The Seattle Kraken continued their homestand, hosting the Calgary Flames on Feb. 2. It was Calgary who came away with the win, defeating Seattle 3-2.
Game Recap
Right before the 11-minute mark in the first period, the Kraken received their first power play. 17 seconds into their extra man advantage, the Kraken put a puck past Dan Vladar. Jaden Schwartz received a pass from Matty Beniers to put the puck into the back of the net. Ryan Huska challenged for goaltender interference. It was determined that Vladar’s stick was stuck between Schwartz’s legs and the goal was waived off.
With five minutes to go in the first, the Flames scored the first official goal of the night. Martin Pospisil sent the puck out of the Kraken zone, where Yegor Sharangovich caught it in the middle of the ice. He sent it to Morgan Frost, who skated up towards the net. Despite three Kraken players closing in on him, he took a shot and scored.
Just a minute after the goal was scored, Brayden Pachal laid a huge hit on Andre Burakovsky. Jared McCann stepped in to defend his teammate, earning him a double minor for roughing. Pachal also received a penalty for roughing, this one just two minutes. Calgary did not hesitate on this 4-on-4. Sharangovich skated up with the puck off a pass from Mikael Backlund. He put it past Joey Daccord after he lost the puck and had to take a second shot attempt. The officials took a secondary look and said that the goal was good. Dan Bylsma did not agree with this and challenged for goaltender interference. Even with a second look at the goal, the referees determined it was still good. Jamie Oleksiak received a minor penalty for slashing Sharangovich and Oliver Bjorkstrand was sent to the box for delay of game. The Flames went on a 5-on-3 advantage.
With 47 seconds left on the two-man advantage, the Flames increased their lead once more. They were in their scoring zone, trying to find an opening. MacKenzie Weegar possessed the puck, who in turn passed to Nazem Kadri. Kadri saw Johnathan Huberdeau skate into the faceoff circle and passed to him. He took a shot and scored the second power-play goal of the night, as well as his 20th of the season.
There was so much excitement in the first period, but things quieted down in the second. Both teams had shot attempts, but neither was able to make anything come through. It wasn’t until there were five minutes left in the period that any action happened. Josh Mahura received the rubber from Beniers in the neutral zone. He sent a pass to Schwartz who moved up to the scoring zone with Kaapo Kakko. He passed to Kakko once he hit the faceoff dot. He took a shot and scored the first goal of the night for Seattle.
A minute and a half left in the second, the Kraken received yet another penalty. Kakko was heading to the bench for a line change, but the puck came towards him. As Burakovksy touched the ice, Kakko played it, making it a too-many-men call. The period ended without an additional score. The Flames still had 29 seconds on the power play heading into the third.
The Kraken killed the penalty, and 5-on-5 hockey resumed. Six minutes into the third, Shane Wright won a faceoff. The puck found McCann, who sent a pass to Brandon Tanev up in front of the net. He tipped the puck in, bringing the Kraken to within one.
Daccord was pulled from his net with a minute and change left to go in the game. The Kraken had some good chances, until Wright received a penalty for a high stick. Daccord came back out onto the ice and Seattle again played 5-on-5 for the last 16 minutes. They were able to get a hold of the puck, with Brandon Montour skating it up past the goal zone and sending a pass behind him to McCann. He skated up with Beniers. Both of them attempted to shoot the puck, with McCann’s stick making contact. It was blocked by Vladar once again to secure the win for Calgary.
Next Up
The Kraken will continue their homestand, hosting the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, Feb. 4. The Flames will head back home to host the Toronto Maple Leafs, also on Tuesday.
Both teams will go head-to-head again this week in Calgary on Saturday, Feb. 8.
