Final Buzzer: Too Much Pavelski

DALLAS - This Texas visit did not start the way the Kraken and its fans imagined. Coach Dave Hakstol and his players know the Dallas modus operandi is get an early goal or two, then tighten up the defensive screws.

Seattle's gift from the hockey gods, play-by-play announcer John Forslund, no doubt filled in fans on ROOT SPORTS Northwest on the Stars' strategy. The plan was to hold off a torrent of goals, Hakstol told media members before the game.
But that didn't stop Dallas forward Roope Hintz, who rose to hockey prominence during the Stars' run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, scored his 14th goal of the season just 50 seconds into Wednesday's game. Phenom Jason Robertson, 22, notched the primary assist and still-highly-productive-37-year-old pro's pro Joe Pavelski got the scoring sequence started.
In the end, the final result didn't goes as planned either. Dallas defeated the Kraken, 5-2. Pavelski finished with two goals and three assists to have a hand in every Stars score.

Getting Fired Up

Hakstol did add Wednesday morning "it doesn't always mean scoring the first goal" but does demand the Kraken's opponent has to be defending, too.
To that end, things were trending up seven minutes later when Hintz was whistled for a cross-checking two-minute minor penalty. Hintz' cross-check sent Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn sprawling awkwardly into the corner left of Seattle goalie Philipp Grubauer.
Kraken forward Calle Jarnkrok took exception to the hit and promptly went jaw-to-jaw with Hintz, adding a shove or two for emphasis. This sort of stand-up move not only supports a teammate but typically fires up the team's bench.
In this case, Jarnkrok fired himself up. On the power play, Jared McCann started a passing sequence with a fast, accurate pass net-side to veteran Marcus Johansson, who pinballed the puck immediately to a nearby and also net-front Jarnkrok.
Jarnkrok didn't score his first goal for Seattle until his 13th game. He now has five, including three in the last four games.

Dallas Pushes Back

Pavelski scored the go-ahead goal at exactly the 11-minute mark or two minutes and 35 seconds after the Kraken's tying goal. He scores a lot of big goals for the Stars, a major reason why Dallas signed him to a three-year, $21 million contract on the first day of NHL Free Agency in 2019.
The score was not technically a
response goal
- and same goes for a Robertson score two minutes and one second after Pavelski's goal to make it 3-1. But to any Kraken fan, both tallies seemed like replies.
There's a major reason why the Stars were 13-3-1 at home this season going into Wednesday. Dallas is top-six in the NHL for converting power-play opportunities (26 percent). When Adam Larsson (delay of game) and Vince Dunn (hooking) were called for penalties 12 minutes into the opening 20 minutes, it created a 5-on-3 advantage for Dallas. Robertson converted for his 13th goal to go with 19 assists in 26 games.
"We know they come hard in the first period," Hakstol said after the game. "They beat us in the first period... Three to one is tough to come back from."
Hakstol said he had "no issue" with the effort of his team in the second and third periods.
"No one was happy about that first period," Jarnkrok said. "No one had to say much [in the locker room]. We came out [after first intermission] as a new team."
"With a game tomorrow night [Thursday in St. Louis], there has to be a short memory," Hakstol said. "We have to clear the deck and get back to it."

Strong Second Period - Almost

A resilient Kraken squad closed out the first period without further damage and contained the Dallas chances well into the second period. In the fashion of the best-defense-is-playing-offense, Dunn won a puck battle with Hintz to keep the puck in the Dallas zone five-plus minutes into the middle frame.
Dunn, with obvious stick skill and agile skating, won possession of a bouncing puck and wired a pass from inside the blue line to an open Jordan Eberle behind the net. Eberle choked up on his stick like a baseball hitter with two strikes and ladled the puck across Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger's crease to an awaiting McCann, who wristed it past Oettinger.
The Kraken were still very much in the game with only eight total shots on goal. A late power play for the Kraken provided hope to swing the momentum all the way back to even. But the two man-advantage units deployed by Hakstol were quiet.
Nine seconds later, Pavelski drifted his way behind Dunn to park at Grubauer's left post. Stars defenseman Esa Lindell noticed and threaded a pass to Pavelski for a tap-in and his second score of the night. A possible tying-goal scenario turned back into a two-goal margin.

Sizing Up Scoring Chances

According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the Stars dominated in scoring chances in the first period, and the teams were even in the second period. In all, Dallas owned 14 scoring chances to Seattle's seven.
If you accept the concept of high-danger scoring chances (basically a hard definition based on location area of the shot), the Stars notched eight high-danger chances compared to two for the Kraken.
By the eye test, both Jarnkrok (on a hustle play, jumping off the bench when a racing Max McCormick worked hard to make the shift happen) and McCann (odd-man rush) both came close to equalizers before Pavelski's late-period fourth score for Dallas. McCann's near-goal fell just a stride short of a spin-o-rama that would have instantly qualified for Kraken goal-of-the-year consideration.
It should be noted Grubauer made any number of solid saves later first period and deep into the second 20 minutes, keeping the game close. He made a huge save on a close-in, wide-open backhand shot from Dallas' Jacob Peterson.

Tale of Two Power Plays

The Kraken's opening-period power play was a success story, featuring precise and swift passes by McCann and Eberle with Jarnkrok finishing. Just like Hakstol and assistant coach Paul McFarland drew it up.
The late second-period power play was not as silent as it might first seem, Hakstol said.
"On the first power play, we got set up, we were ready and prepared," Hakstol said. "Their PK [penalty kill unit], number 1 is difficult to get in and get set up ... we got set up [on the second man-advantage situation], we just didn't get any clean looks."

Line of Praise

When asked about another strong offensive night for McCann, Hakstol went straight to appreciating the work of McCann and veteran linemates Johansson and Eberle.
"Two nights ago [in Colorado]," Hakstol said, "they drew that line, a tough matchup [featuring Nathan MacKinnon, who went scoreless]. That's a heavy load to carry night after night."
Hakstol was pleased the Johansson-McCann-Eberle line "won the majority of their matchups" in the second and third periods, leading to some higher-probability scoring chances.
Johansson, for his part, continues to deliver in his role replacing the injured Jaden Schwartz (out at least another month recovering from hand surgery). Along with the power-play assist - another example of how Johansson battles for net-front position and then stays there - Johansson is willing to block shots and forecheck to win back possession.
A first-period shift featured a monster shot block that felled him but only momentarily because five to seven seconds later he was disrupting a Dallas neutral-zone pass that nearly turned into a Kraken steal and breakaway attempt.

Final Push Not Enough

As expected, once Dallas took a two-goal lead into the third period, they played textbook containment hockey, especially during 5-on-5 play. The Kraken's two best opportunities to get back within one goal both came off slap shots by McCann, virtually from the same location at the top of the right faceoff circle, during a power play. McCann missed a third attempt that went wide.
The Kraken kept pushing in the Dallas defensive zone, but the 23-year-old Oettinger showed why he is the heir apparent No. 1 Stars goalie who appears to be arriving on schedule despite three NHL-tested goalies also on the Dallas roster at season start.
After finishing two periods with just 10 shots on goal, the Kraken peppered Oettinger with 14 shots on goal in the final 20 minutes. It wasn't enough. The night ended with a 5-2 final on an empty-net goal by defenseman Jani Hakanpaa, his first score of the season.