Eberle Ties Game Late, Kraken Fall in OT

CALGARY – The hometown Flames started the night four points out of the second wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference. In a dramatic finish, the Kraken earned a standings point when captain Jordan Eberle battled and scored net-front with 90 seconds remaining. But Calgary kept pace at four points back via an overtime winner coming with a minute left to make it a 4-3 final. The Kraken again showed no quit.

“I liked our fight back,” said Eberle, who noted it’s the third overtime loss to Calgary this season. “We came in overtime, we had a great day, looked to win it, and a great save the other way. I like the way that we skated and competed. Obviously, we might want maybe a couple of plays back, but it's hockey. They're fighting for their lives. I like the way we played.”

OK, let’s untangle an entertaining but ultimately disappointing mess that was the third period here in Alberta. Seattle started the third period with a 2-1 lead on the strength of impressive second-period goals from Jaden Schwartz and Tye Kartye. The lead stayed intact until the final minute of the four-minute double-minor meted out to Brandon Montour for high-sticking. That’s when Flames Nazem Kadri scored to tie the game.

With just over five minutes remaining in regulation, Montour and Kadri were both dismissed five minutes for fighting, leaving both teams without a key contributor. The Kraken’s Mikey Eyssimont and the not-liked Flame Martin Pospisil were on the undercard and whistled off two minutes each for roughing. A minute later, Calgary defenseman Rasmus Anderson took a long but heavy shot from the right point that beat Joey Daccord with a likely unintended high screen at the faceoff dot by Jaden Schwartz and/or Shane Wright. Flames fans roared and started savoring the needed two points in Calgary’s playoff chase until ... boy, it is great to have captain Jordan Eberle back in the lineup.

With a 6-on-5 formation on ice with Joey Daccord on the bench, the Kraken tied the game with Jordan Eberle jamming in a loose puck net-front with a minute-and-a-half left. Assists went to Schwartz and Matty Beniers. The Kraken also scored Saturday night in Edmonton during 6-on-5 with Schwartz making the net-front play.

In overtime, Joey Daccord makes huge stops on Morgan Frost, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Nazem Kadri. In the end, Calgary’s Dustin Wolf answered and is likely gaining rookie-of-the-year votes with each win down the streak. Kadri beat Daccord late in the OT to win it for Calgary and give the goalie-duel nod to Wolf.

Must-Watch Kraken Line in the Making?

As long as Dan Bylsma and the coaching staff decide to keep the Matty Beniers line with Finnish wings Kaapo Kakko and Jani Nyman intact, that trio will be a must-watch this spring. No refreshment breaks, taking out the trash, maybe wait for a shift or three to put the kids to bed. In the second period here before a noisy packed house, the line worked an extended puck possession in the Flames zone with Nyman looking nothing like a rookie holding the puck for an extra second couple times to make a smart pass to Beniers or Kakko. Both Nyman and Brandon Montour hit posts during the shift. One of Nyman’s slap shots registered 98 miles per hour “on the Richter Scale,” said Bylsma post-game. Then Kakko threaded a cross-ice from behind the goal line right on Nyman’s stick blade at the right faceoff circle. Nyman shot wide, but soon thereafter, when Calgary gained possession, the home squad was whistled for a too-many-men bench penalty for a faulty attempt at providing reinforcements.

On the second Kraken power play of the night – the initial power play in the first period was uneventful – Seattle converted on the man-advantage situation with another extended possession with credit to Vince Dunn getting shots toward the net even if blocked. One of those bounced to Andre Burakovsky in the vicinity of the right corner. The teammate known as “Burky” quickly angled the puck to Jared McCann's left net-front, who himself quickly moved the puck to Jaden Schwartz at the right post, aka back door. Schwartz withstood a shove in the back while blading the puck over the goal line for a 1-1 tie. The alternate captain is now tied with Eeli Tolavanen for the team lead in goals with 21.

I thought the power play did a good job of stepping up and getting the goal to get us back to even,” said Dan Bylsma post-game. “We knew it was going to be a competitive, desperate team over there. That's exactly what they were. We got up in the game and had to take a four-minute penalty with seven and a half to go, and have to kill that off at a critical time in the game ... then they got the go-ahead goal and we had to dig in and get the with our net empty with Ebs at the crease. Overall, the game had a pretty good feel to it.”

