Seattle Kraken Season 21/22

[OccamsRazor]

Jared McCann resigns for 5 more years.

 

5 mill AAV. 

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 59

 

Seattle 4 Leafs 6

 

Matthews hat trick powers Maple Leafs to 6-4 win over Kraken

 

 

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By AP

6 hours ago

 

TORONTO -- — Auston Matthews had his third hat trick of the season to raise his NHL-leading goal total to 43 as the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied to beat the Seattle Kraken 6-4 on Tuesday night.

 

Mitch Marner scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period, and William Nylander and John Tavares each added a goal and an assist for Toronto, which got 26 saves from Jack Campbell.

 

T.J. Brodie and Michael Bunting had two assists apiece and Marner, who also had an assist, extended his point streak to eight games.

 

Colin Blackwell had a goal and an assist and Carson Soucy, Alex Wennberg and Jaden Schwartz also scored for Seattle. Philipp Grubauer stopped 25 shots for the expansion Kraken, who fell to 1-9-1 in their last 11 games.

 

Seattle scored twice in the second period to tie the game 3-all before Schwartz tipped his seventh of the season past Campbell at 5:57 of the third. Toronto has allowed four goals or more for the eighth time in 10 games.

 

The Leafs responded at 9:03, when Matthews took a pass from Bunting, who was robbed by Grubauer moments earlier, and scored his second of the game.

 

Toronto went on the power play and Marner delayed at the top of the slot after the ensuing Tavares faceoff win and scored his 22nd goal between Grubauer's pads just 40 seconds later.

 

Matthews finished things off with the sixth hat trick of his career with 41.8 seconds left in regulation, with Grubauer on the bench for an extra attacker.

 

Coming off Monday’s 5-4 road victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and playing their third of four games in six nights, the Maple Leafs opened the scoring at 3:18 of the first when Matthews fired his 41st past Grubauer as Toronto’s top-ranked power play connected for just the second time in 10 games.

The Kraken tied it at 5:21 when Soucy fired his seventh over Campbell off a broken play in front.

 

But the Maple Leafs responded at 9:55, when Tavares scored his 19th off a pass from Brodie and a quick feed from Pierre Engvall.

 

Toronto made it 3-1 on another man advantage at 5:14 of the second when Nylander fired his 22nd through Grubauer’s pads against Seattle’s 28th-ranked penalty kill.

 

The Kraken got back to within one at 9:20 when Wennberg finished a nice give-and-go on a 2-on-1 rush with Marcus Johansson for his seventh of the season.

 

Seattle tied it just 2:29 later when Nylander turned the puck over at the offensive blue line on a Toronto power play. Seattle raced the other way on a 3-on-1, with Blackwell finishing off a Yanni Gourde pass for his eighth.

 

Game notes

Toronto winger Wayne Simmonds was honored before puck drop for playing in the 1,000th regular-season game of his career Saturday.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 60

 

Seattle 3 Sens 4 OT

 

Josh Norris scores in overtime, Senators beat Kraken 4-3

 

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By AP

Updated: 5 hours ago

 

OTTAWA, Ontario -- — Josh Norris scored twice in his 100th career game, including a power-play goal 2:34 into overtime, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3 on Thursday night.

 

It was the first meeting between the Senators and the expansion Kraken. Ottawa visits Seattle on April 18.

 

Norris has 39 career goals to tie Alexei Yashin for the most by an Ottawa player in their first 100 games.

 

“That’s a cool stat,” Norris said. “They’ve put me in great spots since the first day I got here, even when I got called for those three games my first year pro so I’ve had a lot of help along the way and it’s a cool milestone and just want to keep going.”

 

Brady Tkachuk and Parker Kelly also scored for the Senators in the opener of a five-game homestand. Anton Forsberg made 30 saves.

 

Ottawa was coming off a rough 1-4-0 trip.

 

“Obviously that can’t happen,” Tkachuk said. “We dug in and found a way to win. Josh said after the game all that matters is winning, right, so it wasn’t pretty, but we’re just gonna learn from those little things that kind of we strayed away from so we’ll learn and we’ll get better because of it.”

 

Jared McCann, Ryan Donato and Mason Appleton scored for the Kraken. Chris Driedger, originally drafted by Ottawa, stopped 23 shots.

 

“The first two periods are inexcusable,” Donato said. “I think we knew that. The momentum was dead. We needed something. Jared (McCann) had a big goal and once we had that feeling of, ‘We’re back in this,’ I think a lot of guys felt a lot better about the situation.”

 

The Kraken have dropped the first four on a five-game trip. They play Saturday night in Montreal.

 

Trailing 3-0 to start the third, the Kraken roared back to tie the game. Seattle scored twice in a span of 36 seconds and completed the comeback at the 13-minute mark.

 

McCann beat Forsberg from a sharp angle at 9:14, and Donato tipped in Jamie Oleksiak’s point shot with 10:10 remaining in regulation.

 

Appleton tied the game at 13:01 on a wrist shot that slipped past Forsberg.

 

Norris got his 21st goal 8:32 into the first, and the Senators added two more in the second.

 

Tkachuk made it 2-0 when he knocked a puck down in the slot and scored off his backhand. It was his 20th of the season.

 

Kelly made it 3-0 at 7:40. He took advantage of a Kraken giveaway and broke in alone to beat Driedger with a wrist shot.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 61

 

Seattle 4 Habs 3 SO

 

Johansson's SO goal in 7th round leads Kraken past Canadiens

 

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By AP

Updated: 3 hours ago

 

MONTREAL -- — Marcus Johansson scored in the seventh round of the shootout and the Seattle Kraken rebounded from blowing a two-goal lead in the third period to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Saturday night.

 

Johansson also had two assists, and Yanni Gourde, Ryan Donato and Jared McCann had goals in regulation for Seattle. Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves and stopped all seven shots he faced in the shootout.

 

Seattle's Adam Larsson forced overtime when he redirected a pass by Montreal's Nick Suzuki into his own net with 2:12 left in regulation. Suzuki got credit for the goal.

 

“He tried to make a play and everybody saw that, so we were there for him,” McCann said of Larsson. “He’s done a lot of great things for us this year, so we just stuck with them. It was good to get this win for him.”

 

Kraken coach Dave Hakstol was glad to see his team rally for the win despite allowing a costly late goal.

 

“Good play by them to get the puck to the net, but it goes off our stick and the tying goal goes in the back of the net,” Hakstol said. “That gives us every opportunity to shrink from the moment and I didn’t think we did that.”

 

Michael Pezzetta and Alexander Romanov also scored for the Canadiens. Samuel Montembeault made 32 saves.

 

“I think the boys feel pretty good about their game and so do I,” Montreal interim coach Martin St. Louis said. “Sometimes, you don’t know if you’re going to get the goals or if you’re going to get the key saves, but overall we’re in every game and I think the boys see that.”

 

The Kraken took a 1-0 lead in the first period on the penalty kill on another awkward play — this one involving Gourde and Chris Wideman. Montembeault left the puck for his defenseman, but Gourde’s bodycheck made Wideman score into his own net. Gourde was credited with the short-handed goal.

 

With Montreal trailing by two, the Canadiens cut the deficit 1:04 into the third period when Romanov grabbed a loose puck at the point and beat Grubauer with a slap shot.

 

It stayed that way until Larsson's redirection tied it late.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 62

 

Seattle 1 Bolts 4

 

Hedman scores 2, Stamkos 3 assists, Lightning top Kraken 4-1

 

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By AP

Updated: 3 hours ago

 

SEATTLE -- — Victor Hedman scored twice to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-1 victory against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night.

 

Nikita Kucherov and Anthony Cirelli also scored for the Lightning, who won their second straight to finish a six-game road trip — their longest of the season.

Steven Stamkos had three assists in his 900th NHL game.

 

“That was nice to do,” Stamkos said. “I’m just proud I’ve been part of this organization for all 900 of those, and hopefully more to come.”

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 24 shots for his 32nd win, most in the league.

 

Yanni Gourde scored his 14th goal for the Kraken, who have lost five of six and 12 of 14. Gourde, who played six seasons for Tampa Bay before being selected by Seattle in the expansion draft, also took over the Kraken team lead with 36 points.

