Goal-Scoring Drought Ends In Flood By Seven Different Seattle Scorers
"There's no magic formula" to curing a scoring drought, Seattle Kraken coach Dave Hakstol told me after his team had fallen to 0-3-1, with just three goals total of offense.
Then the coach expanded on that answer. "I'll tell you what the formula is. A bunch of guys sticking together, working extremely hard, pushing for a win."
Those words became actions Thursday at Climate Pledge Arena, where the Kraken buried the pre-season Stanley Cup favorite Carolina Hurricanes under a barrage of goals, 7-4.
1st Period
The puck luck eluding the Kraken arrived in the first minute. Kraken goalie Joey Daccord made a fine save on Jordan Martinook, but Jaccob Slavin's shot slipped by him. Vince Dunn cleared the puck off the goal line to keep the game scoreless.
Andre Burakovsky, who's shown rust after a half-season without game action, showed a flash of the offense Seattle has been counting on. He sent a spinaround shot toward the net, and with Yanni Gourde and Eeli Tolvanen in front, Gourde redirected the puck for a 1-0 Kraken lead at 7:16.
"My primary focus was taking the goalie's eyes away, and I was fortunate to get a stick on it," Gourde said in a ROOT Sports interview.
The lead lasted 19 seconds. Slavin's centering pass deflected off the skate of Jesper Fast to tie the game 1-1 at 7:35. The Hurricanes have played nothing but high-scoring affairs all season; could this be another?
The 1-for-11 Seattle power play got its first chance when Stefan Noesen took a holding penalty at 12:12. Before anyone can make a snarky comment, they don't need to.
Jaden Schwartz wins the draw (!) back to Vince Dunn. When the aggressive Carolina PK comes to challenge, Dunn finds Schwartz alone above the crease. Cool, calm, and not in a hurry, Schwartz kicks the puck to his stick, then goes forehand-backhand-five hole to give the Kraken a second goal - not only in the same game, but in the same period.
Schwartz has both Kraken PP goals this season, and a 2-1 Seattle lead at 12:18.
When Adam Larsson takes a hold at 17:43, it's the opponent's turn to feel the sting of a shorthanded goal-against. Free agent signee Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who calls penalty killers "destroyers," drives the crease and deposits the rebound of a Vince Dunn shot for a 3-1 Kraken lead at 19:22.
It's a good thing Joey Daccord did his pregame stretching, because it took every inch of his right pad doing the splits to deny Martin Necas in the final five seconds - and Daccord saved Necas on the rebound too, as the Canes winger looked skyward.
2nd Period
Did we mention the Kraken scored three goals in the first period? One each shorthanded, on the power play, and 5-on-5. Lost in the offensive explosion, Kraken goalie Daccord made 20 saves on 21 Carolina shots - Seattle had 14, while improving their PK to 14-for-14.
Worth noting: The Hurricanes had to rally against another winless team in their previous game, scoring four 3rd period goals to upend the San Jose Sharks, 6-3. So the question for the remainder of the game is whether the Kraken can handle prosperity.
The early answer is yes. Vince Dunn wires a blast past Carolina goalie Antti Raanta on the power play at 2:38 for a 4-1 lead. It's the second man-advantage goal on the night, with Oliver Bjorkstrand and Burakovsky drawing assists. Not only is that two apples for Andre, it's the 200th assist of his career.
For Dunn, it's a three-point night. Also, the end of the night for Carolina netminder Raanta.
Tye Kartye has a dynamic 200-foot shift, stealing the puck from Seth Jarvis in the defensive zone, then firing a BB into replacement Hurricanes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov. Moments later, he plastered Brady Skjei into the end boards. That's Kartye Hockey, baby.
Injury concerns: two Kraken, Jaden Schwartz and Will Borgen, are absent from the Seattle bench.
Goals are 4-1 Seattle after 40, shots 30-24 Hurricanes.
3rd Period
The Carolina M.O. for the first five games of the new season has continued - porous on defense, explosive on offense. The explosion comes in the first 5:54 of the period, as goals by Jarvis and Jesperi Kotkaniemi narrow the Kraken lead to 4-3.
Four goals may not be enough.
Four goals won't have to be, as the Kraken answer with two goals of their own in a 21-second span. First, from behind the net, Bjorkstand feeds Jared McCann at 11:52.
At 12:13, Matty Beniers, whose Calder Trophy was in the building, sends a pass into the crease for a Tye Kartye tip-in - Kartye's first regular season NHL goal, though he scored three in last season's playoffs.
Moments later, a dangerous collision. McCann drops to his knees in pain from a shot block, then is steamrolled by Brendan Lemieux - who receives only a two-minute minor.
Do-everything Tye Kartye doesn't let this indiscretion pass, fighting Lemieux when his penalty expired.
A Seth Jarvis power play goal - 6-on-4 with the goalie pulled and the first extra-man score allowed this season by Seattle - briefly brings the visitors back within two goals.
But Oliver Bjorkstrand - the seventh different Kraken goal-scorer - finds the empty net to finalize a 7-4 Seattle victory.
Postgame
"We were hungry," Bellemare said after the game. "It was good to be rewarded."
Seattle wins the faceoff battle, 55-45%, the power play battle 2-1, and the saves battle, 33-29. Kraken win! With a 1-3-1 record, the Kraken will conclude their homestand Saturday night against the N.Y. Rangers.
