Final Buzzer: Stuck in Middle

• Seattle takes 2-0 lead in the first 20 minutes, including the 100th goal of Yanni Gourde's NHL career and 20th of the season.
• Dallas, playoff hopes in the balance, responds with three goals to go up one goal at second intermission. Kraken goalie Chris Driedger made several stops to keep the game in reach.
• Back-and-forth action in third period with close calls at both ends of ice, but no goals equal vital standings points for Dallas.

For a third straight game, the Kraken scored twice before a playoff-bound foe could answer with a goal of its own. Followers know one of those two-goal leads stood up this week against Western Division leader Colorado and the other withered against a five-goal outburst from the offensively torrid Minnesota Wild.
With its postseason on the line Saturday, Dallas roared back from two goals down to tie the game with two Roope Hintz goals (36th and 37th), the latter on a power play. The Stars crowd roared, too.
After witnessing Friday night's middle-period meltdown in Minnesota, coach Dave Hakstol used his one timeout to settle down his squad. It was a good idea, though Dallas scored a third goal to take the lead and revived playoff hopes into the second intermission. The go-ahead goal came off a Ryan Donato redirection pass that Denis Gurianov intercepted and centered in the slot for teammate Vladislav Namestnikov.
"Throughout the game we didn't handle the pressure under our goal line," Hakstol said. "That was an example of it, the turnover by 'Donny.' But we also had a couple tired players on the ice that extended theirs shifts [with the long change distance, making it harder to come off the ice without the potential of exposing the defense]. Those things get you in the second period."
A lively third period resulted in no goals but was not without Kraken scoring chances, stellar Chris Driedger saves and lots of handwringing by Dallas fans fretting near-misses by Seattle.
The final period also featured two high-stick actions by Dallas players, one on defenseman Vince Dunn and the other on Will Borgen. There was no penalty on either play.
Hakstol said he didn't think on either of those two plays "that there was a follow-through, they don't touch the puck" and "both were hard high-sticks to the face."
"We deserved a better fate in the third period for sure," Hakstol said after the game. "I thought we earned a couple power plays in there."

Driedger's Night

Lost in the flurry of goals - three Stars scores in 4 minutes 41 seconds of play - was Driedger keeping his composure and keeping the Kraken within a goal. He made 23 saves by the end of 40 minutes, including five Grade-A chances in the first period and several stops later second period.
During an early third-period power play that could have effectively sealed a win, Driedger made the saves when needed. He finished with 28 saves.
"Trying to do my best to make saves and give us a chance to win," Driedger said. "It's an unfortunate result tonight. We just have to dial in our second periods. Our group is working toward good things."
"'Driedgs' made good saves at the right time to keep it 3-2, which is real important," said Hakstol, adding the Kraken might want "the third one back, the way he played it."
"He made some big saves in the third period," Hakstol continued. "We had better energy in the third period. We were able to get some motion, which creates opportunities for us."

Starting Strong

This must-win game for Dallas was all Stars for the first five minutes. The home squad fired seven shots on Driedger, who saved them all.
Three-plus minutes into play, an apparent Dallas goal livened up a crowd clearly concerned about its team sputtering at just the wrong time of the season. Lots of noise and probably widespread relief and speculation the Stars were about to roll over Seattle, gaining two vital standings points before welcoming top threat Vegas to take Dallas' wild-card spot for a Tuesday showdown here in Big D.
Not so fast, Texas. First, Driedger protested Hintz interfered with his ability to make a save on the shot-basically running him over. Seattle video coaches Tim Ohashi and Brady Morgan quickly watched the replay, especially to determine if Jamie Oleksiak might have pushed Hintz into Driedger (not), urging Hakstol to challenge.
The goal was overturned (many boos) and Seattle opened the scoring instead. Morgan Geekie, back in uniform after sitting two games as a healthy scratch, won the offensive-zone faceoff and sent the puck back to ex-Star Oleksiak at the point. Oleksiak passed to Adam Larsson, who fired a shot that Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger saved but the rebound caromed to Riley Sheahan, who outmuscled a defender to score.
Geekie, btw, was active and no doubt looking to prove his place in the lineup. He later put a big hit on Namestnikov and almost scored net-side himself late in the first period.
"That was a great faceoff win for Morgan," said Sheahan, the veteran center who regularly works faceoff drills with Geekie. "'Lars' had a great shot. I was just trying to get there and win a battle."

Gourde Scores His 100th Goal

Any Kraken fan who has watched open practice at Kraken Community Iceplex this season has likely noticed center Yanni Gourde staying after practice to improve his craft. Sometimes it is practicing one-timer shots and almost always it includes tipping shots coming from the point.
It's fitting that Gourde scored his 100th goal Saturday by tipping defenseman Derrick Pouliot's shot from the left point. Gourde started the whole sequence by winning the puck back in the Dallas zone, then scrapped his way to get position in front of the crease before deflecting the milestone goal. It's his 20th goal of this inaugural season and put Seattle on top 2-0 after the first 20 minutes.

Playoffs Predicament

The Stars did not help their postseason push by losing all three games of last week's road trip, most recently losses in Calgary and Edmonton in which they were significantly outshot and outchanced.
Dallas entered the Kraken matchup with 91 standings points in 78 games, which for now puts the Stars in the second wild-card spot for the eight-team Western Conference playoffs. Vegas, with 89 points in 78 games, is the closest contender to knock out Dallas.
Vegas plays San Jose at home Sunday, then finishes the season with a three-game road trip that starts in Dallas Tuesday. Dallas' four remaining games are all at home here at the American Airlines Center, which opened in 2001. The Dallas win over the Kraken gives a bit of breathing room to the Stars.