 

Phillip Grubauer made 35 saves.

 

Gourde gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead 2½ minutes in, scoring a power-play goal from the right circle. It marked the fifth straight game Gourde had at least a point, his longest streak this season.

 

The Lightning tied it with 13:34 left in the first period. On a 2-on-1 rush, Stamkos’ pass found Kucherov in position to hammer home the goal.

 

Tampa Bay went up 2-1 on a power-play goal from Hedman with about 11 minutes to go in the second. Once again, it was set up by Stamkos, who flipped the puck back to the defenseman near the blue line for a one-timer.

 

“He’s been really hot shooting the puck lately,” Stamkos said. “That’s huge.”

 

The Lightning extended their lead 23 seconds into the third. Brayden Point broke free for a breakaway that was stopped by Grubauer. But he slid well away from the crease, leaving an open net. After a scramble in front, Cirelli pushed in the puck.

 

“That was a great opening shift. We talked about not sitting back in the third and trying to command the puck,” Stamkos said. “Couldn’t have drew it up any better. Pointer just absolutely flying up the ice, creating that chance.”

 

Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said Cirelli’s goal was the difference-maker.

 

“Mass chaos in our crease. That’s the one that put some separation there for them,” Hakstol said. “We didn’t really regain a push after that.”

 

Hedman capped the scoring on a power-play goal with 5½ minutes left, his sixth goal in the past six games.

 

“The main thing is getting points, that’s how you get to the playoffs,” Cirelli said. “I thought we did a great job battling these last two games and coming away with two big wins to end the trip.”

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 63

 

Seattle 4 Wings 2

 

Gourde scores 2 in 4-goal 3rd, Kraken rally past Red Wings

 

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By AP

Updated: 2 hours ago

 

SEATTLE -- — Yanni Gourde scored two of Seattle's four goals in the third period, including the winner with 6:47 remaining, and the Kraken rallied past the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 on Saturday night.

 

Jaden Schwartz and defenseman Adam Larsson also scored for the Kraken, who dominated much of the game and finished with a 42-24 shots advantage. Still, they trailed 2-0 entering the third.

 

Joe Veleno and Taro Hirose had the goals for Detroit, which has dropped seven of eight.

 

The expansion Kraken, who have spent most of the season in last place in the Pacific Division, have won two of three.

 

“It’s just one game,” Larsson said. “Obviously, losing has been very tough and I think everybody’s sick of it. This is one game and we have to build on it. This is something that needs to be the standard. It can’t just be a one-night thing. We have to build on this.”

 

After struggling to get the puck past Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic (38 saves) most of the game, Seattle broke through in the third.

 

“He gave us a chance to find our footing,” Detroit forward Sam Gagner said. “He made a couple of incredible saves. When your goaltender is playing like that, you've got to find a way to reward him.”

 

Larsson got the Kraken on the board at 7:10, trimming Detroit’s lead to 2-1 with his career-high fifth goal of the season. Less than three minutes later, Schwartz scored off assists from Vince Dunn and Alex Wennberg to tie it.

 

Gourde scored the go-ahead goal at 13:13, assisted by Haydn Fleury. Gourde then added an empty-netter with 18.7 seconds left to seal the victory. He’s second on the Kraken with 16 goals.

 

“It was a combination of everything,” Larsson said of Seattle’s comeback. “The volume of shooting. Physicality. Structure-wise, I thought we looked good. I thought that was one of our best periods in a while.”

 

Detroit scored first in the second period, shortly after Seattle failed to take advantage of a 5-on-3 power play. Once the Red Wings returned to full strength, Veleno scored at 13:18 off an assist from Dylan Larkin.

 

Three minutes later, Hirose scored on a power play to put Detroit up 2-0. Tyler Bertuzzi and Lucas Raymond were credited with assists.

Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves for the Kraken.

 

“We don’t have any room for error,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “We've got to make sure we show up with our A game every night.”

 

Seattle took the game’s first 13 shots, but Nedeljkovic made a series of acrobatic stops. Detroit didn’t register a shot until Gagner’s attempt at 11:27 of the first period.

 

“We just stayed with it,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “It really wasn’t, for me, a game of extremes. The first period was excellent. The second period, I really liked our first 10 minutes. We made a couple of mistakes. ... We got it going in the third.”

 

Despite a 16-6 shots advantage for the Kraken, the teams ended the first period scoreless.

 

“Ideally, we would’ve found a way to get one or two in the first period,” Hakstol said. “We had a great first period, but that didn’t happen. You have a decision to make after the second period. Do you stick with it and try to find a little extra gas in the tank and push, or do you quietly go away in the last 20 minutes? The guys pushed.”

[OccamsRazor]

Wow the Cupboard is getting loaded!!!

 

 

Stocking up for the winter....

[Math]

They totally screwed up in their explansion draft, so yeah... why not start from scratch, go through the rebuild mode and be a true expansion team.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 64

 

Seattle 4 ARI 2

 

Soucy scores twice for Kraken in 4-2 win over Coyotes

 

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By AP

Updated: 3 hours ago

 

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- — Carson Soucy had two goals and Daniel Sprong scored in his first game with Seattle to lead the Kraken to a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.

 

Soucy scored the first and last goal in a five-goal second period and Morgan Geekie added one in the third as the expansion Kraken won their third game in the last four while beating Arizona for the first time in three meetings.

 

“I'm just trying to make the most of the opportunity,” said Soucy, a defenseman who set his career high with nine goals and took shifts on the power play after captain Mark Giordano was traded Monday.

 

“Losing Gio, trying to make the most of it on the power play. Just trying to contribute and help the team get a win. Obviously it sucks losing guys, but you have to take it and make the most of your opportunity."

 

Soucy's go-ahead goal late in the second period came seven seconds after the Coyotes killed a penalty but before they could get back into defensive position.

 

Nick Schmaltz and Nick Ritchie scored for the Coyotes, who have lost three in a row after winning six of seven in their best stretch of the season.

 

Sprong, acquired from Washington at Monday’s trade deadline, scored his ninth goal of the season. He skated 14 minutes for the Capitals in Dallas on Sunday.

 

“I just felt good to be out there after yesterday’s crazy day,” said Sprong, who joined the Kraken on Monday. “I was a little snake-bit in (Washington). I know I can shoot the puck. I got an opportunity, and making the most of it.”

 

Phillipp Grubauer made 23 saves for the Kraken, who gave up five goals in each of their two losses to Arizona

 

Arizona goalie Karel Vejmelka stopped 35 shots in his first appearance since signing a three-year contract extension worth about $8 million on Monday.

“The group worked hard,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said.

 

After a scoreless first period with few good scoring chances, the teams combined for five goals in the second — three in a 62-second span midway through the period.

 

Schmaltz’s 19th goal on a power play started the flurry at 8:11. Schmaltz took a backhand feed from Clayton Keller and punched it in from the slot. Arizona had the man advantage after Haydn Fleury was penalized for cross-checking Keller behind the Kraken net.

 

Soucy tied it 18 seconds later, when his shot from the deep slot through a screen hit the crossbar and bounced in.

 

“I try to get it there when I see numbers in front,” Soucy said. “Their goalie obviously didn't see it. It was a great job of our forwards getting to the net.”

Ritchie gave Arizona a 2-1 lead at 9:13 when he skated in alone on the right side after a cross-ice pass from Loui Eriksson and beat Grubauer to the glove side.

Sprong’s power-play goal tied it 2-all at 13:39 of the second, when his wrist shot from the top of the right circle got over Vejmelka’s blocker.

 

“You can see it’s a weapon,” Hakstol said of Sprong's shot. “We hadn’t got a whole lot going on the power play in the second, so it was a nice way for him to take some of the pressure off the power play by coming down the wing and finding the far side of the net."

 

Soucy’s second goal came on a low wrist shot from the right circle for a 3-2 Kraken lead.

 

Geekie found an open side at 12:38 of the third period for a 4-2 edge.

