Final Buzzer: Well 'Dunn' in OT

SAN JOSE - With Philipp Grubauer earning the first standings point of the night, making 31 saves, and facing 12 Grade-A scoring chances in regulation, Kraken leading scorer Vince Dunn secured the second point or what victorious Kraken players were calling a "deuce" when walking back into the visitors' locker room after a 2-1 overtime victory. Dunn scored his 13th goal of the season to solve a valiant James Reimer.

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Bjorksrand (and Gourde) to the Rescue

With Kraken down a goal and 107 minutes into not scoring on Sharks goalie James Reimer in the home team's rink this calendar year, Yanni Gourde took a pass from fellow alternate captain Adam Larsson and seemingly improbably but not really, Gourde sent a crisp pass from behind the end line to reach linemate Oliver Bjorkstrand in the neutral zone. Bjorkstrand broke in all alone on Reimer and snapped the puck past him.

Bjorkstrand's 15th goal of the season clearly revived the Kraken and pushed this nail-biter to overtime. Coach Dave Hakstol and his staff had moved Bjorkstand back to the Gourde line for this game and it paid off.
"Those three have been really good anytime they've been together," said Hakstol about Bjorkstrand, Gourde, and Eeli Tolvanen. "The energy that they play with, they've consistently generated offense. Tonight they did that again. That [scoring] play is just it's a great read by the two guys."

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Grubi in a Grruuuuuve

On a night when the Kraken were coming up empty in the offensive zone, Philipp Grubauer continued keeping his squad in the game. Grubauer matched James Reimer save for save and Grade-A stop for Grade-A stop through the first 40 minutes.
All on a night when two standings points were one, expected, and two, needed to keep pace with the three hot teams ahead of Seattle in the Pacific Division. Vegas lost for the first time in five games Thursday but still leads the division with 90 points. Los Angeles overpowered Columbus Thursday and now has 89 points. Edmonton dismissed Dallas, 4-1, and sits in third place with 86 points (the Oilers have played one more game than all other Pacific contenders). Seattle now has 85 points, one behind Edmonton, and currently in the first wild-card spot four points ahead of the second wild-card team, Winnipeg.
So when Sharks rookie William Eklund broke the scoring drought the overall feeling for Kraken fans was to worry. With Edmonton coming to town Saturday, a home win gets Seattle within one point with a game in hand.
Phillip Grubauer, on the other hand, was not fretting: "I'm not really worried about the Eklund goal] because we had some great chances and it was just a matter of time where we find the back of the net. 'Bjorky' did a pretty good job of it."
Grubauer kept coming up with big saves in the third period, one right after he allowed the penalty shot, and another right after the Bjorkstrand tying goal. He faced seven Grade-A scoring chances in the third period alone, per Natural Stat Trick.
"We knew it was going to be that kind of game that we'd have to push it through 60 minutes," said Hakstol. We did wobble a little bit when we gave up the first goal. But the next six, seven minutes 'Grubi' was really good for us. He just stabilized us, took care of things, settled things down until we were able to get the equalizer."
[Watch: Youtube Video

'Spell' It Reimer

Late second period, ROOT SPORTS play-by-play man extraordinaire referred to Sharks goalie James Reimer's play Thursday night as a continuation of the 35-year-old veteran casting his "spell over the Kraken." When the horn sounded to end the second period, the Kraken had notched seven Grade-A scoring chances, 15 shots on goal, two near-misses off the stick of Ryan Donato, and precisely zero goals. It was the fifth straight period that Reimer has turned in a clean sheet at his end of the ice here in San Jose. When Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in the third period, the spell ended at 107 minutes.

First-Period Grades

The first period turned no goal, extending the Kraken's string of zeroes here in northern California to four straight periods, since Thursday's Sharks starter in goal, James Reimer, blanked the Kraken on President's Day in mid-February. Reimer handled just eight Seattle shots in the first 20 minutes, perhaps his best save was getting his glove in front of a Jared McCann laser from the high slot. Reimer didn't catch it but flailed enough for the puck to hit the catching glove and deflect away.
If grades were handed out for the first period, give high marks to Jordan Eberle, Philipp Grubauer, and the right goalpost at the Kraken end. Eberle was active in the offensive end, though the team as a whole didn't spend much time there. The veteran forward set up McCann on a couple of chances, plus pushed the puck deep more frequently than his teammates (though it is hard to not give at least a solid grade to fellow alternate captain Yanni Gourde). Grubauer handled four Grade-A scoring chances in the period and made big stops on an early penalty kill, most notably robbing Sharks veteran Alexander Barabanov.
The third star of the period goes to the right goalpost behind Grubauer. When Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson (20 goals, 64 assists coming in the night) gathered up a loose puck in his own zone with less than 10 seconds remaining, he zipped up ice and bladed a perfect pass to Noah Gregor, who received and shot the puck without breaking stride.

Firebirds Clinch Playoff Bid

With Chris Driedger in goal, making 29 saves in a 4-1 victory Wednesday night, American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Valley clinched a playoff spot in its inaugural season. The Firebirds have been a league leader all season in winning percentage. Driedger now has three wins with Coachella Valley. Kudos to the entire squad, Dan Bylsma and his coaching staff, along with the Firebirds hockey operations group led by Troy Bodie. It's another positive step in GM Ron Francis' plan to develop players and build a consistently winning NHL team.