Vancouver Canucks Score 3 In 3rd, Run Away From Seattle Kraken At CPA, 5-1

Highest Scoring Team In NHL Capitalizes On Chances, Seattle Fails On 4 1st Period PPs

For 40 minutes at Climate Pledge Arena, the Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks tested each other in a tense, could-go-either-way battle - much like the Kraken's thrilling 4-3 victory at Rogers Arena Nov. 18

Then the 3rd period started.

Vancouver outshot Seattle 13-2, scored three times, and showed why they have more goals than any other team in the NHL. For the Kraken, the 5-1 loss ends a disappointing and inconsistent 1-2 homestand.

The Kraken give up two shorthanded breakaways on the same power play, and the second comes back to bite them. 

Vancouver's Dakota Joshua breaks in alone from center ice, but Kraken goalie Joey Daccord makes a sensational right pad save.

When Seattle turns the puck over again, Teddy Blueger tries a different tactic. Instead of firing, he dekes Daccord down to the ice and deposits the puck behind him for a 1-0 Canucks lead at 5:05.

Perhaps believing 4-on-5 is a winning strategy, J.T. Miller takes another Vancouver penalty at 6:23. The strategy appears to backfire when Matty Beniers scores on the PP.

However, video review determines Seattle was offside entering the zone, negating the tying tally; the second time in two games a Kraken goal has been wiped out by a coach's challenge.

Uh-oh. A center ice collision with Nils Hoglander sends Brandon Tanev's stick flying high in the air, and Tanev, dazed, down to the ice. Tanev, such a sparkplug for the Kraken since returning from an opening-night leg injury, hobbles one-legged to the bench with the assistance of a linesperson.

Tanev did not skate another shift in the game.

Maybe 4-on-5 IS a winning strategy for the Canucks. Although outshot 9-8 in the 1st period, Vancouver has already killed four Seattle power plays. That includes a Tyler Myers double minor for high-sticking Jordan Eberle.

Apparently, Myers' stick did more damage than we initially realized.

The inefficiency with the extra man is surprising because the Kraken have the NHL's 7th best PP, and the Canucks rank 24th on the PK.

Seattle presses for the equalizer, with the first 10 SOG of the period, serious zone time, and dominance in 50-50 puck battles. But no tying goal - yet.

On their first sustained pressure of period 2, Joshua doubles the Canucks lead to 2-0 at 12:07. The Kraken failed to put a body on Joshua, after Daccord made the initial save on Conor Garland's dangerous slot shot.

When Ilya Mikheyev breaks behind Justin Schultz, Daccord's aggressive stickwork comes to the rescue. Daccord poke-checks Mikheyev before he can release a shot.

Tye Kartye finally pierces Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko to bring Seattle back within 2-1 at 17:29. Both members of the Kraken defensive pair play vital roles, though only one will get recognized on the score sheet.

That would be Vince Dunn, intercepting an errant Vancouver clear at the blue line, and feathering a pass to Kartye for his third goal of the season. No official credit will go to Adam Larsson standing in front, who (1) screens Demko's line of sight, and (2) lifts Ian Cole's stick so the Canuck defender can't attempt a block.

If you were listening but not watching inside CPA, three loud roars could be misinterpreted as Kraken goals. No, that's an especially large and vocal Canucks contingent, who ventured south of the border for a two-night sports feast.

Thursday, they watched "their" 49ers defeat the Seahawks at Lumen Field. One night later, many of those same visiting fans are cheering three more Vancouver goals to salt away the game, and send Kraken fans to the exits.

With 4:44 to go in the game, Seattle hadn't recorded a 3rd period shot. The difference between the teams is that Vancouver capitalized on their dominant stretch, and the Kraken didn't on theirs in the 2nd period..

The Kraken are off until Tuesday, when a road trip begins in Chicago against Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks (we're now legally required to write the team nickname that way). The trip will continue with games in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.