 

“I saw a lack of fight,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "I saw a lack of soul a little bit. We have a lot of frustration, for whatever reason. We just have to regroup and push all together. We see a lot of frustration.”

 

Game notes

The Coyotes signed Jack McBain to a two-year, entry-level contract Monday with a salary cap hit of $884,000 after he was acquired in a deadline-day trade with Minnesota. McBain had 33 points in 24 games with Boston College this season. 

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 65

 

Seattle 2 LA 4

 

Jordan Spence, Sean Durzi send LA Kings past Kraken, 4-2

 

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By AP

Updated: 2 hours ago

 

LOS ANGELES -- — Jordan Spence scored his first NHL goal and captain Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist in the Los Angeles Kings’ 4-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.

 

Gabriel Vilardi scored his first goal in five months and Sean Durzi ended a 29-game goal drought for the Kings in their second win over the expansion Kraken this season.

 

Cal Petersen made 23 saves as Los Angeles solidified its hold on second place in the Pacific Division by earning at least a point for the ninth time in 12 games. The Kings have little collective playoff experience outside the four core veterans remaining from their Stanley Cup championship teams, but coach Todd McLellan sees these late-season games as valuable experience in games that count.

 

“It’s called progress," McLellan said. "We’re moving forward, so there is satisfaction in that, but it doesn’t end. We’ve still got to grow and move the needle forward. I kept hearing the term ‘meaningful games' later in the year. …

 

We're (getting) that right now, and it’s a great thing for our team. This is the playoffs for us, and we’ve shown signs of growth during it, and it’s going to have to continue for whatever we have left.”

 

Daniel Sprong scored in his second straight game since joining Seattle, and Philipp Grubauer stopped 23 shots for the Kraken during their debut in downtown Los Angeles. Morgan Geekie tacked on another goal with four seconds to play.

 

“That’s a hell of a team over there,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “They’re a big, heavy team. They’re hard to play against. They don’t allow any inside ice very easily, so you’ve got to work for your possession, and I thought we did that. I thought we worked our butts off for most of this hockey game. I want to go back and look at it, but I felt like we gave up too much off the rush.”

 

With defenseman Drew Doughty still sidelined by an upper-body injury, Spence and Durzi stepped up to provide unexpected offense from the blue line.

 

Spence scored late in the second period of his ninth NHL game when his long shot from the point snaked through a crowd and got past Grubauer without hitting anybody. The crowd gave a standing ovation to Spence, a 21-year-old, Australia-born, Japan-raised Canadian defenseman drafted in the fourth round three years ago.

 

“It feels amazing," Spence said. "Just going into the game, I just wanted to focus on the simple things, trying to do the simple things on the ice in the O-zone and the D-zone. It was good to see that shot go in, and it was obviously an unbelievable feeling and I wouldn’t have done it without my teammates.”

Vilardi opened the scoring in the first with a sharp deflection of a puck from Olli Maatta for his second goal of the season.

 

The 2017 first-round pick had been injured or in the AHL since shortly before Halloween, but he returned to Los Angeles seven games ago to build on his strong play in the minors.

 

“It was certain things in my game back in October that I wasn’t doing very well, and I think specifically it was the defense, and I think I’ve improved on that," Vilardi said. "It was nice to score, for sure. I feel like my defensive game’s improved, but at the same time, I do want to contribute offensively.”

 

Kopitar then finished a rush early in the second period, beating Grubauer after All-Star Adrian Kempe started the break with a long pass to Alex Iafallo. The goal was only Kopitar's second in 15 games, but he has six points in LA's last five games.

 

“They check hard, and there’s not a lot of room,” Geekie said of the Kings. “They’ve got some good veteran players and a good system.”

 

Sprong got Seattle on the board 2:12 later with an impressive, lengthy, one-man rush for a goal, his second in two games. He also scored at Arizona on Tuesday.

 

The Kraken acquired Sprong from the Capitals on Monday in a trade for Marcus Johansson, and the Dutch forward has immediately shown the goal-scoring talent that has never been consistent enough in his previous NHL stops in Pittsburgh, Anaheim and Washington.

 

Durzi added his first goal since Jan. 13 during a 4-on-3 advantage.

 

Doughty missed his ninth straight game for Los Angeles, but defenseman Tobias Bjornfot returned from a five-game absence with a lower-body injury.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 66

 

Seattle 6 LA 1

 

Wennberg's quick goal helps Kraken to 6-1 victory over Kings

•  

By JOE REEDY

AP Sports Writer

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) Alex Wennberg scored 14 seconds into the game, Jared McCann had his team-leading 24th goal of the season and the Seattle Kraken dominated on both ends of the ice in a 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.

Chris Driedger stopped 36 shots for the Kraken, who have four wins in their last six games.

Seattle had 14 of its 18 skaters record a point. Adam Larsson, Victor Rask, Jordan Eberle and Daniel Sprong also scored and Vince Dunn collected two assists.

Arthur Kaliyev scored and Cal Petersen made 32 saves for Los Angeles, which had earned points in four of its last five coming into the game. It was the 1,000th NHL regular-season game for coach Todd McLellan, making him the seventh active coach to accomplish the feat.

The Kings are two points ahead of Edmonton for second place in the Pacific Division. The teams are scheduled to meet Wednesday night.

Wennberg put in a rebound after Petersen made a pad save on a wraparound attempt by Ryan Donato. Wennberg's eighth goal of the season is the quickest in the expansion Kraken's short history, eclipsing Alex Eberle's tally 15 seconds into the Nov. 6 game at Phoenix.

Seattle is the only team in the league this season to have two goals in the game's first 15 seconds.

McCann's score on an odd-man rush extended Seattle's lead to 5-1 and came during a three-goal third. McCann's goal came 29 seconds after Eberle beat Petersen on a breakaway.

To show how bad of a night it was for Los Angeles, the Kraken's final goal was credited to Sprong, but came after it hit the face of Kings' defenseman Jordan Spence and went into the net at 12:13.

Larsson gave the Kraken a 2-1 advantage 8:24 into the first period with a shot through traffic from just above the right faceoff circle. It was the defenseman's sixth goal this season and second in the last four games.

Rask extended the lead to two goals with a snap shot from the right faceoff circle that went into the far side of the net. It was Rask's first goal with the Kraken since he was acquired from Minnesota on March 21.

POWERING UP

Kaliyev's power-play goal 5:23 into the first period tied the game at 1-all and extended Los Angeles' streak in which it has scored with the man advantage to four games. That is the Kings' longest streak since they had a six-game run last season.

Adrian Kempe did a nice job holding on to the puck and faked a shot to get Driedger out of position before passing to Kaliyev, who went top shelf. Kaliyev has 13 goals, which is tied for eighth among rookies.

McLELLAN'S MILESTONE

McLellan is 31st coach in NHL history to reach 1,000 regular-season games behind the bench. Of the seven active coaches, he is the third this season to accomplish it, joining Vancouver's Bruce Boudreau and Vegas' Peter DeBoer

McLellan is in his third season with the Kings. He was with the San Jose Sharks for seven years and the Edmonton Oilers for four. McLellan has a 520-368-112 regular-season mark.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 67

 

Seattle 0 VGK 3

 

Thompson posts shutout, Golden Knights top Kraken 3-0

 

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By AP

Updated: 4 hours ago

 

SEATTLE -- — Shea Theodore scored in the second period just moments after stepping out of the penalty box and goalie Logan Thompson made 23 saves for his first career shutout, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-0 win over the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night.

 

Michael Amadio also scored for Vegas, which is trying to stay in the chase for one of the last Western Conference playoff spots. Jonathan Marchessault added an empty-net goal with 26 seconds left, his team-high 26th goal of the season.

 

"They came out with a little more fire, and Logan made some big saves in the first period, and that allowed us to recognize that this was going to be a hard one,” Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said “It starts with getting some veteran defensemen back, like (Brayden) McNabb and (Alec) Martinez, and all of a sudden, it’s harder to get to our net. Then Logan has come in and has done better every night out, and I thought the guys around him played great.”

 

Seattle’s Chris Driedger had 27 stops.

