A team can’t score if it doesn’t get the puck into the net.
Sounds simple, right?
But it’s something first-year coach Lane Lambert still is trying to get across to the Seattle Kraken.
The Kraken, who will host the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night, return home from a four-game trip on which they scored just eight goals and were outshot by an average of 7.0 attempts per game.
Due to sturdy play by goaltenders Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer, the Kraken went 2-1-1 on stops in Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Long Island.
They lost the finale 1-0 Sunday to the New York Islanders in a shootout. Daccord was forced to make 34 saves while the Isles’ David Rittich faced just 19 shots.
“We didn’t score any goals. We didn’t find a way to capitalize,” Lambert said. “Of course, neither did they. I thought our goalie was really good. I thought their goalie made some good saves as well. But it’s just a common theme right now, shot volume or lack thereof, and I know we passed up too many shots again, so at some point, we’ve got to figure this out.”
Seattle lost 4-2 to the Red Wings in the opener of the trip, then rallied to win its next two games.
“There’s that Detroit game. There are some things we didn’t like, of course, but I think we adapted pretty well after that,” Kraken forward Freddy Gaudreau said. “We showed a lot of character from the previous two games coming back in the third, and (Sunday), again, back to back, everybody stayed in it, everybody stayed focused.
“Everybody wanted it, you could see it. Those are not easy games, but we found a way to stay in the game. We got a point out of this. So it’s a good trip.”
The Stars, meanwhile, are 7-1-1 over their past nine games and are coming off an 8-3 victory Tuesday in Edmonton. Former Kraken Nathan Bastian scored twice, and six teammates posted multi-point performances: Wyatt Johnston (goal, three assists), Jason Robertson (goal, two assists), captain Jamie Benn (goal, assist), Sam Steel (goal, assist), Radek Faksa (two assists) and Tyler Seguin (two assists).
The Stars took a 4-0 lead by the end of the first period, chasing Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner, and were never threatened.
Benn, who missed the first 19 games of the season after suffering a collapsed lung, opened the scoring with his 400th goal of his NHL career. The only other player to reach that mark in franchise history is Hall of Famer Mike Modano (557).
“It kind of all came together (Tuesday),” Benn said. “Obviously, our start was great; that’s how we want to start games on the road, especially against good teams like this.
“I know what they’re all about over there, so having a good start goes a long way.”
Robertson’s tally extended his goal streak to seven games. He has scored 11 over that span.
The Stars played without forward Mikko Rantanen, who was serving a one-game league suspension due to game misconducts for boarding in back-to-back contests.
This will be the second of three meetings between Dallas and Seattle this season. The Stars won 2-1 at home on Nov. 9 as Casey DeSmith made 30 saves, Johnston and Seguin each scored, and Miro Heiskanen had a pair of assists.
