Final Buzzer: Kraken Sweep Series from Florida

The Florida Panthers stepped onto the ice at Climate Pledge Arena Sunday with just eight losses on the season and revenge on the mind. Seattle beat the Panthers over Thanksgiving weekend, halting a double-digit Florida home winning streak.

It looked like Florida might exact that payback win, coming back from a two-goal deficit to tie the game at 3-3. But forward Mason Appleton, with a pretty pair of assists from D-man Vince Dunn and Alex Wennberg, would have none of that. He scored his third goal of the year 26 seconds into the final period. The tally held as game-winner in a 5-3 victory.
Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer took care of the rest almost singlehandedly, making 10 saves in the third period, standing tallest during a furious final two-and-a-half minutes. Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad had three booming one-timer chances. The first one missed the net, Grubauer saved the second and Ekblad broke his stick on the third attempt.
Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol called Grubauer's "back door, 6-on-5 save on Anthony Duclair" a potential Save of the Year candidate.
"That's what it takes to win in this league," Hakstol said. "You need those saves."
Hakstol explained one of the happy outcomes during such big moments from Grubauer and any Kraken goalie: Players tend to stop to seek what happened or broke down to end up in your net rather than move on to the next shift.
Game, set, Kraken sweep the season series with one of the NHL's top teams. It was Grubauer's third straight strong game and third straight win.

For Starters

The Kraken started this Sunday matchup with three Grade-A scoring chances in the first two minutes, including Adam Larsson hitting a post. Those early shifts set an energetic tone for the Kraken that lasted all game.
Florida punctured the energy five minutes into the game but only just a bit. Duclair put a hard shot on net that Grubauer shut down with a quick right leg pad save. The puck bounced out front, only to be deflected into the net off SEA defenseman Carson Soucy's skate.
The Panthers get up ice in a hurry and bring lots of depth. Case in point: Florida's fourth line started play Sunday with a combined 14 goals and 23 assists. That's a solid definition of depth scoring.
Soucy was injured late first period. He did not return and was announced finished for the night with a lower-body injury.

Grubauer Keeps It Close Early

After the Duclair opening goal, Grubauer denied a second goal by the veteran winger. It had all the makings of high scoring chance with elite defenseman Ekblad providing a perfect lead pass.
Grubauer added another Grade-A save on Florida's Carter Verhaeghe just 24 seconds into the middle period, a similar timeframe to Appleton scoring in the third period. Grubauer then made a second quality save on Verhaeghe before the first minute elapsed.

Three Goals and a New Kraken Scoring Record

Those Grubauer saves made it possible for the Kraken to knot the score five minutes into the second period. Veteran forward Marcus Johansson started the scoring play with a speedy exit from the defensive zone (that will play well in the team viewing room).
At mid-ice, Johansson slid the puck to an accompanying Jared McCann who flew into the Panthers zone before sending a pass to captain Mark Giordano, 38, joining the rush and looking as fresh and speedy as a rookie. Giordano went deep into the zone and found Johansson, who quick-released the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky, who showed up in Seattle with a 20-3-3 record and .925 save percentage.
Mid-second period, Yanni Gourde tripped and missed a point-shot opportunity late on a Seattle power play. But soon after Gourde got a second chance from almost the exact spot.
Gourde took a pass from Larsson who effectively faked a shot of his own before sending the setup to Gourde. Bobrovsky was straining to find the puck and Gourde one-timed it past him.
Seventeen seconds later, Colin Blackwell scored what was the first "header" goal in Kraken history. With the puck sent net-front by Appleton, Blackwell batted at the puck, missed and the puck bonked off his helmet and into the net.

The goal now stands as part of the fastest two goals in Kraken history, albeit 41 games in total. When Hakstol asked if the Blackwell goal is "how he drew it up," the coach paused with a bit of a smile to say, "Absolutely. We showed video on it."
Blackwell doesn't short himself celebrating when he scores. Sunday night he danced away from the net only to take a tumble, then popping back up for the ritual glove-bumping at the bench with teammates. He's a joy to watch and Kraken fans can expect a big second half from him.
Along with Grubauer, Hakstol said he was happy for Appleton's game-winning assist plus the Blackwell assist ("he's been playing hard") and complimented a "really strong game" from Wennberg, who was "used in different situations."
He also liked Gourde dropping the gloves with Florida defenseman Radko Gudas: "That's a team item" and noted his Kraken teammates responded.
Gourde was asked about the scrap in which both were whistled five minutes for fighting.
"It's hockey," Gourde said. "He's a good guy off the ice. I like the way he plays."
With Soucy missing the final two periods, Hakstol said his veteran defensemen - "you can look who play lots of minutes" - played hard minutes and young defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and Haydn Fleury did their part.
Larsson led all Seattle defenders with 25:36 of time on ice, followed by Giordano (22:49), Lauzon (20:39), Dunn (20:34) and Fleury (18:17).