 

Theodore had just come out of the box after serving two minutes for high sticking early in the second. As he was moving across the ice, Seattle’s Victor Rask turned the puck over to Vegas’ Jonas Rondbjerg, who got it ahead to Theodore, who went in one-on-one against Driedger and lifted the puck over the goalie’s glove into the right side of the net at the 7:38 mark.

 

Theodore’s goal was his ninth of the season.

 

Amodio doubled the lead to 2-0 at 7:03 of the third. On a goalmouth scramble, he reached out with his stick for a rebound as he was falling to the ice. Amodio sent the puck toward the net, and it deflected in off the skate of Kraken defender Adam Larsson.

 

The Kraken thought they were on the board with 2:21 left in the game when Jordan Eberle put the puck in off a rebound. But Vegas challenged, and after a video review the play was ruled offside.

 

The shutout was the third of the season for the Golden Knights.

 

“It’s getting better every day. I feel really confident in the net, and it’s something I want to keep building off of,” said Thompson, who has stepped in for the injured Robin Lehner. “The guys did a really good job today (in front of me), and that made it easy.

 

It’s really exciting. We’re in must-win games, and I’m really thankful for the opportunity. I’m just soaking it all in.”

 

Seattle was blanked for the fourth time, including three times on home ice.

 

“We didn’t generate very much, especially in the second half of the game,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “The second period was the difference in this hockey game. The second period against a good team, we didn’t take care of the puck, and turnovers led to transition offense for them.

 

It also led to a lot of O-zone time for some of their good players. They got inside of us in the second period, the beat us back to the net and got scoring opportunities off of that.”

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 68

 

Seattle 2  VGK 5

 

Jack Eichel nets a pair as Golden Knights sink Kraken 5-2

 

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By AP

4 hours ago

SEATTLE -- — Jack Eichel getting hot and continued solid play in net from Logan Thompson could be the perfect combination for the Vegas Golden Knights in their push for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

 

Eichel scored twice in his first multigoal game since being traded to Vegas, Thompson made 26 saves in winning his fourth straight game, and the Golden Knights beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2 on Friday night.

 

The Golden Knights, the previous NHL expansion team, swept the season series against the newest expansion team. Vegas beat Seattle in the season opener in October and shut out the Kraken 3-0 on Wednesday night.

 

“Every game is competitive in this league. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing,” Eichel said. “They got a lot of good players over there. ... You just got to take care of business every night. And like I said before, we know the position that we’re in, but we can only control so much and just get two points every night.”

 

Eichel scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season in his 22nd game for the Golden Knights. Shea Theodore scored his 10th of the season midway through the second period.

 

Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson added empty-net goals in the final 2 1/2 minutes for Vegas. Marchessault's was his 27th of the season and Karlsson's his 10th.

 

The victory pushed Vegas back into a playoff spot in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Dallas for the second wild-card spot.

 

“It was just a matter of time time with Jack Eichel,” Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. “We sat and looked at some tape on the off day yesterday. He could have had two or three last game, too. So he’s getting great looks, he’s working for good looks, he’s playing a good 200-foot game for us. And now they’re going in.”

 

Evgenii Dadonov added two assists and has seven points for Vegas since the NHL voided the attempted trade by the Golden Knights that would have sent Dadonov to Anaheim at the trade deadline last month.

 

Alex Wennberg pulled Seattle within 3-1 at 10:44 of the third period with his ninth goal of the season off a great pass from Jared McCann. Kole Lind scored his first career NHL goal with 1:38 left following Marchessault's empty-net goal.

 

McCann also found himself in a fight in the second period, just the sixth of his career.

 

“Frustration is the easiest way to put it. Things haven't really been going our way this year with bounces or anything like that,” McCann said. “I just feel like it kind of boiled over tonight. Obviously I don't do that very often.”

 

Making his eighth straight start, Thompson was terrific when called upon, but great scoring chances were rare for the Kraken. Karson Kuhlman had two excellent chances for Seattle, missing the net open in front of the net in the first period and hitting the crossbar in the second period.

 

Thompson has started eight straight games for the Golden Knights and is 6-2 during that span.

 

"I’m kind of like a broken record. I just keep getting confident every day," Thompson said. “Like I said, Pete’s letting me run with it. And I’m just having a lot of fun and guys are playing really well.”

 

Eichel’s first came at 10:28 of the first after a bad defensive rotation allowed Alec Martinez to skate in and feed Eichel in front of net.

 

Just seconds after Kuhlman hit the crossbar in the second, Eichel scored his second of the game, finding himself alone in front of the net off a pass from Dadonov.

 

Later in the second, Theodore was left unmarked racing down the center of the ice and beat Grubauer on the blocker side.

 

Eichel’s last multigoal game came more than two years ago while still with Buffalo in February 2020 against Pittsburgh. Eichel has four goals in his past four.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Brewin Flames

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 69

 

Seattle 4 Stars 1

 

 

Kraken deal blow to Stars' playoff push with 4-1 victory

•  

By TIM BOOTH

AP Sports Writer

 

SEATTLE (AP) The final month of their first NHL season will see the Seattle Kraken get plenty of chances against teams fighting for positioning or playoff spots.

The Kraken are hoping to see more performances like what they got on Sunday night.

Jared McCann scored a short-handed goal in the first period, Ryan Donato converted on a breakaway early in the third period, and the Kraken beat the Dallas Stars 4-1.

Seattle denied the Stars a chance to leap into the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

"I've been impressed by the work ethic of our team, how together that we've been able to play with a lot of the changes and some of the individuals that have stepped forward and are proving themselves and doing good things night after night," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "So we want to continue that. It's a busy month. We got a long month in front of us. But let's try to have some fun."

McCann's early goal was his 25th of the season and Donato added a beautiful finish five minutes into the third period to give the Kraken a cushion. It was Donato's 14th of the season, tying his career-high.

Yanni Gourde added a breakaway goal with 2:13 left and Karson Kuhlman scored an empty-netter in the final minute as Seattle snapped a two-game losing streak. Chris Driedger was terrific in net and nearly posted his first shutout of the season, finishing with 29 saves - including several sprawling stops early in the third period.

"I think were a more competent hockey team. Things have been going our way a little bit more lately," Driedger said. "We've been playing just better hockey and competing, no matter what the score is. I really liked our effort tonight."

John Klingberg scored with 5:35 remaining on a shot through traffic to pull the Stars within 2-1. It was Klingberg's fifth goal of the season. Jake Oettinger had 25 saves while losing for the second time in his last five games as Dallas missed a chance to jump past Vegas and Nashville.

While Seattle is nowhere near the playoffs, the expansion squad will have an influence on how the playoff picture plays out over the final few weeks of the regular season. Seattle has nine games remaining against teams currently top three in their division or fighting for a wild-card spot.

Vegas picked up four crucial points by sweeping two games from the Kraken earlier this week. The Stars could not capitalize in the same way.

Dallas had won five straight on the road and was looking to sweep a four-game road trip after winning a pair in Anaheim and beating San Jose on Saturday night. But the Stars looked like a team playing a challenging back-to-back and struggled to create good scoring chances against the fresher Kraken.

"This one stings a little bit because you come in 3-0 you fully expect to go out 4-0," Dallas' Joe Pavelski said. "Six out of eight points, throughout a season you're thinking that's a pretty good trip. But in this situation you'd like to be a little greedy or a little selfish and wanted that fourth one."

McCann gave Seattle the early advantage while on the penalty kill with the eighth short-handed goal of the season for the Kraken. McCann and Alex Wennberg caught Dallas in a change late in the Stars' power play and scored on the odd-man rush.

The Kraken also had two breakaway chances saved by Oettinger while Dallas was on the power play in the second period. Oettinger also received help from the crossbar earlier in the second when Gourde's shot deflected off the goalie and off the crossbar.

Donato's breakaway goal came off a perfect stretch pass from Carson Soucy, who also assisted on McCann's goal. The goal came moments after an excellent two-save sequence by Driedger, sliding across to deny Miro Heiskanen on the second attempt.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 70

 

Seattle 1 Blues 4

 

Husso makes 28 saves to lead Blues past Kraken 4-1

 

---

By AP

Updated: 6 hours ago

 

ST. LOUIS -- — Colton Parayko wore his badge of honor with pride.

