Final Buzzer: Not the Kraken's Night

Early in the season, Kraken captain Mark Giordano adroitly pointed out the NHL is a league featuring a lot of tight games and one-goal victories. That's a common denominator over a full regular season. Sometimes you win those close games, other nights not.

Saturday was a not. Edmonton scored a contested third-period goal to take a 4-3 lead after a knotted first 40 minutes, then hung on to top a competitive Kraken squad. Superstar captain Connor McDavid scored a sliding empty-net goal to seal a 5-3 victory in the final minute.
"I didn't feel the game was as lopsided as the shot totals [41 to 17 in favor of Edmonton]," Giordano said. "But it seemed equal in scoring chances."
Giordano noted the Edmonton offense isn't reluctant to take shots on goal. Along with the 41 shots, there were 18 more shots blocked by Kraken players.
"That's key to success to learn from," Giordano said. "We could do that more, put pucks on the net."
"In a lot of ways it was a tight hockey game," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "We couldn't get a push [sustained pressure in the offensive zone] in the second and third period. We did not have any movement in the neutral zone and we didn't forecheck."
In terms of scoring chances, the first period was equalitarian, but heavily in favor of Edmonton during the third period, according to numbers from NaturalStatTrick.com. The second period tilted to the Oilers but Seattle had their own handful-plus of opportunities for go-ahead goals.

No Goal Becomes Good (and Winning) Goal

With 11:06 remaining in the third period, the Kraken faithful roared when an apparent go-ahead fourth Edmonton goal was ruled no goal on the ice as Seattle goalie Chris Driedger was knocked over by Oilers forward Warren Foegele with Foegele's shot spinning high, then low into the goal.
The on-ice officials signaled no goal immediately, citing goalie interference on Foegele. But upon a video review requested by Edmonton, the referees here in Seattle consulted with the hockey operations "situation room" in Toronto (every goal is reviewed as a good goal, even the obvious ones).
The ruling was no goalie interference because Foegele was pushed into Driedger by Giordano. The good goal appeared to stagger both the crowd of 17,151 and the Kraken bench.
Foegele had two goals on the night after getting his first goal of the year in a Thursday win. Leon Draisaitl, Oilers forward and co-leading NHL scorer with teammate McDavid, assisted on both goals.
Foegele was traded from Carolina to Edmonton this summer in exchange for former Seattle Thunderbirds star Ethan Bear. Foegele was a 2014 third-round selection in the first draft supervised by former Carolina GM and now Kraken boss Ron Francis.
"It was a hard-fought game that came down to one play," Giordano said. "I pushed a guy [Foegele] and maybe I should have laid off."

Hard Hitting on Both Sides

The collective mood took another dip when fan favorite Brandon Tanev needed a couple of minutes to get up and to the bench (with assistance from teammates) after absorbing a hard check by Edmonton defenseman William Lagesson with 3:51 remaining.
On the first shift after Tanev's departure, center Jared McCann made a statement hit of his own, smashing Oilers defenseman Tyson Barrie into the boards behind the EDM goal. McCann held the check longer than usual, Barrie didn't like it and two minutes of roughing for both players was the result.
The Oilers outhit the Kraken, 29 to 16.
One of the Kraken's biggest hitters, defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, was unavailable Saturday related to the league's COVID-19 protocol.

A Night's Work in 40 Minutes

After a 20-shot first period by the visitors, the Kraken's defense-first system limited the high-flying Oilers to nine shots. Driedger, in his sixth start of the season, added another handful of key saves. One highlight was robbing Spokane native and EDM forward Kailer Yamamoto's close-in backhander shot about seven minutes into the period.
Still, 29 shots on goal is a solid night's work for many NHL offenses - and the goaltenders assigned to keep them on this side of the goal line.
The lone Edmonton goal in the second period resulted from forward Seth Griffith jarring the puck loose from Kraken center Morgan Geekie behind the Seattle net. Geekie inadvertently bladed the puck to the always worrisome and dangerous McDavid, who shoveled a tap-in goal-in-the-make to the Oilers' Colton Sceviour.

Donato Goes Three for Three

Ryan Donato scored a goal in his third straight game, taking his time with the puck, slanting right before firing the puck past Oilers rookie goalie Stuart Skinner. Once he decided to shoot - with an Edmonton defender partially marring Skinner's sightline - Donato's release did the rest.
The scoring sequence started with Geekie hustling back to the defensive zone to break up an EDM scoring attempt, then speeding up ice with a loose puck to set up Donato.
Astute Kraken fans, whether in person or watching and listening to play-by-play man extraordinaire John Forslund, observed several outstanding plays from Donato in the Kraken defensive zone. He's a finisher in all three zones.

First-Period Flurry

There were several missing pieces in the Edmonton lineup due to a double-whammy of injuries and players in COVID-19 protocol, including forward Jesse Puljujarvi (he scored two goals and added an assist in a Thursday home win). But those left skating and standing for the Oilers include all-world forwards McDavid and Draisaitl along with star defenseman Darnell Nurse.
None of the three scored in the first period, but the trio combined for six shots on goal and Draisaitl assisted on both goals in the opening 20 minutes. In all, the Edmonton attack peppered Driedger with 21 shots on goal, plus five missed shots and three shots blocked by Kraken skaters.
Driedger would likely say he would like to time-travel back the first goal, which EDM defenseman Evan Bouchard shot past the goalie's glove from just inside the blue line at the right point. The second goal came off a rebound during an Oilers power play.
With Jordan Eberle operating behind the net mid-period, he strung a pass to an awaiting McCann, who scored his 12th goal of the season to tie Eberle for the team lead in goals. It was 2-0 after 10 minutes.

Don't Forget the Toys

The Kraken Toy Drive filled one whole bus with toys donated by fans on Saturday. With the Toronto game postponed Sunday, fans can still help fill up a second bus for children serviced by the Mary's Place nonprofit organization.
On Sunday, fans can bring new unwrapped toys to the KEXP gathering space on the Seattle Center campus (directly north and west from Climate Pledge Arena) or drop them at The Lair team store inside the arena.
Hours for the Lair Sunday are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can make some kids happy at the holidays and maybe do some gift shopping while you are at it.