Final Buzzer: Tampa Bay Wears Down Kraken

• Kraken captain Mark Giordano is feted for his milestone 1,000 NHL games in pre-game ceremony but not in lineup. Neither is veteran forward Calle Jarnkrok, traded to Calgary late Wednesday for three picks (second, third, seventh rounds).
• Seattle opened the scoring on Yanni Gourde one-timer shot and "revenge goal" against former TBL teammates during early 5-on-3 power play.
• Tampa Bay responds with four goals, one each in the first two periods, then double daggers in the final 20 minutes to hold off the Kraken. Tampa Bay star defenseman Victor Hedman scored twice and postseason performer extraordinaire Nikita Kucherov tied it for TBL.

The Kraken scored first Wednesday in their return to Climate Pledge Arena after a two-week absence but couldn't repeat the pre-road trip victory they notched March 2. Two-time defending champion Tampa Bay prevailed, 4-1, in a tightly contested game that unraveled for Seattle in the third period.
The Lightning played like the Stanley Cup champions they twice-running are, outshooting and out-chancing Seattle. They racked up 10 Grade-A scoring chances by the time they took a 3-1 lead early third period.
Tampa Bay's third goal featured lots of scrambling Seattle defenders and a bouncing puck that pinballed one too many times, finding its way past Philipp Grubauer. The goal appeared to tamp down the Kraken on-ice energy that was still humming late second period.
"After that third goal, we kind of sat back," said alternate captain Jordan Eberle.
"Tampa's going to get their pushes," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "The third goal they skated by us 200 feet, then there was mass chaos in front of the net ... We didn't regain a push after that."
Six of those 10 highest-quality scoring chances unfolded in the opening period and Hakstol noted "four came off our sticks, including the [Nikita] Kucherov goal." Grubauer kicked out, sticked, blocked and caught 35 saves on the night.

Zeroing In

When the Kraken played Tampa Bay on Thanksgiving Friday, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions shut out Seattle 3-0. Ex-TBL center Yanni Gourde took care of that goal outage at the return matchup here at Climate Pledge Arena.
Gourde delivered his 14th goal of the inaugural season on a one-timer shot from the right faceoff circle. He received a perfect pass threaded cross-ice from Eberle (his 20th assist) and Gourde's shot at a fairly deep angle beat all-world goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy high corner.
The score came just two-and-a-half minutes into this affair before a packed house. Tampa Bay was whistled for two penalties in the first two minutes and 26 seconds. Twelve seconds later, Gourde connected.

Powering Down

One way to size up special-teams play Wednesday is both squads featured strong penalty-kill work. The Kraken fought off three of four penalty kills while the Lightning killed five of six penalties. The first of defenseman Victor Hedman's two power-play goals proved to be the game-winner.
"You give them that many opportunities on the power play, they're going to get a couple," Eberle said. "That unit has played together a long time."

Gio Gets Silver Stick, Ovation

Seattle captain and always-formidable defenseman Giordano was honored for his milestone 1,000 career NHL games. His father, Paul, narrated a moving tribute video to begin the festivities, referencing early morning practices and long drives to away games that hockey parents will recognize.
Nice touch explaining Giordano has skated some 7,000 miles, which Papa Gio explained was equivalent to his son skating from Toronto to Calgary, then back to Toronto and one more trip to Seattle.
There were huge cheers for that stat and an even louder ovation when the Kraken leader was announced. Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke gifted Giordano with a Tiffany crystal from the front office, while Eberle and his teammates presented a Rolex watch. Newly named chairperson of the ownership group's Executive Council,
Sam Holloway
, presented a week-long Wailea, HI, trip for the Giordano family.
Fellow 1,000-game player and Kraken GM Ron Francis did the honors of handing Giordano the traditional Silver Stick with smaller silver stick for Giordano's son, Jack, and daughter, Reece.

Cup Chatter

While no Kraken fan or coach doubts veteran forward Jaden Schwartz's competitive fire - just focus on him for an entire shift and you will see in detail - the 2021 Seattle free agent signee was spotted at the red line during warmups, quickly catching up with another gritty competitor, Tampa Bay's Pat Maroon.
The two forwards were teammates in St. Louis during their Stanley Cup title run in 2019. Maroon scored two pivotal game-winning goals that postseason while Schwartz scored 12 goals for the Blues, including two game-winners of his own.