 

The St. Louis defenseman took a high stick to the upper lip in the first period of the Blues' 4-1 win over Seattle on Wednesday night. The wound led to a four-minute power play that kick-started the Blues to their third straight victory.

 

“A few stiches and away we go,” Parayko said.

 

Ville Husso made 28 saves, and Robert Thomas, Justin Faulk, Jordan Kyrou and Ryan O'Reilly each scored to help the Blues improve to 15-3-3 against the Pacific Division.

 

St. Louis has recorded a point in each of its last six games and 11 of its last 14.

 

Husso, who has supplanted Jordan Binnington as the Blues’ top netminder, stopped the first 17 shots to record his third win over the Kraken this season. Husso, who improved 13-2-1 at home, has stopped 86 of 88 shots in those wins.

 

Jordan Eberle scored for Seattle, which has lost three of four. Chris Driedger made 32 saves.

 

Parayko received a high stick from Jared McCann that led to the lengthy man advantage. It also led to a pair of stitches between the first and second periods.

 

Thomas converted with the man advantage at 8:38 of the opening period to send the Blues off and running.

 

Thomas continue a torrid scoring streak with his 16th goal of the season off a nifty cross-ice pass from Ivan Barbashev. He has at least a point in a career-best seven straight games with four goals and eight assists during the run.

 

“He's looking to shoot more than he ever has,” St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. “He's scoring, he should continue to shoot.”

 

Faulk scored his 10th goal at 7:56 of the second period to become the first St. Louis defenseman to hit the double-digit mark this season. He converted off a feed from Brayden Schenn, who recorded two assists.

 

Eberle got the Kraken within a goal by pouncing on rebound in front of the net just 119 seconds later.

 

Kyrou scored for the first time in 12 games early in the third period to push the lead to 3-1 with his 23rd goal.

 

“It gets kind of tough sometimes when you're going through those stretches,” Kyrou said. “It's a nice load of relief when you finally get one.”

O'Reilly sealed the victory for St. Louis by scoring into an empty net with 1:15 remaining.

 

The Blues are 5-0-1 in their last six and building momentum for the post-season.

 

 

“Every game from this point on, you've got to be in playoff mode,” Kyrou said.

Seattle was coming off a 4-1 win over Dallas on Sunday.

 

“This was one of those efforts that you crumple up and throw away," Driedger said.

 

SPEEDSTER RETURNS

 

Former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Vince Coleman was at the game and received a standing ovation when he was shown on the video board during the second period. Coleman spent six of his 13 major league seasons in St. Louis. He stole 326 bases over a three-year period from 1985-87.

 

NO REUNION

 

Seattle C Jaden Schwartz missed his sixth successive game with an upper body injury. Schwartz played 560 games with the Blues and was a member of the Stanley Cup-winning squad in 2018-19.

 

IRON MAN

 

Seattle D Adam Larsson is the only player on the Kraken roster to appear in all 70 games this season.

 

SPREADING THE WEALTH

 

The Blues have a league-best seven players with 20 or goals or more this season. O’Reilly (17 goals) and Thomas (16) are closing in on the mark.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 71

 

Seattle 2 Hawks 0

 

Grubauer, Kraken blank sinking Blackhawks 2-0

•  

By MATT CARLSON

Associated Press

 

CHICAGO (AP) Philipp Grubauer made 29 saves for Seattle's second shutout, and the expansion Kraken blanked the sliding Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 on Thursday night.

Alex Wennberg scored his 10th goal in the second period and Jordan Eberle added his 18th late in the third to seal it.

Grubauer was only lightly tested by the Blackhawks, who dropped their sixth straight game (0-4-2) and occasionally were booed by their home crowd. Grubauer, who posted his 20th career shutout, also was in net for the Kraken's first shutout on Feb. 2 against the Islanders in New York.

"That was a really good team effort by us, protecting everything and blocking shots," he said.

Grubauer stopped a prime chance by Patrick Kane in the opening minutes, then the Kraken went on to control play and outshoot Chicago 17-3 in the first period.

"They had a really good chance on the first shot, then nothing for 12 minutes," Grubauer said.

At the end of the second, the Kraken allowed only one shot during a Blackhawks power play that lasted 3:56 and included a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:56.

"Grubie was good tonight," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "The penalty kill was good tonight. That's the difference in the hockey game.

"Grubie didn't have to make a ton of saves on the kill, but he had some good saves 5-on-5. He looked really confident."

Chicago goalie Kevin Lankinen stopped 29 shots.

Both the Kraken and rebuilding Blackhawks have been eliminated from playoff contention. Chicago has missed the postseason in four of the past five seasons after qualifying for nine straight and winning three Stanley Cups during that stretch.

"Even though we're out of the playoffs, we want to win games," said Alex DeBrincat, the leading goal scorer for Chicago. "It sucks losing. It's no fun.

"We've got to find a way to score some goals and play a full 60."

The Blackhawks dominated the first few minutes, but then Seattle took over in a scoreless first period.

Wennberg's flashy goal opened the scoring 47 seconds into the second.

Wennberg made a nifty move to dance past flatfooted Chicago defenseman Jake McCabe in the slot. He skated to the net and deked Lankinen to the ice before tucking in a low shot.

"I was going to maybe shoot and I changed my mind and it turned into like a breakaway," Wennberg said.

Grubauer made a point-blank stop on rookie Lukas Reichel with five minutes left in the second to thwart a 2-on-1 Chicago break.

The Blackhawks were booed by their home crowd as they sputtered on a 5-on-3 power play over a 1:56 span, then a two-minute 5-on-4 advantage, to close out the second.

The lengthy power play was set up by an interference minor on Ryan Donato and a high-sticking double-minor to Carson Soucy.

Kane's shot hit the post and Seth Jones' attempt clanked off the crossbar during a Blackhawks power play late in the third.

Grubauer was sharp on a couple of close-in Chicago chances in the final minutes.

Eberle made it 2-0 on a shot from the left circle with 1:39 left.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 72

 

Seattle 1 Flames 4

 

Noah Hanifin sets up Flames in 4-1 win over Kraken

•  

By CHRIS TALBOTT

Associated Press

 

SEATTLE (AP) Noah Hanifin had four assists and the Calgary Flames beat the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory.

Blake Coleman, Trevor Lewis and Michael Stone scored off primary assists from Hanifin; he also had a secondary assist on a goal from Tyler Toffoli.

The teams will conclude the home-and-home series Tuesday night in Calgary.

Toffoli added a short-handed, empty-net goal to cap the scoring, and Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves. Karson Kuhlman scored for Seattle, and Philipp Grubauer stopped 25 shots.

Coleman opened the scoring 3:55 into the first period, deflecting Hanifin's shot from the blue line past the screened Grubauer. Kuhlman tied it 1:05 later, one-timing Morgan Geekie's pass from behind the net over Markstrom's stick.

Hanifin made a deep run late in the first and found Trevor Lewis camped out in the crease with a quick pass that Lewis buried with 16.5 seconds left in the period for a 2-1 lead.

Stone made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 8:39 of the second period. Hanifin hit Stone with a cross-ice pass that he buried with a one-timer from the left faceoff circle.

Calgary iced the game late in the second by killing three Seattle power plays, including 54 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage.

Seattle has lost four of its last six.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 73

 

Seattle 3 Flames 5

 

Tkachuk hat trick powers Flames past Kraken 5-3

•  

 

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) Matthew Tkachuk scored three goals for a career-best 37 this season, and the Calgary Flames rallied to beat the Seattle Kraken 5-3 on Tuesday night.

Noah Hanifin had a goal and an assist, and Andrew Mangiapane also scored for Calgary (45-19-9), which had four unanswered goals in the third period to earn its fifth straight win.

Johnny Gaudreau had two assists and reached a career high with 101 points. Dan Vladar (11-5-1) started the third period in goal and stopped all seven shots he faced in relief of Jacob Markstrom to pick up the win. His best stop was a blocker save on Karson Kuhlman on a short-handed breakaway. Markstrom stopped 12 of 15 shots.

