Final Buzzer: Kraken Lose Late Lead, Go Down in Shootout

The Kraken were 80 seconds from securing a regulation win over Vancouver. But the Canucks tied with 1:20 remaining. Both teams endured a chaotic overtime, but the home team's Elias Pettersson scored the shootout winner to make it a 6-5 final, just barely beating Kraken goalie and North Vancouver native Martin Jones.
The Kraken are 18-10-4 in 32 games. They have four games in hand as the squad separates for family, which puts them within reach of both Vegas and Los Angeles at the top of the Pacific Division.
Coach Dave Hakstol liked the Kraken's play in the first five minutes of the third period before Vancouver tightened the game to 4-3. Hakstol said the goal changed the energy of the third period for the Canucks, "injecting life into them" despite Daniel Sprong taking a pass from linemate Brandon Tanev a minute later to go back up to a two-goal margin.

"End of the day, we still have a one-goal lead in the last minute and half of the period," said Hakstol about Vancouver having an extra skater with a pulled goalie. "We got one clear and then couldn't get guys off the ice. They were tired and [Vancouver] took advantage. We have to do better with a two-goal lead."
The final minutes of regulation were tense and ultimately disappointing with Seattle guarding a 5-4 lead. SEA goalie Martin Jones made a huge stop Canucks grinder JT Miller with three minutes left, then another big save on Elias Pettersson within two minutes left. Vancouver broke through with 1:20 remaining, with Pettersson scoring his second goal of the night in an empty-net six-on-four scenario. Petterson notched three assists on the other VAN goals.
"Sometimes in hockey, that's the way it goes," said Kraken forward Daniel Sprong, who scored two goals on the night. "Their crowd got into it ... they had a push and we didn't have an answer."
Before the game moved to overtime, Kraken defenseman Justin Schultz nearly won it for Seattle with a long shot that rang off the far post. In overtime, Miller, Pettersson and Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes all hit the iron (post and cross bar) for Vancouver. In the final minute, with a 4-on-3 Vancouver power play, both Alex Wennberg and Jamie Oleksiak made dramatic shot blocks to move the game to shootout. Not to be missed, Kraken teammates were rapping their sticks against the boards at the bench.

Shootout Drama

Ryan Donato was first up for Seattle and lost control of the puck, no goal. Jones stopped Andrei Kuzmenko. Daniel Sprong produced a solid effort against VAN goalie Spencer Martin but couldn't clear the goal line. When JT Miller slow-dragged then roofed a shot past Jones, it was up to Jordan Eberle to keep the game alive for Seattle. The veteran delivered a roof shot of his own. But Elias Pettersson, out sick Wednesday, notched five points in regulation Thursday and squeaked a multiple-deke shot just past Jones to make it 6-5 Canucks.

Ten Seconds, 32 Seconds

The Kraken's fortunes changed for the good in just 10 seconds Thursday, three-and-half minutes into the middle period when Oliver Bjorkstrand and Daniel Sprong scored the second and third Seattle goals. Credit Sprong with his ninth goal of the season with Bjorkstrand registering his fourth. It is the fastest two goals in Kraken history, a nice gift for SEA fans everywhere.
Bjorkstrand benefitted from a pass from linemate Jaden Schwartz, who created a two-on-1 rush with his underrated speed from deep the Kraken defensive zone. The next shift Morgan Geekie cleanly won a faceoff in the offensive zone, directing the puck back to Adam Larsson at the right point. Larsson quickly shot net front with Sprong deflecting the puck upward and over the VAN goal line.

Sprong is tied for third in goals (10, same as Andre Burakovsky) among Seattle goal scorers in just 25 games and is on a 22-goal pace for the season after making the squad on a professional tryout out of training camp. No wonder he was smiling widely after the goal and yet again soon after sitting next to fellow goal scorer Bjorkstrand on the bench.

Jones In Return to Hometown

North Vancouver native Martin Jones got the start and now sports a 15-6-2 record on the season, three more victories than he recorded all year with Philly in 2021-22. He faced 12 Grade-A saves on the night, through two periods, including a big second-period stop on an in-close, point-blank shot by VAN forward Andrei Kuzmenko just 22 seconds after the Sprong goal made it 3-1. Jones had 31 saves for the game.
Just under five minutes later, Vancouver young star Elias Pettersson, who missed Wednesday practice due to illness, did make it 3-2 for his 14th goal of the season. But Jones just a few shifts later denied another crease-front shot, this one by Canucks winger Ilya Mikheyev to avoid the dreaded tie game. Seattle finished the period up 4-2 on stay-with-it goal by Alex Wennberg.

Fast Start, Surprise Goal

The Kraken were humming early in B.C. with special marks to the Kraken fourth line of Morgan Geekie, Brandon Tanev and Daniel Sprong. They were converting solid defensive plays into offensive chances, none better than Geekie firing a point-blank shot at Vancouver goalie Spencer Martin.
The 27-year-old Martin (9-5-1 for the sub-.500 Canucks) made the stop and a few other quality saves in the early aggression from Seattle. But Kraken leading goal scorer Jared McCann surprised Martin mid-period, faking a play to rim the boards into the VAN offensive zone. He slung a long shot from outside the blue line instead (figure it about 66 feet from the goal line) and clearly surprised Martin, who was caught one stride out of the crease to stop the puck behind his net. It ended up far side over the goal line.
"He's a pretty active goalie," said McCann to ROOT SPORTS' Piper Shaw during the first intermission. "I thought I would throw one past him."
It should be noted: Kraken D-man Adam Larsson, whose stretch pass Tuesday night was a popular topic of discussion in media scrums after the home win over St. Louis, was up to the offensive wizardry again Thursday. After Matty Beniers disrupted a Vancouver rush, he pushed the puck to Larsson. The Kraken's No. 1 defenseman, same as Tuesday, was skating toward his own end only quickly change direct a backhand pass to McCann. The quick play enhanced the surprise attack on Martin.