Dallas Outlasts Kraken in ‘Opener’

The Kraken started the scoring Saturday on Eeli Tolvanen’s 22^nd goal of the season, but Dallas responded with the game’s next four goals to win the front end of two games in three nights between these teams. The Kraken held Dallas to a pair of goals in the first two periods and outshot the visitors, 23-15, but the Stars generated 10 Grade-A scoring chances to six for the Kraken. For the game, Seattle outshot Dallas 36 to 23 with the Stars holding the edge in high-danger shots 11 to 8. If fourth-liner Mikey Eyssimont’s scraps with Dallas players, along with linemate Tye Kartye, are an indication, Monday’s rematch should be another physical game.

Special teams proved the difference in this game. Kraken skaters (and one bench penalty for too many men on the ice) afforded five power plays to the visitors, who converted twice. The dagger was the second man-advantage Stars goal, less than half a minute in the final period, to make it a 3-1 game. On the flip side of the special teams matchups, Seattle didn’t convert on any of its four power plays, managing just three shots overall.

“It didn't necessarily have the feel of a 5-1 game,” said SEA coach Dan Bylsma. [Our] power play for certain – and the PK – are the story of the game ... Our discipline by us taking too many penalties ... at the start of the third period, we take a penalty, they get the goal. That was big because we had some [scoring] opportunities and felt like we could have gotten more in the game, both on the power play and five-on-five play.

“It's uncharacteristic of our group to take a lot of penalties. It's a huge part of the game, especially against good power plays. The best way to keep them up on the score sheet [looking ahead to Monday night] is not to give the opportunity. I don't think we've been taking an exorbitant number of penalties lately ... maybe the timeliness and the undisciplined penalties have been the hurting factor [in recent losses].”

Lineup Choices Pay Off in First Period

Veteran center Chandler Stephenson rejoined the Seattle lineup Saturday night after missing the last three games due to an upper-body injury. He slotted in on the fourth line with newcomer-turned-regular Eyssimont and Tye Kartye. Part of that alignment, no doubt intended to ease him back in usual formidable time on ice (he leads all Seattle forwards with a time-on-ice average of 19:30 per game). Another factor is how all three top lines have been clicking, including Jared McCann (who was playing wing with Stephenson) and Andre Burakovsky (Stephenson’s other linemate), have fared at both ends of the ice in recent games.

The decision looked wise early first period when Burakovsky passed to McCann, who made a great move for a Grade-A scoring chance that Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger managed to stop, but Tolvanen cleaned up the rebound with a skilled low-batting of the loose puck. It’s one of many reasons why NHLers routinely practice tip-ins and airborne stickhandling. Sometimes it’s just habit or fun, but the hand-eye coordination was working for Tolvanen here at a raucous Climate Pledge Arena. It is the winger’s 22^nd goal of the year, building on his NHL career high and now just one score behind the team leader.

Mid-second period, in a familiar scene, the aforementioned Stephenson huddled on a shift alongside linemates and veterans Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz, with the Kraken still trailing by just a goal. Stephenson was deployed for the power play all game and got his first penalty-kill duty in the middle frame. He finished the game with the second-most time on ice for Kraken forwards, trailing only Matty Beniers.

“It took a little bit to get into it, but towards the end of the game, I started feeling a little bit better, “ said Stephenson about his energy levels in his return from missing three games. “Now just build on it from here.”

Though Dallas has plenty of scoring punch, the Kraken center to the Stars’ work in their own as a key factor in the close game turned a comfortable margin for the visitors.

“They’re good defensively,” said Stephenson. “I think that's kind of their mindset. They're defense first. We had a lot of shots, they blocked quite a few times too. Their goalie saw a lot [of the Kraken shots]. He's one of the best goalies in the league. I think we kind of made him feel good tonight. It would have been nice to make him a little bit more uncomfortable.”

Power Outage as Opportunity Knocked

The Kraken were awarded two power plays in the opening minutes, but neither of the two-minute segments paid dividends. Burakovsky did have a Grade-A chance on Oettinger on the first power play with traffic out front, but it was the only shot of that effort. Same goes for the second power play, with Brandon Montour notching the first and only shot on goal. Seattle finished zero-for-four on the power play.

In a post-game interview with Kraken Hockey Network’s Piper Shaw, Kraken defenseman and power play “quarterback” on one unit said early in his remarks, “the power play was horrendous” and “we didn’t create any momentum.” When Shaw asked about the difficulty of facing Dallas’ second-ranked penalty-killers in the 32-team NHL, Dunn said “we have done well against good penalty killers all year” and “we snapped [the puck] around pretty good last game” in Thursday’s 6-1 win at Edmonton.

Stars Power for the Visitors

Dallas’s first line now features center Roope Hintz between Jason Robertson and the newly acquired Mikko Rantanen. That’s a dangerous group, and the stats back it up. Robertson scored Dallas’s first in the opening 20 minutes, while Hintz has been the Stars’ leading scorer over their now five-game win streak (part of an eight-game point streak). Hintz scored the second Dallas goal in the period on a late power play with Rantanen and Robertson earning the assists.

It should be noted that the Kraken were up eight to three in shots on goal during the first eight minutes of this first of two-straight home games against Dallas (the rematch is Monday). The period finished 12 shots to nine in favor of the home squad, but Daccord faced seven high-danger scoring chances. He made some big stops to keep this game within reach, including a breakaway save on young star Wyatt Johnston during Seattle’s first power play of the night. Johnston (now 29 goals) is one of four players who have scored 27 or more goals to date this season. The others are Robertson (now at 33), Matt Duchene (28), and Hintz (now 27). Rantanen has notched 31 goals, 25 with Colorado, two more in a short stint with Carolina, and four with Dallas (including the fifth Dallas goal Saturday). In his last four full seasons with the Avalanche, Rantanen has racked up 30, 36, 55, and 42.

With the score 2-1 Dallas at intermission, the visitors put a stranglehold on the night with an early third-period power play goal from Mason Marchment and a mid-period score by Wyatt Johnson to put the game out of reach. Rantanen scored an empty-net goal to make it a 5-1 final.

Winterton, Firkus Fuel AHL Win in Playoff Home-Ice Chase

While Firebirds' goal-scoring leader Jani Nyman (his 26 still leads all CVF players) remains on the Kraken roster, fellow top prospects Ryan Winterton and Jagger Firkus provided clutch scoring for a needed 3-2 overtime on the road against the Chicago Wolves. Coachella Valley is fourth in the Pacific Division (the last of three spots with home-ice advantage in the divisional first round of the playoffs; the first-place team gets a bye). The Firebirds have the opportunity to climb into a tie for third with another win Sunday in suburban Chicago. Winterton scored both of CVF’s goals in regulation with rookie defenseman Ty Nelson getting assists on both scores. Winterton now has 17 goals on the season, third best on the Firebirds. Firkus scored in the final minute of overtime for his 12^th goal in his rookie season.