Postgame: Kraken 6, Stars 3

A Climate Pledge Arena sellout Saturday afternoon was hoping they wouldn't have to see one of playoff hockey's hallowed traditions: the player handshake line.

Needing a Game 6 victory to avoid elimination, the Seattle Kraken beat the Dallas Stars, 6-3. With the second round series now even at three games apiece, a spot in the Western Conference Final will be determined Monday in Dallas.

"We had a goal in mind," said Kraken coach Dave Hakstol. "We wanted to make sure we were one of the six teams still alive when we woke up (Sunday) morning.

"We talked about how we were going to counteract some of the things (the Stars) were doing really well in the last couple of games. We talked about finding ways to grow as a hockey team."

In the first five games of this series, not only weren't the Kraken scoring on the power play (1 for 10), they weren't even building any momentum. That changed in Game 6.

"We won faceoffs, we started with the puck," said coach Hakstol. Seattle won a series-high 48% of draws. "We were looking not just to stay on the outside, we were looking to get into an attack mode. The first power play really set the tone for us."

Power play number two, still in the first period, was an eventful one for Jordan Eberle. First, Dallas defenseman Jani Hakanpää cross-checked Eberle into the net, but the puck didn't follow.

Seconds later, with Dallas goalie Jake Ottinger down and out, Eberle placed Eeli Tolvanen's rebound into the unguarded twine to put Seattle back ahead, 2-1.

"That was great, honestly. We needed that," said Yanni Gourde, who had scored the game's opening goal at 8:59. Speaking of the successful second PP, "They shot the puck. That's what you need to break teams down, shot volume. And eventually you find your plays inside, and Ebbs was able to find the back of the net."

Although the Kraken didn't convert on their third and final power play, they did pepper backup goalie Scott Wedgewood with four shots on goal. Wedgewood replaced starter Jake Ottenger five minutes into the 2nd period, after Ottinger had allowed a fourth Kraken goal on 18 shots against.

What if Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer doesn't get his blocker on Roope Hintz's wide open look in literally the first eight seconds of the game?

What if Joe Pavelski, he of the eight goals in the series, doesn't clank the right post in the first 22 seconds of the final period? "A little bit too much chaos there," said Hakstol.

What if Jason Roberson, who scored 46 in the regular season, doesn't ring that same right post two minutes later?

Answer: No matter how well a team plays, to win they also need a sprinkling of what's known as "Puck Luck." In Game 6, the Hockey Gods smiled on Seattle, not Dallas.

(There's no truth to the rumor that Seattle GM Ron Francis will try to sign the right pipe to a free agent contract this summer.)

The only times Dallas scored Saturday night were right after Seattle scored.

In the 1st period, Yanni Gourde's opening goal was matched 31 seconds later by Mason Marchment. After Tye Kartye gave Seattle a 4-1 lead in the 2nd period, it took Joe Pavelski 1:15 to respond on the power play.

In the 3rd period, Matty Beniers extended the Kraken lead to 5-2. This time, Dallas' quick response was even quicker; Joel Kiviranta of Vantaa, Finland scored 15 seconds later.

Speaking of Finnish Dallas Stars, the defense pair of Esa Lindell (minus-3) and Hakanpää (minus-2) had a rough night. Coach Pete DeBoer's defense of them was equally tepid. "They weren't worse than anybody else."

Even though the Kraken were facing elimination, maybe the Stars were the team gripping their sticks too tightly. Their game-long sloppy play was best exemplified during a 3rd period power play, with a chance to cut the Seattle lead to one goal.

Dallas time and again, and again, either fumbled the puck, made an off-target pass, or otherwise sabotaged their own man advantage.

Coach DeBoer: "When the other team's hungry like that, an elimination game, and you're on the road, you've got to at least be the smarter team with the puck. I thought we compounded our mistakes and fed their energy in the first period."

Coach Hakstol, on forcing a Game 7: "I love the way our team handled today. As a staff, we didn't have to say a whole lot. We went through some very simple preparation. Our guys had a good focus. They were relaxed. That speaks to the belief the guys have in themselves, and the guys sitting next to them."

As Eberle put it, "We played aggressive and stayed on our toes. That's what we had to do. You don't want to come out in situations and sit back, and go into the summer wondering why."