Final Buzzer: Déjà vu in Reverse

After winning Game 3 7-2, the Kraken knew they were going to get pushback. They got it and more…Dallas may even consider it payback with how eerily similar the pushes in the two most recent games of this series were - the only difference being from which bench they came. And two key Dallas players who hadn't finished Game 3 for their team proved pivotal in the outcome.

The Kraken had scored five goals in the second period of Game 3 and chased Jake Oettinger from the net, but in Game 4, it was the Stars that dictated pace and the scoring came from Dallas sticks instead. After an opening goal in the final three minutes of period 1, the visitors scored four more in the middle frame. Meanwhile, while Philipp Grubauer would be the one leaving play after period 2 this night, Oettinger was solid in net turning away all but three of the pucks sent his way.

That ended up being enough to push the series to a 2-2 tie as the series shifts back to Dallas for Game 5.

"(Dallas is) a good team, it's been a back-and-forth series," Jaden Schwartz said. "Both teams knew it wasn't going to be easy. . . We're a confident group. We know what our game looks like. We've bounced back. So, (we) just need to rest, recover and get our minds right. Get ready to go again."

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Playing to Strengths

Dallas had scored multiple power play goals in four of their six games in Round 1, but the Kraken had allowed only one Stars score across six opportunities with the man advantage coming into Game 4. Tonight, the visitor's power play broke through.

After an abbreviated Seattle power play, and some 4-on-4 action, the Stars took over on the power play. They recovered a loose puck below their own goal line and Heiskanen began the breakout feeding Roope Hintz in transition. The center set up Jamie Benn who joined the play from the left flank and shot the puck from the top of the left circle to beat Philipp Grubauer through traffic.

The power play would get on the scoreboard in Period 2 as well.

Challenging Times

Thomas Harley scored the first goal of the second period off the rush, and then helped set up the third Stars' tally by Max Domi to make it 3-0. But as soon as the goal was called Grubauer put up his arm signaling a second look might be needed at the traffic he faced net-front from Jamie Benn. The Kraken coaching staff took a look and did challenge for goaltender interference but the call on the ice stood and 1:25 later, it was 4-0 with Joe Pavelski getting the net front feed from Jason Robertson off a Heiskanen rebound. The goal would ultimately stand as the game-winner.

"Obviously (we) challenged it because it felt like it was goaltender interference," Dave Hakstol said. "(The officials) deemed it was not. So that's the call that was made. I didn't get an explanation on why it was a good goal. . . .But I felt like Grubi got blown out of the crease, and regardless of the amount of time in between, to be able to reset was impossible. . . .Grubi did not have a chance to do his job on that play. And as I look at it, never really got to reset. But it is what it is, those calls are made and happen all the time."

Schwartz Responds

After a Dallas pair of response goals, Jaden Schwartz stepped in for the Kraken. 56 seconds after Pavelski's goal, it was the assistant captain who battled to get net front where Justin Schultz was able to find him off a bank pass Morgan Geekie sent off the back boards.

After Hintz scored a goal to add to his assist, and set the score to 5-1 going into the final 20 minutes of play, with Martin Jones in net for Seattle, Schwartz gave his team a jump start by potting the second Kraken goal of the game off a perfectly placed pass from behind the net by Oliver Bjorkstrand. Yanni Gourde also made the kind of play that won't show on the scoresheet but that mattered by setting up in front of Oettinger to mask sight lines for the goaltender.

Pace of Play

This wasn't just a game of special teams, however. Dallas controlled the flow of play through the first two periods of the game. Dave Hakstol told ESPN's Linda Cohen his team was a "step slow." The Stars' active sticks took away passing lanes and battled for loose pucks to control possession. But, when the Kraken surged in the third they were ultimately rewarded as Adam Larsson became the seventeenth skater to score a goal for the Kraken this post-season.

"They had (the momentum) in the first two periods and we had it in the third obviously," Schwartz said. "I think it's just a matter of getting your game going, being consistent with it, sticking with it, and when you got the puck more in the offensive zone, creating chances that obviously builds momentum and the next line is able to jump out and play with energy and play in the o-zone, too."

But ultimately the deficit was too much to overcome. With 2:21 to play in regulation, after the Kraken pulled Jones for the extra attacker and Domi was able to convert by scoring in the empty net to set the score at what would become the final: 6-3.

By The Numbers

Here's a look at our data-driven Instant Analysis from Sportlogiq (click Watch: Youtube Video for how to read this graphic):