Big Win for Kraken in LA

Revenge is sweet, yes, and it’s equally sweat, as in Kraken fans perspiring (at least emotionally) during a third period in which Seattle took a 2-0 lead against Los Angeles only to see it cut in half 87 seconds later. But the Kraken kept it positive on the scoreboard and the current road trip with a 2-1 victory to take three of four points from the high-flying Kings in the last five days.

The Kraken now have a five-game point streak and eight of a possible 10 standings points. Wednesday’s 10^th regulation win was the first this season in which Seattle scored less than four goals.

“We've had a roller coaster year,” said Eberle after the win. “It seems like we've blown a lot of leads and then lost in OTs and shootouts ... we just haven't found ways to win fast. Tons of guys are hurt, guys are stepping up ... But these are the games that hopefully catapult your team. “You look at the standings, we're right there. We’ve just got to start putting together 60 minutes for big wins like tonight and find ways to win rather than lose.”

Eberle Ends Scoreless Streak at Right Time

Six-and-a-half minutes into the third period in downtown Los Angeles, veteran forward Jordan Eberle was calling for linemate Matty Beniers to get the puck to him as Eberle was about to enter the Kings zone. Beniers, who looked sharp again Wednesday after his best game of the season in Dallas on the first game of this road trip, was patient, waiting for a rolling puck to settle on his stick blade before passing to spring Eberle in alone on Kings' goalie Cam Talbot.

The resulting goal staked Seattle to a 2-0 lead that held up – barely -- for an important division 2-1 win. After dropping a nine-round shootout at Climate Pledge Arena on the weekend, the Kraken now have won three of four possible points in the season series to date with the Kings, who had only six regulation losses on the season before Thursday.

Two details to know about the Eberle goal: It’s his first score in 13 games and no doubt provided some salve for Eberle’s choice scoring chance going wide in the game’s first minute. As for Beniers, that assist he waited patiently to send Eberle’s way was purposefully zinged right between the skates of future Hall of Fame defenseman Drew Doughty. On the bench, the two Kraken linemates were gabbing animatedly. Along with new wing Tomas Tatar, the line looked sharp on the next shift in a third period that soon featured Kings forward Blake Lizotte taking advantage of a weird and unfortunate bounce off the backboards.

“I just saw a blocked shot [at the Kraken end],” said Eberle post-game when asked about his game-winning goal. “As soon as you see that, a lot of times you can start cheating. I don't generally do that but it was nice to get behind and find one.”

The insurance goal turned necessary in a hurry with Lizotte’s goal, which started with Joey Daccord’s routine swing around the backboards to move the puck to Justin Schultz. But the bad bounce appeared to catch Schultz by surprise with Lizotte quickly chasing down the loose puck and getting it over the goal line before Daccord could return to his net in full. The Kraken goalie, who has certainly done his part and then some with starter Philipp Grubauer out week-to-week, almost stopped this puck too. To that point, he had turned away 37 shots on goal and finished the victory with 42 total saves, tying a career-high for the rookie goaltender.

Voluminous Night for Daccord

Ten minutes into this game, Joey Daccord faced seven shots on goal while Seattle managed two on LA counterpart Cam Talbot. By the end of the first 20 minutes, the shots total was 20 to eight in favor of the home squad. Daccord stopped seven high-danger or Grade-A scoring chances in Period 1 while Talbot faced down four. In the second period, Talbot was the one turning away Grade-A opportunities, halting four and keeping it a one-goal game.

Daccord was still on volume patrol in the middle period, saving 16 more Los Angeles shots on goal, making it 36 or nearly a shot per minute. In contrast to last Saturday’s game between these two Pacific Division squads in which LA dominated the first two periods in shots and scoring chances, the Kraken responded after the first intermission with 17 shots on goal.

Tanev Finally Rewarded

While SEA forward Kailer Yamamoto was racking up five shots on goal in the first two frames, it was Brandon Tanev who converted his own rebound to fashion a 1-0 lead for the visitors. He took the puck to the net after an Alex Wennberg faceoff win in the LA zone, his first shot was fought off by LA’s Talbot but the Kraken fan fave took a swipe at the rebound and knuckled it (intended or not) past Talbot. Sometimes putting the puck on the net is exactly what works, highlight-reel destined or not.

Tanev had a couple of Grade-A chances in Dallas and was likely still shaking his head on the team plane. It’s his third goal of the season.

Not in Uniform Wednesday

Kraken leading scorer Jared McCann and penalty killer extraordinaire Pierre-Edouard Bellemare both left Monday’s contest in Dallas with lower-body injuries. Both were not available on Wednesday. Devin Shore drew back into the lineup – he played well on the homestand picking up two assists – to fill Bellemare’s role as fourth-line center. Rookie Tye Kartye moved to replace McCann with the aforementioned Tanev and Alex Wennberg, the latter who once again contributed more than a dozen high hockey-IQ detail plays. AHL call-up and the team’s expansion draft pick from Vancouver, Kole Lind, dressed to play fourth-line minutes.