morning skate as they were against the San Jose Sharks. Which is good news for the offense— Hakstol wants his team to continue the relentlessness with which they attacked against San Jose. “We didn't give another team coming in our building the opportunity to gain momentum, to get going. Once we were able to do that we didn't back off.”
Sounds like the team’s found pride in defending home ice versus the Sharks. That’s been hard to do lately given they’ve been unlucky (98.1 PDO) at home. Hakstol emphasized the win was helpful in finding “swagger,” something Jordan Eberle elaborated on.
“They’re [Vancouver] going to be hungry and you got to understand each game is different, each opponent’s different and hopefully we can take that swagger and that confidence that we have and put it to good use.”
I chatted with Alex Wennberg this morning on his recent play, new line, and his new stick. Keep an eye out for a feature article soon.
Is the luck running out for the Canucks? Which streaking skaters will the Kraken have to work hard to shut down? Find out in my game preview for Davy Jones’ Locker Room.