Ryan Donato scored his career-best 15th goal and Victor Rask and Adam Larsson added scores for Seattle (23-44-6), which was swept in the four-game season series. Chris Driedger (7-12-1) had 26 stops for the Kraken.

Down 3-1 after two periods, the Flames scored twice in the opening six minutes of the third to pull even.

On a 4-on-3 power play, Tkachuk's attempted pass across the top of the crease hit Larsson and came right back and he swatted in his second goal of the game.

Gaudreau hit the 100-point mark for the first time in his career with the primary assist. His career-best had been 99 points in 2018-19. He's the seventh player in franchise history to get 100 points and first since Theoren Fleury in 1992-93.

Tkachuk turned to Gaudreau and gave him a big hug after the milestone point as the Saddledome crowd roared. His parents, Guy and Jane, who just arrived in Calgary for the first time since before the pandemic, hugged and celebrated with family members in the crowd.

Hanifin ripped a slap shot into the top corner on a power play at 14:10 of the third for the game-winner. He has seven points (one goal, six assists) in the last three games.

Tkachuk capped off his game with an empty-net goal in the final minute.

Tied 1-1 after 20 minutes, the Kraken scored the only two goals of the second period to surge in front 3-1.

Seattle took its second lead of the night when Rask one-timed a setup from Kole Lind from in front.

The Kraken took a two-goal lead late in the period when Larsson's low shot squeaked through Markstrom's pads.

Seattle opened the scoring at 14:13 of the first period on a perfect set-up from rookie Matty Beniers, making his NHL debut.

Beniers got the puck at the sideboards and zipped a pass across the slot that was one-timed past Markstrom by Donato.

Calgary tied it less than three minutes later when Noah Hanifin's point shot was deflected out of mid-air by Tkachuk.

Beniers, a Hobey Baker finalist and second-overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft, signed with Seattle on Monday, shortly after Michigan lost to Denver on Thursday in the semifinal of the NCAA Frozen Four. In 61 games over two seasons with the Wolverines, he had 67 points (30 goals, 37 assists).

The 19-year-old's' night began with the customary rookie solo lap before the rest of the Kraken took the ice for warm-up. He then spent the night centering the club's top line with Donato and Jordan Eberle.

Edited April 13, 2022 by Brewin Flames

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 74

 

Kraken 4 Devils 3 SO

 

Donato lifts Kraken past Devils 4-3 in shootout

 

---

By AP

Updated: 2 hours ago

 

SEATTLE -- — Ryan Donato scored in the shootout for Seattle and New Jersey missed all three of its attempts, with two saved by Phillip Grubauer, as the Kraken beat the Devils 4-3 on Saturday night.

 

Rookie Matty Beniers scored his first NHL goal, which gave Seattle a 3-2 lead at 16:57 of the second period. Will Borgen and Carson Soucy also scored for the Kraken, who snapped a two-game skid.

 

“I felt Matty played a real solid hockey game, he and his linemates," said Kraken coach Dave Hakstol, who had Beniers on the ice to start the game, again to start overtime, and then had him take the second shootout attempt.

 

“He made some plays at critical times," he added, "which you’re looking for.”

 

Jesper Bratt, Jesper Boqvist and Damon Severson scored for New Jersey, which lost its second in a row after winning the first two games of a five-game Western Conference road trip.

 

The Kraken went first in the shootout, with Donato getting Nico Daws to move to his right, and Donato then went around Daws’ left and tucked it into the net.

 

Grubauer then saved Tomas Tartar’s shot. After Beniers hit his try off the left post, Grubauer stopped Bratt’s shot. Daws saved Daniel Sprong’s try, leaving the Devils with one more chance to tie it. But Yegor Sharangovich sent his shot off the right post — ending the game.

 

Beniers, the No. 2 overall choice in last year’s draft out of Michigan, made his NHL debut Tuesday at Calgary. He recorded an assist in a 5-3 loss.

 

His goal Saturday came on a power play and gave the Kraken a 3-2 lead at the 16:57 mark of the second period. Defenseman Vince Dunn, playing on the left wing side, ripped a shot from the blue line that slammed off the inside of the post.

 

The puck dribbled through the blue paint toward the right side, and Beniers rushed in to sweep it into the net past Daws.

 

“Someone had a nice tip, and I’m just crashing the net and it popped out to me,” Beniers said. “It was kind of a lucky goal for me — you don’t get many of those that pop out and are just sitting there in the crease and you just pop it in."

 

Added Hakstol: “The creativity is there, and as he gets more confidence, we’ll see more of that.”

 

Making his home debut, Beniers said: “It was a lot of fun. Hopefully, we’ll put one in the back of the net next time before we get to a shootout. But we got the win, and that’s all that matters.”

 

Through regulation and overtime, Grubauer and Daws each made 23 saves.

 

Severson had tied it at 3 at 4:55 of the third, lifting a shot from the inside edge of the right circle over Grubauer for his 11th.

 

The Devils built a 2-1 lead in the first period on Bratt’s 25th goal of the season and Boqvist’s eighth — sandwiched around Borgen’s goal that tied it at 1.

New Jersey went 0 for 3 on the power play Saturday. The Devils are 0 for 24 in their last nine games and 1 for 35 in their last 10 road games.

 

 

“Our power play wasn’t good enough," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "We could have generated some momentum, we could have generated some good energy, but we didn’t. We’ve had some power plays that have been good, where we should have scored.

 

"We had some looks that we didn’t take advantage of. We could have taken a two-goal lead, and that was a letdown for us. That had the biggest impact on the game.”

 

Game notes

Beniers’ power-play goal ended an 0-for-16 Kraken drought with the extra man that was in its ninth game Saturday. 

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 75

 

Seattle 4 Sens 2

 

Kraken beat Senators 4-2 for second straight victory

 

---

By AP

Updated: 4 hours ago

SEATTLE -- — Matty Beniers scored in his second straight game to become the third NHL rookie this season to record a point in his first three contests and the Seattle Kraken beat the Ottawa Senators 4-2 on Monday night.

 

Beniers, the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft out of Michigan, had an assist in his NHL debut last Tuesday in a 5-3 loss at Calgary. He scored his first goal on Saturday in the Kraken’s 4-3 shootout win over New Jersey.

 

Daniel Sprong, Victor Rask, and Jordan McCann also scored for Seattle. McCann’s empty-netter with 1:11 left sealed Seattle’s second straight victory.

Brady Tkachuk and Nick Holden scored for Ottawa. The goals came two minutes apart early in the second period.

 

Beniers’ goal at 9:52 of the second tied the score at 2-all. Adam Larsson took a shot from the right point, and Beniers, playing in the high slot, stretched out his stick and got just enough of the puck to redirect it into the left side of the net.

 

Beniers joined rookies Sean Durzi of Los Angeles and William Eklund of San Jose as players to log a point in their first three games.

 

“We made a couple mistakes with the puck early in the second period, and that leads to opportunities in a hurry when you give them those types of chances,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “That’s what happened to give them momentum. We did a good job pushing back on it, and Beniers’ goal was an important goal. It made us feel good again and got us going in the right direction.”

 

Sprong gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead near the midpoint of a four-minute power play in the first period when Ottawa’s Parker Kelly was in the box serving a double-minor for roughing.

 

Sprong’s shot from the left circle went past Senators goalie Anton Forsberg’s glove and into the right side at the 4:36 mark. That was his 12th of the year and fourth for Seattle since being acquired from the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline.

 

“When you get four minutes, you can create a lot of momentum, and we did that,” Sprong said. “We haven’t gotten many power-play goals the last little while (having gone 0 for 16 until Beniers scored one against New Jersey last Saturday). We got a four-minute power play early in the game and we wanted to get off to a good start there.”

 

Tkachuk tied it 1-1 at 1:12 of the second with his team-leading 28th of the year. His hard shot from the left point was stopped by Kraken goalie Chris Driedger. But Driedger wasn’t able to grab the loose puck, and it slid under him and into the net.

