Absences bite Kraken in loss to Penguins as club-record win streak ends

PITTSBURGH – The Kraken’s franchise-record, nine-game win streak buckled under the weight of absences, including their top-line center and top two defensemen as they fell 3-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena.

Illness, as well as potential injuries, played a factor. Coach Dave Hakstol and forward Jaden Schwartz alluded to multiple players not feeling well. Adam Larsson didn’t take a shift after the first period because of illness, Hakstol said.

“We had some guys that were a little bit under the weather,” Hakstol added. “That affected some of the players in the lineup with energy.”

Joey Daccord made 30 saves in his seventh straight start. Matty Beniers, Andre Burakovsky and Vince Dunn all missed the game in Pittsburgh and are day-to-day, according to Hakstol.

The game was moved up several hours to accommodate the postponement of the NFL wild-card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills, and that could suit the Kraken just fine. That gave them roughly 27 hours to recuperate before finishing a back-to-back against the New York Rangers, the second-to-last date of a six-game road trip.

A streak in which the Kraken collected at least one standings point in 13 games – going more than a month without losing in regulation – also ended. They launched themselves back into playoff contention with the resurgence.

“It really showed what our game can look like, how well we can play when we’re executing and sticking to our game plan,” Schwartz said. “Throughout the season you’re going to have some ups and downs. You’ve got to ride that momentum while it’s there.”

It was the second-longest active points streak in the league behind Edmonton’s. The Oilers have won 10 straight and were tied with the Kraken for the second, and last, wild-card spot in the West on Monday. Edmonton has played four fewer games.

Pittsburgh scored twice in the first 31/2 minutes of the second period to stick the Kraken with a two-goal deficit, which the visitors hadn’t experienced since the nine-game win streak began Dec. 20. There would be no comeback for the beleaguered Kraken, who were without their top defensive pairing in Larsson and Dunn for most of the game and suffered for it.

“We looked a little tired at times,” Schwartz said. “We just didn’t have that same jump and energy, weren’t able to make passes and execute and get to the inside enough.”

Larsson left the game after playing just over four minutes, all in the first period. Ryker Evans, filling in for Dunn, played for the first time on this road trip with just about everyone as Larsson’s team-leading 23:43 average ice time had to be reallocated. Dunn is right behind Larsson, averaging 23:11.

“Our D did a pretty good job, the five guys that were in tonight,” Hakstol said. “We didn’t manage the puck well enough up front.”

At least they didn’t get the chance to miss Larsson on the penalty kill or Dunn on the power play, as they didn’t see much of either. Kailer Yamamoto, reentering the lineup with forwards Beniers and Burakovsky out, took a first-period penalty and the Penguins took one in the second. That was it for the first 40 minutes, and nothing came of either.

The Kraken got off to a better start than they did in Columbus. Schwartz had a chance to get them on the board first, feeding Oliver Bjorkstrand on a 2-on-1 seven minutes in, but they couldn’t connect.

The Penguins, fighting for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, aren’t the Blue Jackets, who sit last in the Metropolitan Division.

Kraken defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who spent 10 seasons with the Penguins before departing last summer, was honored Monday with a video tribute. He was also the lone man back on a 2-on-1 after defensive partner Justin Schultz was slow to recover 45 seconds into the second period. Pittsburgh’s Bryan Rust found Drew O’Connor, who was free and clear to blast a shot over Daccord’s glove.

Daccord didn’t like Pittsburgh’s second goal, a connection between longtime Penguins stars and three-time Stanley Cup champions Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby. When Crosby’s shot sailed past him, Daccord immediately got up and tried to catch the official’s eye, gesturing to his stick and presumably arguing that he’d been kept from doing his job.

Daccord nudged Penguins center Noel Acciari a moment before Crosby’s shot, but Acciari was outside the crease. A linesman soon dropped the puck without a review.

Jordan Eberle had the second period’s best chance to bite into the 2-0 Pittsburgh lead, but his shot found iron instead of twine. Otherwise, the Kraken didn’t generate much from dangerous areas.

The third goal was an empty netter from Crosby. Hakstol didn’t like how his team handled Pittsburgh’s pressure, particularly early.

“We didn’t come out of our zone as well as we needed to, and we definitely didn’t enter into their zone,” he said. “We didn’t manage the puck well enough in the first period. That’s where a lot of the opportunities for them came from. They came right off of our tape.”

Daccord couldn’t bail them out this time, and so 3-0 shutouts bookend the 13-game point streak – at home against Minnesota on Dec. 10, and at Pittsburgh on Monday.

At least while their coach was watching, the Kraken were too busy to notice such things.

“I haven’t heard one player talk about (the streak),” Hakstol mused before the game. “Obviously, we’re proud of the stretch that we’ve been able to put together. … You very quickly move on to the next game.”