Final Buzzer: 100 Percent Chance of Fleury

First there was Fleury, then a third-period flurry.

Young defenseman Haydn Fleury scored the first two goals of the game and his season to stake a 2-1 lead for the Kraken after two periods - well, after the first 39 minutes and 41 seconds.
That's when Seattle center Yanni Gourde was looking to carry the puck fast out of his team's defensive zone when Minnesota star Kirill Kaprizov thieved the puck and pounced toward Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer.
"Terrible turnover by me, unacceptable," Gourde said in the post-game media scrum. "The Grubi comes up big."
It was only the 15th shot Grubauer faced to that point, which can be challenging for a goalie. They typically like to see more shots, though Grubauer said afterward "I watch the game the same way, whether the last shot was 10 seconds earlier or 19 minutes."
Grubauer stopped Kaprizov's wrist shot and the entire Kraken bench exhaled, then soon marched off for intermission.
"It was a huge save at a key time," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "Kaprizov is a dynamic, game-breaker player. He doesn't need a lot of room to make something out of nothing."

Defense Continues to Create Offense

When the Kraken celebrated their first win of the season, Fleury was in street clothes sitting next to player-of-the-night Vince Dunn (as decided by captain Mark Giordano).
For the home opener, he was introduced to the Seattle-noisy crowd during player introductions but wasn't in uniform.
In Tuesday's 5-1 win over Montreal, Fleury was wearing Kraken blue and getting post-game praise from Hakstol for his play in the defensive end. There's more: The young defenseman (a GM Ron Francis amateur draft selection at Carolina and expansion pick this summer) led the Kraken with 10 shot attempts.

Fleury kept it going in Thursday's first period and it paid off handsomely for the D-man. Joonas Donskoi started the play with a pass to Jaden Schwartz, who sent it around the boards to Fleury.
The expansion pick from Anaheim (he was traded there mid-season) zinged a winner past Wild goalie Cam Talbot to tie the game at 13:23 of the first period. The hard shot was from the left point inside the blue line.
Fleury scored his second goal of the night - and second of the season in five games played - after receiving the puck from forward Ryan Donato. Fleury moved in on Talbot, sending and then following a shot that deflected back to him.
As Yanni Gourde generated some mayhem in front of the net, pushing and agitating, Fleury executed a flawless and graceful wraparound move. He traveled from Talbot's right goal post to behind the net and showing up at the left goal post with the puck a good second before Talbot arrived.
Guess here is the Minnesota goalie never saw Fleury wrapping around.

Six-Goal Killer

Seattle forward Brandon Tanev iced the game with an empty-net goal in the final minute, making it 3-1. Then, Giordano banked a rink-long shot to make it a 4-1 final. It was Tanev's team-leading sixth goal of the season; he scored seven all of last year.
Giordano notched his second goal of the season, both on this homestand.
The authentic goal horn from a decommissioned Washington State ferry sounded FAAAABBBUULLOOOOUSSSSSS. One reason: The Kraken game presentation is finally getting a chance to get equipment and electrical and more into place.
The horn got quite the workout, blaring three times in the final minute - two goals and the game-end victory horn.

Shots on Goal

Minnesota entered Thursday's game No. 1 in the NHL in shots on goal and No. 2 for scoring chances off the offensive rush (moving through the neutral zone and into the O-zone), scoring chances off rebounds and scoring chances off their forechecking (winning the puck back in the opponent's defensive zone).
After two periods, Seattle had doubled on the Wild. The shot count was 30 for the Kraken and 15 for the Wild.
Minnesota rallied with 15 shots on goal in the third period, many legitimate scoring chances that might have changed the night for the Kraken.

Goalie One-Upmanship

Philipp Grubauer had a relatively light first two periods, but a last-minute save on always-dangerous Kirill Kaprizov kept the one-goal lead going into the second intermission.
Not to be out-goalie-dueled, Minnesota's Talbot made several close-in saves, including one on Kraken forward Riley Sheahan about four minutes into the third period. He was at 31 saves going into a critical stretch mid-third period.
During the 11-minute mark, it was Grubauer's turn. First, he gloved a shot from Jonas Brodin headed to the upper left corner, then turned back more pressure from the Wild over the next two-plus minutes.
Then the night's would-be hero, Fleury, went to the penalty box for interference. But Grubauer helped out a friend, making several Grade-A stops that proved why the Kraken GM acted fast when the German-born goalie came on the NHL Free Agency market early morning on July 28. Hero hat back on Fleury, along with a stuffed salmon to toss as No. 1 star.
Grubauer joined the salmon toss as No. 2 star, preserving the victory with stellar work until Tanev and Giordano bagged the empty-netters.
Two highlight saves during the third-period pressure: Stopping point-blank wrist shots from forwards Nick Bjugstad and Joel Eriksson Ek.
Grubauer tossed a now-famous stuffed toy salmon to the east side of the stands. Fleury went with his salmon to the west side and drew big cheers in the post-game on-ice interview when he said, "Best fans in the NHL!" when asked what he wanted to say to fans.
The Kraken's first winning streak was highlighted by throaty home fans for a third straight sellout of 17,151. The home crowd continues to impress with cheers at the right hockey appreciation moments.
Plus, when things got tense on the defensive end during the third period's other "flurry," fans from all parts of Climate Pledge Arena spontaneously combusted with "Let's Go Kraken!" cheers at maximum volume.
The players appreciated the pick-us-up and verified this brand-new arena has plenty of old soul.