 

Holden gave Ottawa a 2-1 lead at the 3:15 mark when he took a cross-ice pass from Nikita Zaitsev and drilled a slap shot from the left circle high into the right side for his fifth.

 

After Beniers’ equalizer, Rask put Seattle back in front 3-2 late in the second with a slap shot from the middle of the left circle at 16:45.

Ottawa managed 14 shots, and Driedger saved 12. Forsberg had 25 saves for the Senators.

 

“We had pretty good puck pressure everywhere,” Hakstol said. “It seemed like we were a step quicker than they were most of the night. When you’re playing without the puck, that’s important, and with the puck, it’s even more important.”

 

Ottawa coach D.J. Smith was not pleased with any elements of his team’s game.

 

“All the things we’ve done of late to have success, we didn’t do today,” Smith said. “Off the rush, turnovers, staying on pucks, just a lot of bad penalties — it just wasn’t a very good game. Sometimes you take penalties, but just bad ones, that allowed us to not have any rhythm. Offensively, we had very little zone time.”

Edited April 19, 2022 by Brewin Flames

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 76

 

Seattle 3 AVS 2

 

Kraken hold on to beat Avalanche 3-2

 

---

By AP

Updated: 4 hours ago

 

SEATTLE -- — Kole Lind, Jordan Eberle and Yanni Gourde all scored in the first period and the Seattle Kraken held on to beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 Wednesday night.

 

Philipp Grubauer had 25 saves as Seattle won its third straight. Matty Beniers had an assist to become the first rookie this season to begin his NHL career with a point in each of his first four games.

 

"We got off to the start that we needed,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “To be able to play with a lead against Colorado is important and we were able to do that. Little pieces of the game, critical times of the game, different guys stepped up and did a good job and that’s what collectively leads to a good win.”

 

Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen scored for the Avalanche, and Pavel Francouz finished with 26 saves. Colorado, assured of having the top seed in the Western Conference, has lost two straight after winning nine in a row.

 

The Avalanche remained tied with Florida with 116 points for the Presidents’ Trophy for the league’s best record.

 

“We weren’t working hard enough,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We weren’t ready to play at the start of the game. The Kraken have been playing some good hockey lately and I thought they played hard from start to finish.”

 

Lind gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead on a backhand shot 1:12 into the game for his second goal of the season.

 

Beniers assisted on Eberle’s goal at 5:23 that made it 2-0. It was Eberle’s 19th.

 

“The first 10 minutes, they scored a quick few goals,” Colorado’s Nazem Kadri said. “That kind of set us back after that. I think we settled in and controlled the game a little more, but just a slow start.

 

The Kraken made it 3-0 when Jared McCann’s shot from the right point went off the skate of Colorado defenseman Bowen Byram and Gourde in front and in with 5:16 remaining in the opening period. It was Gourde’s 18th.

 

“Honestly, any team you go up on 3-0, it’s a bonus,” Eberle said. “At the same time, against these guys, you understand they have the firepower to come back from that. I thought we did a good job limiting their chances.”

 

Makar got the Avalanche on the scoreboard with his 27th with 2:23 to go in the first, and Lehkonen got his 17th to make it 3-2 with 3:40 left in the third.

“You have to have a trust through every layer of what you’re doing,”

 

Hakstol said. “We’re seeing a lot of that right now. Guys are doing a good job together. That’s simply the players knowing how they want to do it and going out and playing well together.”

 

STRONG START

 

Seattle selected Beniers out of Michigan with the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft. He’s the first rookie to debut with an expansion team in its inaugural season and record a point in each of his first four games since Bernie Johnston (1979-80). The longest stretch is six games by Wayne Gretzky (1979-80).

 

Beniers also had an assist in his NHL debut, a loss at Calgary, last Tuesday. He then scored a goal in back-to-back games against New Jersey and Ottawa.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 77

 

Seattle 3 Wild 6

 

Kaprizov, Fiala set franchise bests, Wild beat Kraken 6-3

 

---

By AP

6 hours ago

 

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- — Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and three assists to become the first player in Minnesota franchise history with at least 100 points in a season, and the Wild established four franchise records and tied another in beating Seattle 6-3 Friday night.

 

Joel Eriksson Ek had two goals and an assist, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman and Nicolas Deslauriers also scored, and Kevin Fiala had a team-record five assists for Minnesota, which also established all-time bests with its 50th win and 107 points.

 

“There were a lot of different things that happened tonight as far as individual milestones and all that kind of stuff. But our group doesn’t really care about that,” said Wild coach Dean Evason.

 

“Kirill and Kevin were more excited when D-Lo scored than anything, right? That shows you the group is really tight and playing for the right reasons.”

 

Marc-Andre Fleury overcame an early gaffe and had 25 saves to improve to 7-1-0 since being acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline.

 

Daniel Sprong and Yanni Gourde scored early for Seattle, which saw its season-high three game-winning streak end. Philipp Grubauer finished with 29 saves.

 

Matty Beniers also scored for the Kraken to become the first rookie to begin his NHL career with points in five consecutive games since New Jersey’s Ty Smith Jan. 14-24, 2021.

 

Tying his career-high with four points, Kaprizov has 45 goals and 56 assists for the Wild, winners of four straight and 7-0-2 in their past nine games. Minnesota is 16-1-3 in its past 20 outings, outscoring opponents 77-48 while scoring at least three goals in 18 of those games.

 

“For me, obviously it’s a huge accomplishment … but at the end of the day, we need to focus, we have playoffs coming up and it’s about getting better every single game and continuing this momentum,” Kaprizov said through an interpreter.

 

The Wild are 12-0-1 in the past 13 home games, tying a team record for consecutive points. It went 10-0-3 from Dec. 27, 2017, to Feb. 13, 2018.

 

Minnesota, which holds a two-point advantage over St. Louis for second place in the Central Division, is 29-6-2 at Xcel Energy Center. The teams are locked into a first-round playoff matchup.

 

Down 2-1 after one period, Fiala attracted three defenders before feeding Eriksson Ek for his second goal of the game early in the second.

Minnesota then scored four times in a 7:37 stretch.

 

Kaprizov redirected Fiala’s shot past Grubauer, and Hartman scored short side to make it 4-2. Fiala and Kaprizov got assists on Zuccarello’s goal before Deslauriers scored on his own rebound.

 

Kaprizov and Zuccarello goals came on the power play, as did Eriksson Ek’s first goal. The Wild tied a season-high with three man-advantage goals.

 

“The second period they were a team that was playing for a playoff position and seeding, and they played for real. We played 20 minutes of shinny hockey. That’s the bottom line,” said Seattle coach Dave Hakstol, who was most displeased with bad turnovers.

 

“I think a lot of their offense was self-inflicted. We kind of gave it to them,” Beniers said.

 

Fiala is on a four-game multi-point streak and has nine goals and 12 assists in a nine-game scoring stretch.

 

“If you’re a player and you think about the points stuff, the points are not coming,” Fiala said. “I just come here have fun with the guys try to play the game like in present you know, instinct and, and everything settles.”

 

Matt Boldy had an assist to extend his official career-high point streak to eight games, surpassing Marian Gaborik’s rookie record of seven. Boldy has points in his last 10 games; however, he missed four games with an injury after the first two.

 

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 78

 

Seattle 2 Stars 3

 

Hintz scores 2 for playoff-contending Stars in 3-2 win

 

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By AP

Updated: 4 hours ago

 

DALLAS -- — The playoff-contending Dallas Stars overcame a miserable travel day after a winless three-game trip in Canada and a two-goal deficit on home ice to get a much-needed victory Saturday night.

 

After the Stars had an early goal wiped out because of goalie interference, Roope Hintz scored two goals in a span of about two minutes to get Dallas even in the second, and Vladislav Namestnikov had the eventual game-winner in a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken.

 

“Great resilience. Listen, we were running on fumes there at the end there,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said. “Our guys, they dug deep ... and found the will to win. That was the difference.”

 

With three games left in the regular season, all at home, the Stars have 93 points and are tied with Nashville for the Western Conference’s two wild-card spots.

