When Ryan Lindgren was signed as a free agent last July, his steady play all season as a penalty-killer and a solid, consistent defensive defenseman was at the core of the roster addition. Kraken fans should not underestimate his contributions as a defender and being a rock beside high-gear defenseman partner Brandon Montour.
Lindgren also brings a mindset aligned with Lambert’s recent credo of not letting teams climb back into games when Seattle jumps to a lead, especially those of the two- and three-goal variety.
“The message is keep playing the same way,” said Lindgren about not allowing teams to chip away at the Kraken’s leads. “We started out the game well. A couple of games ago, against Nashville, we did let them back into the game. We stopped doing what was working. That’s something we’ve been focusing on when we do get off to a good start and get a lead. We’ve just got to keep that rolling.”
McMann’s Weekend Bounty: Three Goals, Two Assists
The third and fourth lines did the heavy lifting with goals from Ben Meyers, Berkly Catton, Ryan Winterton and Kaapo Kakko to build a 4-1 lead at second intermission. But to the delight of the crowd, trade acquisition Bobby McMann scored his third goal of the weekend on a power play in the final 20 minutes. He now has 22 goals on the year.
McMann picked up his second assist of the weekend on a Jamie Oleksiak goal to make it a 6-2 final. That’s five points on the weekend with his new team. Nice touch by the game-presentation crew with public address announcer Chet Buchanan citing McMann as the final player in the starting lineup with Seattle’s renown mega-decibels raining down on the new guy.
“Exceptional tonight,” said McMann to Kraken Hockey Network’s Piper Shaw in-arena when she asked about playing in front of the Climate Pledge fans for the first time. “You guys all kept us going, right from the first period … Our group plays with a lot of energy, four lines rolling, and the back end moves the puck really well.”
Going Fourth and Third is Charm Too
The Kraken’s fourth-liners were at it again in Sunday’s first period, providing high energy and, better yet, two goals to fuel a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes. Ben Meyers opened the scoring on a deflection, but the goal was a full-linemate experience. After young D-man Ryker Evans made a skilled play to keep the puck in the Florida zone, he moved it to Freddy Gaudreau.