The Kraken started strong in Minnesota. Goals by Daniel Sprong and Yanni Gourde (a beauty of a give-and-go with Karson Kuhlman) established a 2-0 lead for Seattle. But, aided by three power-play goals (two in the second period), the Wild roared back in the middle frame to gain the 6-2 lead, one they would not relinquish. Seattle did add a power-play goal of their own in the final period. It came off the stick of rookie Matty Beniers, who maintains his point-a-game play with a 3-2-5 stat line in the first five games of his NHL career.
Just looking at the schedule, this game was supposed to be a big challenge. Colorado came to Seattle with two previous wins over the Kraken, the best record in the Western Conference, and tied for the most points in the League. But, that s why you play the game.
Going into Saturday s game, MoneyPuck.com estimated Seattle s chances of winning this game to be 49.3 percent. After the team went down 2-1 after 20 minutes of play, those chances were down to 30.12 percent. But the Kraken roared back in the middle frame with two goals - both set up by Jared McCann - and established a lead. The home team would never trail again.
It was the first post-trade deadline game for the Kraken and that means some new-look forward lines and defensive pairings along with some new faces in the dressing room. But any question of how this group would address those changes on this night was answered across 60 minutes of play. The second period was the most active with five goals. And while Arizona scored first, two Carson Soucy goals plus a Daniel Sprong tally on the power play established a lead the Kraken wouldn t relinquish. Backed by Philipp Grubauer, Seattle would go on to earn a 4-2 win in Arizona.
This Kraken didn t make the start of this game easy on themselves. In the first 10 minutes of play, the team took three penalties, including a double-minor that kept the penalty kill on the ice for the majority of the first period (just 8:38 was played 5-on-5). But captain Mark Giordano wasn t going to let that deter him and after he returned to the ice from his own penalty, he scored the first Kraken shorthanded goal at Climate Pledge Arena, which was also his second in three games. With stellar play coming from Philipp Grubauer in net, as penalties quieted, Seattle was able to find their footing and hold serve against the Bruins. Jordan Eberle scored second to tie the game at 2-2 and that score would hold through regulation, earning the Kraken one standings point. But, ultimately, the bid for a victory would fall short with Jake DeBrusk beating Grubauer from a sharp-angle shot short side just 33 seconds into overtime, ending the game 3-2.