 

The Predators, who lost 6-2 Saturday to Tampa Bay, have four games left. Vegas has 89 points with four games remaining. The Golden Knights are home Sunday against San Jose before playing in Dallas on Tuesday night.

 

“It was a tough road trip for us," center Joe Pavelski said. "Getting back home felt nice.”

 

The Stars left their Calgary hotel early Friday morning and didn’t get home until well after midnight.

 

Their initial charter plane was going full-throttle toward takeoff when it had to slam on the brakes because of smoke in the cockpit. The team had to wait more than six hours for another plane to take them back to Texas and had to go through customs a second time.

 

With just over 13 minutes left in the second period, Hintz was on his rear in the crease when he stuck out his stick to knock in the puck to get Dallas within 2-1. Then, as the Stars were on the power play, Hintz was charging toward the net when he got a pass from Jason Robertson and had nice puck control to get around defenseman Adam Larsson for the tying goal.

 

Hintz has five goals in the last three games and 37 overall. Robertson assisted on both of Hintz's scores and has 37 assists to go with his team-high 38 goals.

 

Namestnikov, who wasn't on the trip to Canada as part of the five games he missed with a lower-body injury, got his 15th goal on a pass from behind the net from Denis Gurianov.

 

“You never want to be out, and when you come back, you want to make an impact,” Namestnikov said. “The boys battled hard today, and that was a gutsy, gutsy win there.”

 

Jake Oettinger stopped 30 of 32 shots, and the Stars goaltender also got a secondary assist on the tying goal with his pass to Robertson.

 

Chris Driedger had 28 saves for the expansion Kraken, which have 26 wins and four games left in their first season.

 

“We’ve been playing some pretty decent hockey lately, if you cross out the last couple second periods,” Driedger said. “Our group's working towards some real positive things.”

 

Seattle took a 1-0 lead on Riley Sheahan’s goal, which came only seconds after the Kraken’s power play ended. Sheahan was between Oettinger and a defender when he reached around the goalie to knock in a blocked puck.

 

Yanni Gourde’s 100th career goal made it 2-0, when he held up his stick to deflect an in-air puck into the net.

 

“Overall, it wasn’t a terrible game," Sheahan said. "We just had some lapses where we took the foot off the gas and they capitalized.”

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 79

 

Seattle 2 Van 5

 

Canucks beat Kraken, will miss playoffs 2nd straight year

 

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By AP

5 hours ago

 

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- — Quinn Hughes had a goal and two assists to set a franchise record for points by a Vancouver defenseman, and the Canucks beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2 on Tuesday night, but were eliminated from playoff contention.

 

Dallas ensured Vancouver would miss the playoffs for a second year in a row with a 3-2 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

 

Oliver Ekman-Larsson had a goal and an assist for Vancover, while Sheldon Dries, J.T. Miller and Luke Schenn all scored and Conor Garland contributed three assists.

 

The Canucks were playing without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko, whom coach Bruce Boudreau said had a “little bit of an ouch.” Spencer Martin stopped 31 shots for his second NHL win.

 

Jordan Eberle and Connor Geekie scored for the Kraken in a penalty-filled second period. Joey Daccord made 22 saves for Seattle, who lost their third straight.

 

Hughes capped his milestone night with a goal with four minutes left in the third. Garland sliced a pass across the slot to Hughes who tapped it in for his eighth goal of the season and his 66th point.

 

Hughes has 64 points, passing a mark set by Doug Lidster in 1986-87. Hughes on Saturday set a franchise record for assists by a defenseman with 56.

A lucky bounce helped the Canucks put away their fourth goal of the night.

 

Daccord stopped a shot in tight from Matthew Highmore, but saw the puck bounce off his stick and up over his head, landing in the crease behind him. Schenn knocked it in over the goal line 13:08 into the third to make it 4-2.

 

Vancouver took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission but struggled to protect the lead. The home side was outshot 26-14 across the second and third periods.

 

Penalties dismantled the Canucks’ game in the second. Vancouver was called for five separate infractions and had to weather three minutes and 42 seconds of five-on-three play.

 

The Kraken cut the deficit to a single goal 9:12 into the second. Riley Sheahan dished a puck to Geekie from along the end boards and the forward sent a shot up and over Martin’s glove to make it 3-2.

 

Seattle got on the board with a power-play tally 4:59 into the period after Brad Richardson was called for tripping.

 

Eberle sent a shot into the top corner from in tight for his 20th goal in a Kraken jersey.

 

Vancouver was 1 for 3 with the man advantage Tuesday and Seattle went 1 for 8.

 

 

Ekman-Larsson gave the Canucks a 3-0 advantage with a power-play goal midway through the first after Carson Soucy was called for cross-checking.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 80

 

Seattle 3 LA 5

 

Amdersson scores early in 3rd, Kings beat Kraken 5-3

 

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By AP

Updated: 3 hours ago

 

SEATTLE -- — Lias Andersson’s first goal of the season for Los Angeles snapped a tie early in the third period and the Kings beat the Seattle Kraken 5-3 Wednesday night.

 

Gabriel Vilardi, Phillip Danault, Trevor Moore and Andreas Athanasioiu also scored for playoff-bound Los Angeles. Jonathan Quick made 36 saves to get his fifth straight win.

 

With a playoff spot and their first-round pairing against Edmonton already clinched, the Kings rested a handful of their regulars on Wednesday. Among them were team points leader Anze Kopitar (66 on 19 goals and 47 assists), and leading goal scorer Adrian Kempe (34).

 

“We had a lot of guys stepping into the lineup or maybe it was their first game back in a couple weeks,” Vilardi said. “They came out better than us in the first period – we weren’t very hard to play against. But Quickie made some big saves because that’s what he does, and it gave us a chance to come back.”

 

Jared McCann, Ryan Donarto, and Jordan Eberle scored for the Kraken, who lost their third in a row. Philipp Grubauer finished with 21 saves.

 

On the go-ahead goal, Brendan Lemieux picked up a loose puck behind the Seattle net, and sent it out in front to Andersson, who was rushing toward the net and sent it past Grubauer to give the Kings a 4-3 lead at 2:39 of the third.

 

Seattle had a power play for 4 minutes, 43 seconds late in the third period, including 1:18 of a 5-on-3 advantage. But the closest it could come to the equalizer was a shot by Daniel Sprong that hit the left post.

 

Athanasiou had an empty-netter with 1:06 left to seal the win.

 

McCann gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead with 1:01 left in the opening period with his team-leading 27th goal of the season. Seattle made it 2-0 just 2:24 into the second on Donato’s 16th.

 

Los Angeles tied it with two goals just 3 1/2 minutes apart. Vilardi made it 2-1 at the 10:11 mark, ripping a shot past Grubauer from the upper part of the left circle, his fourth. Then at 13:41, Danault tallied his 27th.

 

“I don’t think we should have put ourselves in that situation” Kings coach Todd McLellan said of the two-goal hole.

 

“I don’t think we played with any purpose in that first period. It was like we played because the game was scheduled, and that was really it. We had a lot to talk about (between periods). After that, I thought we began to play with some purpose.

 

“They totally responded, and I would have been disappointed if they hadn’t,” McLellan added. “That was expected of them. They’ve done that for seven months now.”

 

The Kraken needed just 48 seconds to go back in front when Eberle stickhandled his way to directly in front of Quick and slapped it past him for his 21st.

Moore’s tip-in of a hard shot by Matt Roy got the Kings back into a 3-3 tie at 17:15. That was Moore’s 17th.

 

“We’ve got to be able to take teams like that on,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “Certainly, there are areas where we don’t quite match up yet on every single shift.

 

But even in those area, we have to be able to take on that battle and take on that fight, even if it’s not the perfect matchup. You can abdicate and walk away from that or you can take it on.

 

We need to keep looking for people who are willing to take on that battle every single time.”

 

Game notes

Wednesday was the third time in the last four games that the Kraken built a 2-0 lead, only to wind up losing. The first two were 6-3 at Minnesota last Friday and 3-2 at Dallas last Saturday. …

 

The Kings won the season series, 3-1. ... With the assist on Jordan Eberle’s second-period goal, Matty Beniers now has a point in seven of his first eight NHL games.