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      SEA at PIT | Recap

      PITTSBURGH – There are multiple Kraken personnel with ties to Pittsburgh, including both the team’s general manager and head coach both connected to glory postseasons. But it was two-time former Penguin and now Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak who revived the Kraken offensive attack Tuesday night in this snowy town, knotting the Kraken’s fourth road game in a half-dozen nights at two goals apiece eight minutes into the third period after Seattle managed just 10 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes.

      Oliver Bjorkstrand picked up the assist, and after scoring his third goal of the season, Oleksiak celebrated by pointing his huge left hockey glove right at Bjorkstrand. An under-the-radar shift change, with Vince Dunn adroitly returning to the bench so a fresh-legged Oleksiak could zoom into the offensive zone.

      “It was a good team effort,” said Oleksiak post-game, who worked in a defensive pair with Josh Mahura during the win. “We stuck with it works well as a five-man unit.”

      The extra-large Oleksiak made quick work getting into a scoring lane but said he didn’t see the opportunity unfold as much as he just wanted to get in the Penguins zone.

      “Ollie made a great play to the middle, and I kind of found a hole in the middle,” said Oleksiak, who has proved as an original Kraken he has a knack for scoring timely goals.

      “It was a huge boost for everybody, seeing Rig put in the back of the net,” said Bylsma, who credited the entire Chandler Stephenson line (Andre Burakovsky on the other wing opposite Bjorkstrand) for keeping puck possession at the Pittsburgh end.

      Oleksiak was happy to share credit with Daccord for clutch play: “Joey is a guy, night and night out, you really don't have to worry about him. He’s such a professional with his day-to-day and treats the game and just makes you want to play that much harder for him.”

      Just 50 seconds later, the Kraken were rejoicing yet again when Eeli Tolvanen took a skill net-front pass from linemate Shane Wright to score the game-winner. Defenseman Josh Mahura made the goal happen with a surge below the goal line and curl to feed Wright. Kaapo Kakko scored an empty-net goal for his fourth Kraken goal, making it a 4-2 final.

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          SEA@PIT: Tolvanen scores goal against Tristan Jarry

          Joey Daccord excelled in net with 31 saves, including a dozen high-danger chances.

          “All four lines were going tonight,” said Tolvanen, who now has 11 goals and two game-winners on the year, including three goals in the last four games. “We played smart [in the final period], not too many turnovers and it showed on the scoresheet.”

          The Kraken evened their road trip at 2-2 with a chance to make a winning one Thursday in Winnipeg. Coach Dan Bylsma takes home victories against the two NHL teams he formerly coached in Buffalo and Pittsburgh. He particularly liked the Kraken’s grit and determination “to stay with it the whole way.”

          “We clearly had to weather the storm in the first period [the Penguins outshot Seattle 16 to 2] and played a lot of D-zone as a result,” said Bylsma. “Joey was excellent on numerous occasions. I think the breakaway save [on Pittsburgh first-liner Rickard Rakell], even though it was early on in the game, was big for us. It was a breakdown, and a guy got behind us, big to get that save. Then we talked about a mindset of sticking with it and playing a full 60 [minutes]. Games look different all over the ma,p and you have to be able to play the game you’re in and stick with it for 60 ... we played our best hockey after they scored the second goal to make it 2-1 [in the second period].”

          GM Francis Discusses Team’s Play, Media Reports

          Ron Francis appeared on the Kraken Hockey Network’s pre-game show. With KHN play-by-play man John Forslund asking the questions, Francis calmly and firmly put to rest media speculation that CEO Tod Leiweke was in attendance for Kraken weekend games in Buffalo and Detroit for any reason beyond, well, the Kraken chief executive had meetings canceled and his birthday was Sunday so Leiweke phoned Francis to give him a heads-up he was planning to watch some Kraken hockey in person to celebrate.

          A second media report held that sources revealed that Francis wanted to hire a different coach than Dan Bylsma. Francis was quickly and decisively firm in his reply when queried by Forslund: “Look, I’m the GM. I hired Dan. He’s my coach. We’re both trying to figure out a way to get where we need to get.”

          Forslund asked about captain Jordan Eberle, a good question with few updates about a player and leader the team is sorely missing (including the power play). Francis said with the pelvis surgery on Nov. 22, Eberle is just 10 days into being able to put any weight on the pelvis. The veteran winger is working out in the pool for now, probably “not touching the ice for another week or two.” The GM said fans can expect Eberle back toward the end of February. In other rehab news, Francis said alternate captain Yanni Gourde is still at least a couple of weeks away.

          The six-minute interview, including Francis’ thoughts about the early March trade deadline, is embedded with this story. It’s worth watching in full.

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              Kraken general manager Ron Francis joins the pregame show to chat with John Forslund about the road trip and the status of injured forwards Jordan Eberle and Yanni Gourde.

              First 40 Minutes Not What Coach Wanted

              The first period here featured some things familiar and two items rare Tuesday in this city that can thank both GM Ron Francis (1991, 1992) and coach Dan Bylsma (2009) for major contributions to the hometown winning three of its five Stanley Cups. To explain, Kraken goalie Joey Daccord turned in a stellar and his usual reliable performance in the opening 20 minutes, making 15 saves, facing nine Grade-A scoring chances (per Natural Stat Trick) and surrendering a lone goal.

              Also familiar in the first frame but not what Bylsma had in mind after Tuesday’s morning skate when he urged his squad to get back to better habits at the start of games. This night, the start produced a 1-1 tie at first intermission, but the visitors were outshot 12 to 2 and struggled to exit the defensive zone.

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                  SEA@PIT: Stephenson scores goal against Tristan Jarry

                  As for the rare item: when the Kraken were whistled for too-many-men-on-the-ice bench penalty (too many of this season), center Chandler Stephenson scored the Kraken’s first shorthanded goal of the season. The play was started by none other than Joey Daccord, earning his first assist of the season and, in fact, his NHL career. It’s not a shock for Daccord to register a point with his elite stickhandling for a goalie. More surprising is it is his first ever in the NHL; he had six assists, three in the regular season and three more in the playoffs during the AHL 2022-23 season.

                  “I’ve made a lot of plays with the puck,” said Daccord, smiling, to Kraken Hockey Network’s Piper Shaw post-game. “It was nice to score on one, kind of get the monkey off my back ... honestly, I was just trying to rip out of the zone [during a penalty kill] and ‘Canner’ [Jared McCann notched the primary assist] made a nice play to get open and pass it to Stevie.”

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                      KHN's Piper Shaw chats with Joey Daccord following the Kraken's 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, in which Joey Daccord recorded his first career point in the NHL.

                      Pittsburgh seized its first lead of the night just short of five minutes into the middle period when the Penguins settled into the Kraken zone, cycling the puck. Three-time Cup winner Evgeni Malkin, just back from injury, moved the puck to offensively gifted defenseman Erik Karlsson, who you always have to think he might shoot on net. Instead, he found forward Bryan Rust wide-open cross-ice about a stride, maybe two, above the goal line. His angle was not ideal, but the veteran winger quick-released to beat Daccord before the Seattle goalie could fully slide from his left to right.

                      After the Pittsburgh goal, Daccord kept his squad close, with the home squad shots on goal count at 28 after two periods. His best saves of the middle frame were in the 16th minute, stopping two quality attempts in two seconds from veteran fourth-line forward Noel Accari and third-pair 20-year-old D-man Owen Pickering, a first-round pick (No. 21 overall) in 2022. The Kraken notched eight shots (none high-danger) to finish with 10 shots in 40 minutes.