Final Buzzer: Kraken Win in Overtime!

PITTSBURGH -- After two scoreless periods featuring 20 saves by Philipp Grubauer and 12 blocked shots by Kraken skaters, the Pittsburgh Penguins converted on a power play mid-third period to seemingly defeat a valiant Seattle team that went skate toe-to-skate toe all night against the NHL's hottest team.

Not so fast. With exactly four minutes left in the game, the snakebit Jordan Eberle took a perfectly led pass from Jared McCann to sweep in alone on Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry. But Jarry made the stop with his glove, freezing the puck.
On the faceoff, the break the Kraken needed materialized when McCann cleanly won the draw.
The puck slid in tight to Marcus Johansson, who quickly moved it back to Vince Dunn at the right point.
The left-handed Dunn deftly sidestepped a Penguins defender and wristed a shot from the point, which McCann deflected past the screened Jarry. New game, new life.
"It was a simple but real good play by 'Dunner' to get puck through to the net for the tip," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said.
McCann, the conquering hero playing his "revenge game" against his former team, said he wasn't discouraged by Eberle's near-miss four seconds before McCann's tip-in tied things.
"Off the draw, I thought 'we're gonna get one, we're due," McCann said.

Historic OT Goal

In overtime, Adam Larsson scored the first overtime goal in Seattle Kraken franchise history, defeating the Penguins, 2-1. Game over and challenging road trip starts triumphantly.
The OT opened with Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel taking shots that went wide. Seattle gained possession of the puck and after cycling in the Pittsburgh end, Calle Jarnkrok retreated with the puck to the neutral zone to protect possession and regroup.
Jarnkrok dished to Alex Wennberg, who turned on his skating speed entering the zone, put on the brakes and sent the puck back to a charging Larsson, who picked the upper-left corner on Jarry for his fourth and most historic goal of the season. The winning goal rippled the net 77 seconds into overtime.
"Over the break we had a chance to really talk about some concepts, how we wanted to manage the overtime," Hakstol said. "Manage shift lengths, not trying to force things especially early on. Take what the game gives you until there is a breakdown. ... We got that. When we re-entered the zone, they couldn't quite find their coverage."

Last-Minutes Frenzy

The final three-plus minutes of regulation were loud and fun and scary for Kraken fans all at once with back-and-forth shot attempts and saves. But it was the Kraken who were jamming at pucks to make Tarry work triple-time to keep a winning puck out of his net in the final 30 seconds. Joonas Donskoi came within inches of winning the game and earning his first goal of the season in the waning seconds.
Grubauer had his own pucks to fend off, including a late chance by veteran winger and sharpshooter Jeff Carter, 37, who just signed a two-year contract extension. It was a superb night for the Kraken's No. 1 goalie.
"No [save was] bigger than the one on [Jeff] Carter after we tied it up… had to fight that thing off that's a guy who can shoot the puck coming down main street. That one stands out," Hakstol said.

Power Play Produces First Goal of Game

The game's first goal was scored by all-time Pittsburgh great Evgeni Malkin, breaking a tie in a game neither goaltender deserved to lose. Malkin's shot from the high slot made it past traffic and Grubauer. The irony of the penalty call on Johansson is he was called for goalie interference on a near-miss chance, not able to stop his forward momentum.
Seattle was provided a third-period power play of their own with 7:17 remaining. Unlike an earlier third period power play in which Seattle notched three shots on a goal and a Dunn laser that hit the post, the Kraken didn't have an offensive zone setup until late in the power play. The man-advantage finished with one shot on goal, a superb Ryan Donato saved by Jarry.

Holding Off Pittsburgh's Big Scorers

The Kraken and Pittsburgh played an even first period, both teams testing the opposing goalies but with nothing but shots on goal to show for it. The first 20 minutes ended scoreless with 11 shots on goal for the Penguins and seven for Seattle.
Four of those Pittsburgh shots were launched during the lone power play of the period. Forward Karson Kuhlman was whistled for his first penalty (tripping) with the Kraken, but teammate and goalie Grubauer was up to the task.
The hockey motto is the goalie needs to be the best penalty killer most nights and that held true in the first stanza against a Penguins power-play unit featuring future Hall of Famers and 16-season, three-time Cup winners Sidney Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang ("probably about $50 million in [salary] cap," quipped SEA defenseman Haydn Fleury during an intermission interview with ROOT SPORTS Northwest's Jen Mueller).
Pittsburgh's first power-play unit includes Crosby's linemates, Jake Guentzel (19 goals and 21 assists in 36 games) and Bryan Rust (on a scoring tear lately).
Grubauer stopped Guentzel twice on the power play, plus quality saves on Crosby and Rust. Honorable mention to the Kraken PK skaters: Mark Giordano blocked a Malkin shot, Fleury blocked one from Crosby and Colin Blackwell did the same against Guentzel.

Preventing the Letdown Goal

Tuesday night in Seattle, Hakstol very much liked the way his squad played in the first period against Nashville - until the final 21 seconds when Nashville forward Luke Kunin scored on an outside shot and what the Kraken coach called "a nothing play."
The end of Thursday's first period of the current four-game road trip threatened a similar letdown by the Kraken. But Grubauer continued his heroics with big saves in the last 24 seconds on Guentzel and Letang (the latter has broken pretty much all Pittsburgh defenseman scoring records).

Eberle Getting the Chances

Eberle skated onto the ice here in Pittsburgh looking for his first goal in 18 games. He's been getting his chances and in the hockey universe that is considered the vital factor.
"You know with 'Ebs,' you know he will turn it around for him," Hakstol said during his morning skate press conference. "Look at the number of opportunities he continues to get ... he will find the back of the net."
To wit: Eberle led all Kraken teammates with five shot attempts (including four shots on goal) and highest shot quality in Tuesday's home loss to Nashville. He's recorded 14 shots on goal in his last five games and 27 in the last 10 going into Thursday.
Eberle had three shots against Pittsburgh and the aforementioned Grade-A chance with four minutes left in regulation that left him disappointed. Yet he raised in the joyful celebration of McCann's tying goal.
The next stop is the New York Islanders' brand-new arena facing Eberle's ex-teammates. Eberle spent his last four seasons with NYI after a 2017 trade from Edmonton. Eberle was a fixture and two-way high performer for the Islanders, playing in 49 games over the last three postseasons (13 goals, 21 assists) as New York notched deep playoff runs the last two years.