Final Buzzer: Day (and Night) of Kraken

Short Form

This Kraken Day concept? Good thinking and an even better game to celebrate March 2, numerically 3-2, the date four years ago that 32,000 fans put down ticket deposits to prove Seattle's mettle and then some as the 32nd franchise.
The Kraken brought some of that "and then some" here at Climate Pledge Arena Wednesday, falling behind by an all-too familiar 2-0 score, then roaring back with three goals in two minutes, 39 seconds in the middle period.

Three in Less Than Three

First, Alex Wennberg broke the ice on Juuse Saros' shutout attempt and broke a scoring drought. The Kraken center last scored a goal Jan. 13.
Veteran forward Marcus Johansson masterminded the play, getting Nashville defenseman Matt Benning to go for a shot fake, then backhanded about Benning to draw the attention of Saros before sliding the puck to Wennberg for the steer-in.
The Wennberg score was squarely a "response goal" with Seattle scoring 28 seconds after Matt Duchene notched his first of two goals on the night.
"This game shows we're growing, we're getting better," said Wennberg, who loved the fact "three different lines went in for the score" on the trio of goals.
Calle Jarnkrok scored his 11th goal of the season (yes, NHL scouts were in the building) on slick back-of-the-net passing work from linemate Jordan Eberle. Their third linemate, Morgan Geekie, looked good - and dangerous - on the top line. Plus, the "Geek Squad" was throaty when the young forward was announced in the starting lineup.
The third of the fastest three was notched by high-energy center Yanni Gourde (gotta love his pounding his stick handle to a glove when he scores, also the arm raise to the crowd). The primary assist went to high-energy forward Blackwell.

Bowling for the Win

The game-winner on Kraken Day was a Blackwell-Gourde combo, this time Gourde setting up his linemate and penalty-kill mate for a shot near-net to the left of Saros, who stopped it. But, no surprise here, Blackwell kept motoring, batting at the puck.
He poked and poked again, with no whistle to stop play. The puck skittered past the All-Star Saros and into a 4-3 lead that would stand up. Blackwell celebrated by chest-bumping the glass in the nearest corner.
In his post-game remarks, Blackwell went straight to a revenge factor, mentioning he played for Nashville and it's special to "score against a team when they might have given up on you."
He credits his shorthanded goal to "good chemistry with 'Gourdo' on the PK." Fans and teammates might counter with Blackwell's relentless battling when hounding a loose puck.