Final Buzzer: McCann Nets Forty

There were plenty of Kraken deep sea blue jerseys scattered throughout the 5,000 seat Mullet Arena, home to not only the Arizona Coyotes but also the Arizona State Sun Devils hockey team. The college atmosphere was only fitting as three NCAA standouts found the scoresheet in the contest, including University of Wisconsin alumni, Justin Schultz, scoring the game-winning goal.
The Kraken controlled the tempo early first period, not allowing a shot on Philipp Grubauer until the 13:22 mark and generating three odd-man rush situations that were thwarted by the Coyotes defense but the Coyotes struck first, when Liam O'Brien collected a failed clear attempt by Morgan Geekie and fired the puck on net. With traffic in front of Philipp Grubauer, four-year Boston College star, Jack McBain got a stick on O'Brien's fluttering shot, redirecting it through the legs of Grubauer.

Seattle would turn this game on its head in the second period, as Oliver Bjorkstrand, Justin Schultz, and the University of Michigan's Matty Beniers would all find the back of the net to put the game out of reach.
The Coyotes had ample opportunity in the 3rd period but the Kraken defense remained structured and Philipp Grubauer stood tall throughout. Jared McCann would net his 40th goal of the season, a carbon copy of the classic McCann goal we've seen so many times this season.
To cap off the night, Joey Daccord, called up Sunday after Martin Jones suffered an apparent hand injury, got the opportunity to see a few seconds of action at his alma mater with just over a minute to play. Daccord won 32 games over three seasons at Arizona State and was the only Sun Devil to suit up in the NHL this season.

Second Period Surge

The middle period has not been friendly to the Coyotes this season. Coming into Monday's contest Arizona had a -32 goal differential, ranking 3rd worst in the league in second periods. Make that -35 as the Kraken notched three goals in the period to take a two-goal lead into the second intermission.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, on his 28th birthday, got things started with a powerplay goal. With the Kraken cycling, Bjorkstrand set up shop between the faceoff circles and wired a one-timer from Alex Wennberg over the right shoulder of Arizona goalie Ivan Prosvetov.

Justin Schultz, doing his best Adam Larsson impression from two nights earlier, would give the Kraken the lead late second period. After taking a boarding penalty on Nick Schmaltz, Schultz would serve two minutes as he watched the Kraken successfully kill their second penalty of the game. The Coyotes' attempt to get the puck to the point hopped over a stick and found Schultz galloping out of the box to collect the loose puck at center ice and like Larsson, Schultz buried the breakaway with a backhand-forehand deke.

Asked about Schultz's goal, Dave Hakstol was complimentary of his defenseman. "Quiet swagger. That's what he has," said Hakstol. "He's got a calmness about him that feeds into everybody around him."
"I think tonight on the breakaway he just wanted to one-up Lars from the other night," Hakstol said smiling. "I just think that's all it was about."
Rookie sensation Matty Beniers would build on the lead after a great stretch pass by Will Borgen found Jared McCann at the Coyotes blueline. McCann would enter the zone and leave a neat drop pass to Beniers streaking down his flank. Like we've seen so many times this season, Beniers let a quick wrist shot go that sped by Prosvetov for his 24th goal of the season.

Forty For McCann

Prior to finding the scoresheet, Jared McCann stamped his name all over this game. He set up Matty Beniers for the Kraken's third goal of the game and had two grade-A scoring chances in the first two periods.. He was also effective on the penalty kill with several key clearances and one near breakaway that he reluctantly dumped into the Coyotes' zone in order to get fresh linemates on the ice.
No. 40 was classic McCann, setting up in his shop at the top of the faceoff circle to the right of Prosvetov, collecting a pass from Justin Schultz, and wiring his patented wrist shot past the Russian goaltender. It's a goal that Kraken fans have seen dozens of times this season and it assuredly won't get old with McCann under contract through the 2026-2027 season after GM Ron Francis inked him to a long-term deal last March.

Before joining Seattle at the 2021 Expansion Draft, the former first-round pick bounced around the league, playing for three teams in a span of 6 seasons. When asked if he ever envisioned hitting the 40-goal mark through the ups and downs early in his career, McCann was quick to answer, "I just needed a chance. There's a lot of guys in the NHL that don't get the opportunity. Not that they don't deserve it - sometimes that's just the way it goes. It's something that I've obviously had to work for."
When asked about the winger hitting his milestone 40th goal Hakstol praised McCann's scoring ability but emphasized his work away from the puck. "He continues to push the envelope and improve what he's doing offensively but it still comes back to the people around him, the team around him, and the way he's playing a 200-foot game. He's doing that while also becoming one of our top PKers, playing in different roles so the 40 is a big number and that's something he should feel good about. It's the rest of his game that makes that all the more important."
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Megna Stays Ready

Most players would agree that one of the toughest jobs in hockey is slotting back into the lineup after several days, or in Jaycob Megna's case, weeks, of being a healthy scratch. The ability to be inserted into the lineup and get up to speed - sometimes with just a few hours notice - becomes increasingly important during a grueling playoff series as the bumps and bruises pile up.
With the Kraken coaching staff giving Vince Dunn the night off (likely load management) Megna was tapped to play alongside Adam Larsson on the first defense pairing. It was Megna's first game action since March 16th.
Despite Megna's role as the Kraken's 7th defenseman of late, the former University of Nebraska-Omaha standout is no stranger to big minutes, playing alongside Norris Trophy (award for NHL's best defenseman) favorite Erik Karlsson in San Jose before being traded to Seattle on February 5th.
Megna's presence was felt early, stepping up in the neutral zone to interrupt a breakout pass that was headed to Coyote's center Laurent Dauphin. Megna gained possession and the Kraken regrouped and broke out toward the Coyotes zone. He also added two shots in the period, giving Prosvetov some trouble on each and ended the period with 07:27 time on ice, second to only Jamie Oleksiak.