Kartye Gives Kraken the Lead

The Kraken broke the 1-1 knot with two minutes left in the middle period. Dunn flat-out killed a Calgary rush just inside the Kraken blue line, sweeping the puck up ice. Tye Kartye who seconds ago with forechecking, wheeled into the puck in the neutral zone and turned on the speed to split two Flames defenders and beat Wolf with a hard bar-down shot for his fifth goal of the season and second in eight games since returning from a conditioning stint at AHL Coachella Valley (where he helped the Firebirds win a couple big games with his scoring a playmaking). Kartye on that play looked like the undrafted prospect who won AHL rookie-of-the-year honors in the Firebirds' inaugural season by 43 points in his final 43 for CVF.

Any chance I get to shoot the puck, I'm gonna try to take that opportunity,” said Kartye when asked about the coaching staff encouraging him to shoot the puck more. “It was an emotional game, back and forth, both teams battling hard.”

“That's one of his assets that he brings to the table,” said Bylsma about Kartye’s shooting skills. “He maybe has gotten away from it a little bit in his play. But more and more you're seeing it in practice, you're seeing it now in the game. He's got an electric shot and got the opportunity to do it. He showed, and it speaks to the depth of our team.”

Keeping Pace in First 20 Minutes

The first period was fast-paced with both teams making crisp passes to spring scoring chances, both teams hard on the forecheck and both goaltenders making stops expected from a pair of goalies who rank in the top dozen in various advanced analytics goaltending stats. There was one big difference: Kraken goalie Joey Daccord faced seven high-danger scoring chances compared to just one Grade-A attempt on Flames rookie-of-the-year candidate and former Western Hockey League Everett Silvertips star goalie Dustin Wolf.

Calgary took a 1-0 lead into first intermission on a goal by fourth-line Joel Klapka, who skated right-side into the Kraken zone 11 minutes into the opening period. Kraken D-man Cale Fleury, in the SEA lineup for the 11th time this season, took measure of Klapka to separate body from puck. It worked – sort of – since Klapka momentarily lost control of the puck. Unfortunately for Fleury, who plays a responsible game, he lost his stick on the move. Klapka recovered the puck and veered horizontally to the goal mouth. From there, Klapka backhanded an on-close shot saved by Daccord, then Jamie Oleksiak blocked a shot by Calgary center Kevin Rooney with the puck caroming to an unchecked Klapka, who jammed in over the goal line.

Handing out Various Kudos

In the third period’s early minutes with the Kraken clinging to a 2-1 lead, rookie sensation Jani Nyman blocked a shot with a full-body layout. On the next shift, trade acquisition Mikey Eyssimont turned a stretch pass into a mini-break that resulted in a hooking call and two minutes of Calgary not generating game-tying offense. Meanwhile, Joey Daccord was calmly making saves and helping out with stickwork that served as a third defenseman.

Evans Home for His 100th NHL Game

Ryker Evans grew up as an undersized defenseman playing youth hockey right here in Calgary, dreaming about the NHL. Tuesday, with his mom, dad, extended family, and lots of friends in the Saddledome crowd, he stepped on the ice for his 100th NHL game.

It's pretty cool to play 100 games in the NHL,” said Evans at his locker after morning skate. “As a kid, you just hope to play one. For it to be in Calgary is awesome. Pretty cool to look at for to be in Calgary is awesome. I’ve got a lot of people coming.”

Evans joins Matty Beniers as the first two Kraken draft choices to play 100 or more NHL games. Shane Wright plays in No. 85 on Tuesday.

When asked how he has grown from Game 1 in early December 2023 to here in Alberta in late March 2025, the 23-year-old defenseman pointed to gaining confidence: “You reassure yourself every game that you belong here and you’ll have an impact and help this team win games. Game 1, obviously, you’re super nervous, just trying to make a statement. Now you have to do it consistently.”

Kraken coach Dan Bylsma had an upfront look at Evans’ NHL potential, having coached him all three of the defender’s pro seasons, including being named to the AHL All-Rookie team and AHL All-Star game plus putting up huge playoff stats (five goals, 21 assists in 26 games) in the Firebirds inaugural season that ended with a Western Conference crown.

Bylsma and assistant coach Bob Woods have urged Evans to take advantage of his elite skating (one reason Evans has been increasingly paired with high-flying Brandon Montour) and be hard to play against versus opposing top forward lines.

“Ryker’s at his best when he's engaged,” said Bylsma. “The games, when you see the opposition get a little bit irritated with how physical he's playing, how aggressive he's playing – both with his skating and his physicality. We want to see more of it in the next 100.”