Kraken Sink Sharks

SAN JOSE, CA - The Kraken came to the “Shark Tank” looking to flip the script from the last time they were in this building. Back in January, Seattle suffered a 2-0 shutout loss but this time, the team was resolute in not letting that happen again. In a game that welcomed both Vince Dunn (injury) and Shane Wright back to the team, the Kraken got the first goal of the game less than 30 seconds in. Then they added two more before the first period was done.

While the Sharks found some jump and were able to score twice, Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced and Seattle was able to hold on down the stretch for the 4-2 win.

How did it all go down? Let’s dig in.

Beniers Line Leads the Way

Three games ago, Dave Hakstol reconfigured Matty Beniers’ line to include Eeli Tolvanen and Oliver Bjorkstrand, and tonight, the trio added two more even-strength goals to the two they’ve already generated together. Just twenty-nine seconds into the game, as the puck went into the offensive zone, Tolvanen got on the forecheck, Bjorkstrand – who was in support of the play – retrieved possession among Sharks skaters and after a give-and-go between those two, Bjorkstrand sent the puck north to a waiting Beniers in the left circle. With a quick release, last season’s rookie of the year lasered the puck past Mackenzie Blackwood. 1-0 Seattle off the fourth-fastest goal in Kraken history.

After a Tye Kartye goal was disallowed due to an off-side play, the Beniers line went to work again. Playing the cycle game, this time, the center did the hard work battling for possession. Beniers fought for the puck in the bottom right of the offensive zone, eventually helping to get the puck to Tolvanen behind the net. He sent a quick pass to Bjorkstrand who used what he was given to beat Blackwood from the right circle. It was the Dane’s twentieth goal this year, marking the third straight season he’s scored that many (or more). 2-0 Kraken.

“It's a good way to start the hockey game, especially in this building,” Hakstol said. "We've had a couple of nights where we've had trouble scoring in here, so that's a good way to get off to a positive start. We evaluate everything in a two-way sense, and that group in particular got caught out on a couple of long shifts, but I thought we got good contributions from everybody. Everybody had a piece in it, and that's really positive.”

Wright Time, Right Place

San Jose’s leading scorer, Fabian Zetterlund, got his team on the board with a power play goal that halved the Kraken’s lead, but three minutes later, the new guy in town got on the scoresheet to re-establish a two-goal lead.

Shane Wright was recalled from Coachella Valley Sunday and Hakstol put him between Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz and the two veterans’ advice was simply to “go play and use his young legs” to bring pace to the game. Well, that was on display when all three connected for the third goal of the game. Wright came through the neutral zone and executed a give-and-go with Schwartz to move through the Sharks’ coverage. Once in the zone, Wright drove to the net and passed to Eberle net front. Eberle sent a cross-crease pass right back and before Blackwood could recover from lining up against Eberle, Wright had the puck in the net. With the assist, Eberle earned the 700^th point of his NHL career.

It was a solid game for Wright beyond getting on the scoresheet. He said he felt comfortable and “like I belong out there” followed by compliments for his linemates. Wright played a career-high 15:14 including 2:02 of power play time and had seven shot attempts.

“(That line) did their part,” Hakstol said. “It was awfully nice to see ‘Wrighter’ get the game-winner. They had a bunch of good offensive opportunities. Wrighter was comfortable in the defensive zone. We used him in some of the D-zone draws. And he he dug in and he did a good job there. So overall, you know, a good first night out for him.”

Nervy Middle

The Kraken carried their two-goal lead into the first intermission, but the Sharks weren’t going down without a fight. In the middle frame, the Kraken weren’t holding on to the puck as effectively as they had been and, as a result, spent a lot of time defending. San Jose out-shot Seattle (26-21 attempts), had sustained periods of time in the offensive zone and had five shot attempts from the high-danger areas of the ice. That effort also earned the Sharks a second goal when, during one of those long possessions, the home team moved the puck across the top of the zone to Marc-Edouard Vlasic, whose shot was redirected by Klim Kostin to get past a screened Grubauer.

“I thought we just extended some shifts,” Eberle said. “We were playing in the D-zone tired and they were just rolling around. We were too tired to defend but I thought Grubi did a good job, make some big saves. We obviously held on and then found a way to finish it off.”

Hold the Line

After beginning the third period with a successful penalty kill, the Kraken kept the ice tilted their way. Seattle out-shot San Jose 14-6, and Grubauer stopped everything he saw, even through a late Sharks’ surge, before Jared McCann scored into an empty net to set the final score at 4-2.

“(The PK) sets up the third for us obviously,” Hakstol said. “in a one-goal hockey game, to be able to get the kill... we did a nice job on it. You know, I liked our third there. You know they're going to have a push, they're going to have some shifts, but ultimately, (on their) best opportunity Grubi made a real good save. Offensively, I thought we did a good job. I like the things that we did there in the third period.”

Another reason for relief, Kraken fans surely held their breath when Yanni Gourde left the ice after taking a puck to the mid-section off a Vince Dunn shot. But he was able to return to the game for the final five minutes of play.