Seattle, WA
I don’t know why the Seattle Kraken were good, and because of that I’m glad they’re gone
At this time of year, when the NHL gets down to the brass tacks, it’s best to know why teams are in the conference finals and why you’d want to watch. It should be easily identifiable what these teams do and/or who they have that makes them worthy of the time of the year, and have left the proletariat behind. It’s usually pretty easy to spot.
This year, the Canes are a perennial division winner and one of the better defensive teams in the league, with a highly mobile defensive corps that pushes them up the ice. The Knights are deep and willing to turn games into contests of who can outwork each other which they almost always win. They are also a division winner. The Panthers are only a year removed from a Presidents’ Trophy and saw Sergei Bobrovsky throw a .938 save percentage at the Leafs.
So it’s a good thing, really, that the Seattle Kraken were dismissed in the seventh game of their second-round series with the Dallas Stars. While the Stars are hardly a juggernaut, they at least have a future Rocket Richard Award winner in Jason Robertson, a quickly blossoming young No. 1 center in Roope Hintz, and a future Norris Trophy candidate in Miro Heiskanen (THE REDEEMER).
What do the Kraken have? Who the fuck knows.
Seattle has been an utter mystery
Seattle has been an utter mystery all season. They had a 40-goal scorer in Jared McCann, but we’ve watched McCann cycle through three teams before landing in Seattle to pretty much know he’s a middle-six winger. So they must’ve been a pretty good defensive team? Yeah, in the regular season they were fourth in expected goals against. But in the playoffs, they were pretty butt, giving up 2.76 xGA per game, which was good for 11th out of 16, with the five teams below them all having eaten it in the first round.
So a dynamic offensive team? No, not that either. They were 20th in xGF during the season, and they maintained the same rate in the postseason to rank 13th out of the playoff teams. Special teams? Nope, as both their power play and penalty kill ranked 21st during the season, and their power play during the playoffs made Baby Jesus cry.
And before you even start, no, their goaltending would have to wheel-pose to even be called middling in the playoffs, after being downright bad in the regular season. Basically, the Kraken spent 96 games having an inordinate number of shots go in because either A) they’d unearthed a series of underappreciated and undiscovered snipers in the expansion draft and off the scrapheap and hence are one of the greatest scouting forces of all time or B) hockey was just at its most weird in the Pacific Northwest.
Oh sure, they played “fast” in that they got the puck into the opponent’s zone quickly, though rarely did they manage to string three passes together to do so. Nor were they much interested in doing so. Just get it there and they would buzz around and the bounces would go their way. It nearly worked.
But still, like any second-year team they’re faceless and featureless, other than speed, which pretty much every team is featuring these days (except the Rangers). Roll out their sub-.900 goaltending next year and they’ll miss the playoffs by a distance. The Kraken spent most of this series against Dallas getting pretty well thumped. In four of the seven games they were on the ass end of severe beatings in Corsi and expected goals and were just about even in a further two. They just kept having enough goals go in…because Jake Oettinger went a little funny this series and because the Hockey Gods were huffing paint again. Story wasn’t much different in the first round in Colorado, except they got the coin flip that time.
It was cute and all, a novelty, a quirk, a ghost in the machine. But this is supposed to be a time for realness, and the Kraken got found out just in time. Basically, the Kraken need to come back when their balls drop and we can identify something special about them other than how strange it is that they were here at all.
Blue Jays broadcast notices Aaron Judge looking at…something
This assuredly won’t become an overblown thing in the next day or two…
While Blue Jays broadcasters Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez didn’t say any more about it than it was just something they noticed, they’ll certainly be labeled as accusing Judge of…something. And it’s not exactly that the Yankees have been above reproach in recent history.
Still, the most likely explanation is that hitters don’t like to stare out at the pitcher for too long, fearing that they’ll kind of get glassy-eyed and get a little on their heels. You’ll often see hitters look off during their practice swings to refocus when they do look back at the pitcher.
But it is rare to see a hitter do this right before a pitch is thrown. It could be that Alex Manoah is tipping his pitches and someone in the dugout noticed, which might be one explanation for Manoah playing with matches and kerosine all season (that or his fastball losing some velocity). And maybe Jay Jackson was…too? Well, that’s a stretch.
Interesting, is all.
Follow Sam on Twitter @Felsgate.
The Seahawks were six-point underdogs to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. They trailed most of the game. Yet, in the end, they came out victorious thanks to a few key moments going their way. Here are five turning points in their big win.
