Three Takeaways From Kraken's 5-1 Loss To Tampa Bay Lightning

The Seattle Kraken were beaten by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 Saturday. And here are three takeaways from the Kraken's loss:

1. Seattle outshot once again, and Grubauer can't bail them out

In what is becoming a troubling trend, the Kraken were outshot by the opposition, in this case 31-22 by the Bolts Saturday. Seattle did get the first goal of the game, but the Lightning quickly tied it and then pushed ahead to lead 3-1 early in the third period.

The Kraken can't keep expecting their goaltenders to bail them out, and against Tampa Bay, veteran netminder Philipp Grubauer was unable to keep his team in the game, allowing four goals on 30 shots for an .867 save percentage. Seattle needs a more potent offense, or they're going to win up on the losing side of the ledger more often than not.

2. Kraken's offense vanishes, allows Lightning to storm into control with five unanswered goals to give Seattle third loss in past five games

Without a good deal of offense, the Kraken were outclassed and lost their third game in their past five games. Defenseman Brandon Montour scored Seattle's only goal, and only forwards Shane Wright and Eeli Tolvanen produced assists Saturday.

The Kraken's offense remains a work-in-progress, as they have only the 19th-best offense in the league at an average of only 2.97 goals-for per-game. But when they produced nearly two full goals fewer than that average as they did Saturday, there's next-to-no possibility they can pull out a victory.

3. Inconsistent win/loss record a comment on Seattle's lack of consistency

Since their four-game win streak back in mid-November, the Kraken have managed to win two games in a row just once. And in their past five games, Seattle has been unable to string together just two wins in a row. This is not going to help them dig out of their current sixth-place spot in the Pacific Division.

Related: Grubauer Has Great Game, But Let's Be Clear: Daccord Is Still 'The Man' In Net For Kraken

The Kraken sit only three standings points behind Calgary and Vancouver in the Pacific, but Seattle's next game comes against the hot Ottawa Senators, who've won three straight games and five of their past six games. The Kraken have to improve on their 8-7-2 home record this season, because if they don't, they're in danger of sliding down the Pacific standings and missing out on the playoffs for the second consecutive season.