Seattle Falls Just Short Of Reaching The Western Final, Bringing A Magical Season To A Close
The magical coach carrying the Seattle Kraken through the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs finally turned back into a pumpkin.
In the deciding Game 7 Monday night, the Dallas Stars outlasted the Kraken, 2-1. Dallas earned the right to meet the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. The Kraken were forced to exit a party they weren't ready to leave.
The three portions of Game 7 which Kraken fans should remember fondly - besides Oliver Bjorkstrand's goal with 19 seconds left - were spine-tingling sequences of defense.
Kraken PK Bends, Doesn't Break
Dallas' Joe Pavelski (16) bids for a 9th goal in the 2nd round series against Seattle. Philipp Grubauer (31) and Carson Soucy (28) defend for the Kraken.Eeli Tolvanen was whistled for Seattle's only penalty, at 7:18 of the 1st period, a cross-check of Jamie Benn. Not to quibble, but two seconds earlier, Benn had cleared Yanni Gourde from the blue paint with an almost identical two-hander.
On the power play, the Stars showed puck retrieval skills like human bloodhounds. Seattle didn't clear the zone once in two minutes. Yet, while Dallas fired an amazing 10 shots toward the Kraken net, goalie Philipp Grubauer wasn't required to make a single save.
Here's the unbelievable desperation defense by Seattle which kept the game scoreless. (Time remaining in the penalty is in parentheses.)
- (1:03) Heiskanen shot deflected wide
- (0:55) Pavelski shoots wide
- (0:40) Heiskanen shot blocked by Oleksiak
- (0:32) Hintz shot blocked by Larsson
- (0:26) Heiskanen shot blocked by Wennberg
- (0:16) Robertson shot blocked by Tanev
- (0:04) Hintz shot blocked by Larsson
Grubauer's 10-Bell Saves
Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer (31) tracks the puck, to the dismay of the Stars' Tyler Seguin (91). That was a recurring theme during Game 7 in Dallas.If not for Grubauer repeating his sparkling form from Game 7 of the Colorado series, the Stars could have turned Monday's game into a rout. In the second half of the 2nd period, Dallas had as many Grade-A's as a carton of eggs.
(Time remaining in the period is in parenthesis.)
- (8:54) Jason Robertson picks Matty Beniers' pocket, then pitchforks a rising shot on goal. Grubauer isn't caught off-guard.
- (8:18) Tyler Seguin's toe-drag spins Will Borgen like a top. Seguin skates in unopposed, but Grubauer soaks up his low, hard shot.
- (4:55) Seguin's hard snipe for the top left corner catches Grubauer's shoulder. Seguin is so disgusted, he looks skyward.
- (4:44) Grubauer somehow sees Thomas Harley's wrist shot, with Seguin's big number 91 in his face.
- (4:20) Joe Pavelski steals from Vince Dunn. Roope Hintz breaks free, collects in the slot, and fires a missile, aimed this time for the top right corner. Grubauer's lightning-quick glove again has the upper hand.
"Big Rig" Hits Post, Wrestles Domi, Loses Lid
Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak (24) gets up close and personal with Stars forward Max Domi (18) during Game 7 of their 2nd round playoff series.Seattle's 6-foot-7 defenseman Jamie Oleksiak stuffed a game's worth of events into one shift.
In the offensive zone, his blast down the slot tipped off Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger's glove, then hard off the right post. At the other end, Oleksiak and another tough customer, Max Domi, wrestled each other to the ground. Domi broke his stick, Oleksiak lost his helmet.
For safety reasons, a helmetless player is required to leave the playing surface. But the "Big Rig" wasn't ready to leave, so he retrieved his lid, placed it back on his head, and finished his shift.
A later 2nd period shift, Oleksiak would rather forget. At his own blue line, the puck didn't glide the way Oleksiak thought it would. Hintz swooped in to steal the almost stationary biscuit, scoring on a breakaway for a 1-0 Dallas lead.
