Dunn Good: Historic Rally Capped by OT Winner

VANCOUVER – After Friday’s practice, Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said, “These post-Christmas games are never pretty.” Well, Saturday’s rivalry matinee here in B.C. looked downright ugly for Seattle through 55 minutes of play. But fueled by two Jaden Schwartz goals and an unassisted score by Vince Dunn, the Kraken sent this decidedly more beautiful game to overtime.

Dunn scored the game-winner – also unassisted – two-plus minutes into overtime. After on-ice mobbing of teammates, the celebrating Kraken hooted and hollered with both jubilation and a side of “did that really happen?” astonishment, walking into the visitor's locker room. Jackson Five music blared and more shouts of joy/relief/comeback victory revved up. It doesn’t get any prettier than this 5-4 road win over a division rival that likely thought two more standings points would soon be in their possession.

About the overtime winner, Dunn mused he couldn’t recall having an NHL breakaway before Saturday, and maybe never.

“Honestly, it was kind of a blackout,” said Dunn. “I don't think I've ever had a breakaway in my life. I saw Chandler behind me, and I'm like, ‘oh, maybe this is gonna be a little easier. Maybe I just drop it to him.’ And then he said, “It's all you.’ So the pressure was on me, and I beat the goalie in the same spot earlier there late in the third [period]. I just tried to do the same thing and got a great result.”

Great is actually an understatement. It’s only the third time in NHL history – this league was founded in 1917 – that a team has come back from a three-goal deficit in the last five minutes to win the game (stick tap to the crack staff at NHL PR).

“I think we just needed that one bounce that Jaden gave us,” said Dunn about the Kraken’s second goal prompting the rarest of comebacks. “We committed to playing the right way, even after they scored their fourth. We've dug a lot of holes for ourselves these past few games, and to respond that way, everyone feels really good.”

Drama Squared: Schwartz Reaches Personal Benchmark

Along with the nearly-never-done nature of the three-goals-in-last-five-minutes comeback, Dan Bylsma added more noteworthy history.

Jaden, this time with his 499th and 500th points in the National Hockey League, stepped up at an obviously critical time in the game, a critical time for the team,” said Bylsma. The second goal [the first of two from Schwartz] gets us back into the mindset of work and having a chance to win this thing. Then we score the third goal. There's a minute and 12 left on the clock. Just the push, just the mindset of Jaden taking it to the net, him going to the cage, him doing whatever he can to get us the goal this, it was huge. It takes a certain goal for a group to do something like this.”

When Vancouver appeared to have built a 5-1 lead later third period but was overturned for the puck being batted into the goal, Bylsma sensed the reversal sparked there.

“There is no quit in this group, no quit in these guys,” said Bylsma. “I thought we used it as a little bit of a wakeup call to put our best effort out there for the last bit of the game there. Just the way we came back, the way time was dwindling down, the effort should build a lot of confidence in the guys.”

Reflections From a Hero and Quiet Leader

When Schwartz emerged from the by-then quiet but happy visitors' locker room as one of the last teammates walking to the bus, he obliged a couple of reporters wanting to re-live the final five minutes of overtime that included two scores from the alternate captain beloved by his teammates (and also the veteran who makes sure rookies come for dinner at his place when first arriving in Seattle and/or makes sure to host teammates on past Thanksgivings if they have no apparent dinner to attend).

Schwartz vocalized what is standard hockey operating procedure about skating hard to the final buzzer no matter the score, such as earlier this season when young defenseman Ryker Evans scored with just a few ticks on the clock to make a two-goal loss into a one-goal final. Fans might be tempted to think, why push? Listening to Schwartz answer that “why,” why the Kraken kept going hard despite a steep three-goal deficit with seemingly not enough time to rattle an NHL goalie such as Thatcher Demko with 225 NHL games played with a record of 118-82-20, is a compact analysis of the hockey mindset. Today’s late-game hustle and play-to-the-end pushes and goals scored on final shifts? They are all tomorrow’s historic comeback wins.

