The Seattle Kraken hosted the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 30 for their third meeting of the season. The Sharks led the season series with a 2-0 score. The Kraken were not going to let this stand. Seattle was able to break their three-game losing streak and take the win against San Jose, 6-2.
Game Recap
Three minutes into the first period, the Kraken got on the board first. In the Sharks scoring zone, Oliver Bjorkstrand had control of the puck. He saw Chandler Stephenson alone in the middle of the ice and passed to him. He skated up with the puck with no one pressuring him and took the shot, scoring the first goal of the night. With two minutes left to go in the first, the Sharks were able to tie it up. Mikael Granlund laid a hit on Brandon Montour, allowing Carl Grundstrom to gain possession of the puck. He skated up to the goal with Will Smith, the pair passing the puck between each other. Grundstrom repossessed the puck off a pass from Smith and took a shot to bring the game to a 1-1 score.
Two minutes into the second, the action kicked off immediately. 2:03 on the clock, the Kraken broke the tie. Eeli Tolvanen by the boards sent a pass to Vince Dunn. He took a shot that didn’t quite reach the net. Bjorkstrand was able to quickly recover the puck and send it into the net. Just 51 seconds later, the Kraken increased their lead. Shane Wright intercepted the puck off a missed Sharks pass. He sent a pass to Montour at the blue line. He skated up the middle of the ice towards the goal, taking a shot and scoring the third goal of the night.
Three minutes into the second, the first penalty was called. Jaden Schwartz had to sit for tripping Granlund. The Sharks were unable to score with their two-minute man advantage. Right out of the penalty box, Schwartz received a pass from Jamie Oleksiak. He was able to outpace Tyler Toffoli who attempted to defend him. He skated up to the net shorthanded and scored the fourth goal of the night for Seattle. This was the breaking point for the Sharks; Yaroslav Askarov was pulled from the net and Alexander Georgiev went on the ice to defend the Sharks’ crease.
Things started to get chippy, with Nikolai Kovalenko taking a roughing penalty. On top of this, Dunn and Henry Thrun each earned five-minute fighting majors. Not even a minute later, the Sharks earned another minor penalty for tripping. The Kraken had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:13. They didn’t hesitate on this opportunity, scoring 25 seconds later. Stephenson had the puck near the blue line. He sent a pass to Jared McCann in one of the faceoff circles. He sent a pass to Montour in the other faceoff dot. He took a shot once his stick came in contact with the puck, increasing the Kraken’s lead to four goals. The period came to a close with a 5-1 score in favor of Seattle.
11:54 on the clock in the third period, the Sharks finally answered back. Macklin Celebrini had control of the puck by the boards. He saw Toffoli open and passed to him towards the middle of the ice. He moved to a spot that was more open. He took the shot to give the Sharks an attempt at a fighting chance.
The Kraken were not done yet. Josh Mahura possessed the puck off a bad pass by the Sharks. He sent it down the boards where it found Tolvanen in the middle of the ice. As three San Jose players came up to pressure him, he took a shot to score the sixth goal of the night for Seattle. There was no denying the Kraken a win here.
Next Games
The Kraken will get a couple of rest days as they get ready to host the Calgary Flames on Sunday, Feb. 2. The Sharks will head back home and prepare to host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
