Kraken Seize Moment(um), Win

Among players and coaches alike, this Kraken club knows every game from now until mid-April is effectively “must-win” (Jared McCann’s words) and that “a run of consistent wins” (per Dave Hakstol) is needed to snag one of two Western Conference wild card spots. The urgency was apparent and appropriate in Thursday’s 5-2 win over first-place Vancouver.

The Kraken and Canucks traded goals for the game’s first half, knotting the game at two apiece. Then Seattle stick-shifted into high gear with a pair of goals from veterans Justin Schultz and Jordan Eberle, plus both earning secondary assists on the other’s score. The 4-2 Seattle advantage after 40 minutes drew a huge roar from the Kraken faithful while quieting a contingent of B.C. residents down south for the night.

But it was hard to tell which middle-period event generated the most decibels: McCann’s unassisted spin-and-shoot goal was loud, but fan-fave Brandon Tanev clearly out-fisting VAN forward Conor Garland in a scrap just a minute later sending both the penalty boxes for five minutes, with the crowd mega-hooting and loving it whether they knew or not that Garland has agitated the Kraken before. Officials stopped the brawl before Tanev could dominate any further.

The Schultz goal, which put the Kraken ahead for the night, probably was the loudest, though it likely wasn’t for second-year center Matty Beniers who basically provided a flash screen that sent VAN goalie Thatcher Demko iceward and out of position for the Schultz shot from the point. Assists went to Schultz's D-partner Brian Dumoulin (playing in his 600^th NHL game) and the aforementioned Eberle but Beniers continues to pull off the small details that lead Dave Hakstol to sing his young center’s veteran-like attention to the little details that win games.

"It was a solid performance all the way through,” said a pleased Dave Hakstol afterward. “We get good contributions from everybody. Our play with the puck drives a lot of our success. We were moving the puck and making good, hard plays getting through the neutral zone. We played fast and that's the way we looked tonight for most of the night.”

Holding Onto the Lead and ‘W’

Vancouver has three forwards who are on the verge of notching 30 goals for the season, with J.T. Miller getting one closer with his 29^th to open the night’s scoring. Canucks forward Brock Boeser already has 31. But the visitors couldn’t get much going against Seattle in this division duel, managing just 12 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes and only two more in the first half of the final period when a lot more scoring attempts were needed to overcome a two-goal deficit.

Vancouver did start to generate some shots in the final 10 minutes, but Philipp Grubauer and his teammates kept the score sheet from getting too crowded. One thing that helps is limiting the rebound attempts on Grubauer plus some offensive rushes by Seattle. You can’t score if the other squad has the puck.

The final shots on goal count was 30 for Seattle and 21 for Vancouver. It led to the Canucks fourth-straight loss and Seattle keeping up with other wild-card contender wins on the night. Jordan Eberle ended the suspense with an empty-net goal for his second of the night and 12^th of the season for the 5-2 final. Next up: Wild-card contender Minnesota is here Saturday in another must-win or, very least, gain-at-least-one-standings-point match.

Dunn’s First in 12 Games, McCann’s Third of the Week

Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn scored his ninth goal of the season in the first period here Thursday. It’s his first in 12 games dating back to Jan. 9. He’s notched three assists since the All-Star break, but the team is clearly glad to see the dynamic D-man regain his scoring touch.

Dunn notched a career-high 14 goals last season and dropped in 50 assists. He’s on pace to repeat that goal number but a hot streak can push past last year’s mark.

Dunn’s goal was not officially a power play goal for Seattle but was just after a Vancouver penalty with the Canucks still short on manpower. Dunn fed Jared McCann with what VAN goalie and fellow penaltykillers figured to be a shot attempt. But McCann curled the puck back to Dunn for a hard shot that surprised and slithered past bodies net-front.

“We had them running around a bit,” said Dunn to ROOT Sports’ Piper Shaw during the first intermission. “Everyone knows ‘Canner’ is a shooter.”

The Kraken’s second goal, this one to take a 2-1 lead 21 seconds into the middle period, did in fact come on a Jared McCann shot. The Canucks were attempting to clear a puck from the right corner in the VAN zone but it ended up in the high slot where McCann gathered the puck with his back to the net. The Kraken’s leading scorer spun and quickly set his shot, fast-releasing wrist shot past goalie Thatcher Demko for an unassisted strike.

McCann now has 25 goals on the season and three this calendar week. He is enjoying a torrid stretch home and away. He has five goals and five assists in the last six games here at Climate Pledge Arena. Along with the primary assist on the Dunn goal, the Kraken winger notched the main helper on Eberle’s goal. The coaching staff's move to reunite linemates McCann, Eberle, and Beniers is looking wise right about now.

There’s more to the McCann ongoing heater: He entered Thursday’s Pacific Division affair with 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in the last 15 games. He’s now at 11 goals and 12 assists in his own version of a sweet 16 games.

Eberle, with a two-goal, three-point night himself, was happy to talk about McCann's rising arc as a goal scorer during his three years in the PNW: I've played against them a lot. I think for him, from day one [with the Kraken], I was trying to get him out of his own head. He's very skilled he has one of the best shots I've ever seen.

“If you can get him to play with some confidence like he is now, he's a dangerous, dangerous player. He's obviously thrived here and not only his shot but his playmaking certainly and just little things that people don't pick up, wall plays and stuff like that. I think he's still going to keep growing and growing confidence.”

Penalty Killers Living Large

The Kraken penalty-kill unit had snuffed out 12 of 15 opposing power plays in the previous five games going into Thursday’s action. The killers kept the mojo rising with a first-period shutdown that kept the score at 1-0 (Vancouver scored on its second shot). Then in the middle 20 minutes, the killers were at it again to keep the score even after the Canucks tied it at two goals apiece with two kills and then one more late second period (and three seconds in the third frame) after Seattle took a 4-2 lead.