10:17 2nd Quarter: Devon Witherspoon deflects a pass from Brody Purdy, Johnathan Hankins intercepts
The Seahawks trailed 7-3 early in the second quarter. The 49ers looked to go on a drive to go up multiple scores. Quarterback Brock Purdy tossed a pass intended for star running back Christian McCaffrey. Seattle’s Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon jumped in the way and batted the pass in the air. That allowed nose tackle Johnathan Hankins time to find the ball in the air and come down with the interception, the first of his 12-year career. That stalled the 49ers drive and set the Seahawks up to get a field goal to cut the deficit to one.
3:25 3rd Quarter: Ken Walker III 1-yard touchdown run
Down 10-6, the Seahawks had a chance to take the lead with a touchdown drive. They mounted an 11-play drive that took six minutes and ate up 70 yards. Facing 2nd and Goal from the one, the Seahawks went to a heavy formation and handed the ball off to Ken Walker III. He bowled into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
3:06 4th Quarter: Christian McCaffrey tackled for 1-yard loss
The 49ers were nursing a 17-13 lead and had the ball, following a big defensive stop on 4th and inches against Seattle’s offense. The 49ers had a chance to seal the game with this drive. There was doubt the Seahawks would even get the ball back. Then, the defense stepped up. Perhaps the biggest play of the drive was tacking Christian McCaffrey for a one-yard loss. Coby Bryant came flying in and tackled the All-Pro running back for a loss. That put the 49ers behind the sticks and eventually led to a punt, giving the Seahawks one more chance.
2:07 4th Quarter: Geno Smith completes pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for first down on 3rd and 5
The Seahawks took advantage of that chance given to them by the defense. However, they faced a big third down early in the drive. Geno Smith stood tall and fired a bullet to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the first down to continue the drive. The second-year receiver caught 10 passes for 110 yards on the day, but none were bigger than this catch.
0:18 4th Quarter: Geno Smith runs for 13-yard, go-ahead touchdown
This was arguably one of the top plays of the entire NFL weekend. On second down, the Seahawks had zero timeouts left. Geno Smith could not afford to be tackled in bounds or the game was likely over. Smith scrambled left and found the corner of the endzone for a touchdown. That score gave Seattle a 20-17 lead with under 15 seconds left. It sealed Seattle’s first win over the 49ers since December 2021 and Geno Smith’s first as the quarterback of the Seahawks.
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Seattle weather: Tracking a stormy Tuesday
FOX 13 Seattle Meteorologist Clare Anderson has your latest western Washington weather forecast!
We saw scattered showers into Monday evening along with chilly temperatures this afternoon. It was a calm November day compared to what we will see by Tuesday evening, as a “bomb cyclone” moves just offshore of Washington. The forecast headlines tonight include strong winds, widespread rain, and heavy mountain snow in the Cascades starting Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday.
With scattered showers this evening and chilly temperatures this afternoon, it was a calm November day compared to what we will see by Tuesday evening.
Showers will continue to taper this evening with overnight lows dropping into the mid to low 30s. Showers could see a few snowflakes mixed in as snow levels drop tonight to around 1500′.
Showers will continue to taper this evening with overnight lows dropping into the mid to low 30s. (FOX 13 Seattle)
It will be a fairly dry start to the day with morning clouds and a few showers. Skies will stay dry around Puget Sound through midday, but wind and rain will start to ramp up along the coast by the afternoon. Highs will stay below average, highs only in the mid to upper 40s.
It will be a fairly dry start to the day with morning clouds and a few showers.
Strong winds will trigger a High Wind Warning and Wind Advisory for Western Washington Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday morning. The strongest winds will be along the coast, Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Cascade Foothills with gusts up to 65 mph possible. The rest of the Puget Sound will be breezy, with gusts around 45-50 mph.
Strong winds will trigger a High Wind Warning and Wind Advisory for Western Washington Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday morning. (FOX 13 Seattle)
Strong winds and heavy mountain snow are expected for the Cascades above 2500 feet by Tuesday evening. A Blizzard Warning will be in effect for the mountain passes and a Winter Storm Warning for Central and Eastern Washington.
Strong winds and heavy mountain snow is expected for the Cascades above 2500 feet by Tuesday evening.
The strongest rain, wind and mountain snow will continue overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning. Showers will continue into Wednesday.
Rain, wind and mountain snow will continue overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning. (FOX 13 Seattle)
Showers and cool weather will continue through the rest of the week into the weekend. Temperatures remain on the cool side with more snow in the Cascades as well.
Showers and cool weather will continue through the rest of the week into the weekend.
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Wind Advisory
from TUE 2:00 PM PST until WED 4:00 AM PST, Western Skagit County, Everett and vicinity, Tacoma Area, Admiralty Inlet Area, Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, Hood Canal Area, Lower Chehalis Valley Area, Bremerton and vicinity, Southwest Interior, Western Whatcom County, Seattle and vicinity
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