Kraken's slow start and missed chances gave Dallas the edge in Sunday night’s loss.
Josh Mahura made his regular season debut for the Seattle Kraken on Sunday night, and with Vince Dunn out due to injury, he was paired with Adam Larsson against the Stars in Dallas. Despite applying pressure on Stars' netminder Casey DeSmith, the Kraken failed to register a goal and lost 2-0 in a shutout.
Seattle started off a bit sleepy in the first half of the period, in their defense the team had a late game the night before in Minnesota and an earlier start to Sunday's game.
The Kraken managed just one shot on goal and couldn’t capitalize on two power plays from penalties by Mason Marchment (slashing Ryker Evans) and Wyatt Johnston (tripping Andre Burakovsky). Pressure increased on Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer when Dallas got its first power play at 13:01 due to a high-sticking penalty by Jaden Schwartz. Seattle's defense held strong and killed the penalty. This marked the 14th career matchup between Grubauer and the Stars, with a record of 2-5-3, a 2.63 goals-against average, and a .917 save percentage. Dallas struck twice in 13 seconds, with Sam Steel and Wyatt Johnston each scoring their goals of the season. Period ends 2-0 Stars.
In the second period, both teams seized power play opportunities to score. The Kraken gained the advantage when Stars' Mason Marchment was called for tripping. Just moments after former Kraken Colin Blackwell and the Stars successfully killed the penalty, Ryker Evans was whistled for hooking, handing Dallas the power play. Despite a barrage of shots from Matt Duchene, Grubauer stood firm, denying every attempt as the Kraken successfully killed the penalty.
Tye Kartye, who netted his first goal of the season last night in Minnesota, was surprisingly absent for most of the third period. Both teams faced penalties: Jason Robertson for holding against Jared McCann and Brandon Montour for tripping Evgenii Dadonov. With just 1:56 left on the clock, the Kraken pulled Grubauer for an extra attacker, but it wasn't enough to level the score.
Despite the 2-0 shutout by the Stars, the Kraken improved their shots on goal, registering 25 compared to the Stars' 24. Brandon Montour was relentless and determined to find a way past DeSmith.
Speaking to the media after the game, Adam Larsson said Dallas' "puck placement" was better than that of the Kraken, adding, "We can do a better job of shutting things down earlier. We didn't score enough goals tonight."
The Kraken's next game is Tuesday in Nashville as they face the Predators.
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