“You're just aggressive; you're down 4-1, right?” said Schwartz. “You’re pinching [deeper in the offensive zone] on your toes. When you’re up 4-1, it's a little bit different mindset. You're kind of on your heels a little bit just trying to keep the puck, chip the puck out and stuff. So, yeah, it’s a pretty crazy ending with momentum for us. From where we're at, having lost a few games in a row, it was important for us.”

There is the temptation to consider this game a turning point, not just busting up a five-game losing streak but to signal more gritty goals and much-needed victories as 2024 (one game left at home, Utah Monday) traverses into 2025. It seems full of potential for inspiration and more Jackson Five music. But savoring this day is an ode to Schwartz and Dunn and the entire squad putting in strong shifts in those final five minutes.

“I mean, you want to keep going. You never know what's gonna happen. We're a little bit frustrated with just our execution and stuff. But we want to give ourselves a chance to at least put the goal in, make it a two-goal Then have the opportunity, right? It reminds us to just stay with it. You never know.”

Beniers Opens the Scoring

The hockey adage “put pucks on net, anything can happen” lived up to its well-worn patina of truth when Kraken center Matty Beniers, looking like he might split between two defenders in the offensive zone, instead flung a shot on goal. Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko couldn’t cleanly handle the rising shot, only getting a piece of it with his glove. Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak set up the scoring play for his fifth assist of the year.

Beniers, smiling with teammates near the Vancouver goal, headed to the bench for glove bumps to celebrate his fifth goal of the season. It marked the young alternate captain’s first score in 20 games. He tallied his last goal on Nov. 14 in a home win over Chicago.

Seven minutes after that go-ahead goal, original Kraken defenseman Carson Soucy handled the puck down low in the Kraken with Brandon Montour stick-checking him to a bad-angle location. But Soucy found Canucks forward Brock Boeser, who was cross-ice and net-front behind Vince Dunn. Soucy threaded a pass to Boeser, who quick-released a snap shot past Philipp Grubauer to make it 3-1. It was Soucy’s second assist of the period, getting the secondary helper on the Garland goal. It all looked like revenge of sorts (even if Soucy stopped by Friday’s practice to say hello to ex-teammates and kibbitz with staffers). But instead, it turned back in Seattle’s favor with Dunn’s first goal to make it 4-3; the Kraken D-man stole the puck from Soucy in the high slot and quickly roofed a shot past the not-ready Demko.

Seven minutes after that go-ahead goal, original Kraken defenseman Carson Soucy handled the puck down low in the Kraken with Brandon Montour stick-checking him to a bad-angle location. But Soucy found Canucks forward Brock Boeser, who was cross-ice and net-front behind Vince Dunn. Soucy threaded a pass to Boeser, who quick-released a snap shot past Grubauer to make it 3-1. It was Soucy’s second assist of the period, getting the secondary helper on the Garland goal.

High-Powered Comeback

Kraken fans can point to catalysts Schwartz, who picked up his 500th career NHL point on his game-tying goal, and Dunn, the breakaway overtime hero.

Leading the charge was Schwartz at the 15:15 mark of the third period. While at a tough angle to the right of Demko, the veteran Kraken forward put a shot on net that ricocheted off a Canucks defender and found its way behind Demko. With Daniel Sprong parked in front of the crease, Schwartz was probably hoping for a rebound opportunity for his teammate or, at the very least, a scramble for a loose puck, but as the adage goes, get pucks to the net and good things will happen. Dunn earned an assist on the play for setting up Schwartz down low.

Dunn would follow that up by intercepting Noah Juulsen's exit pass and quickly firing a wrist shot high to the far side of Demko.

Schwartz then tied the game off of a dump-in retrieved by Oliver Bjorkstrand. Bjorkstrand passed the puck back to Schwartz, who was barreling toward the net. Schwartz' initial shot was saved by Demko, but with chaos in the crease, his rebound found its way through to nearly make the comeback complete.

More heroics from the Kraken in overtime when Shane Wright made a brilliant defensive play to force an errant pass on a Vancouver 3-on-1. Dunn picked up the loose puck and flew into the zone on a breakaway. Dunn hesitated, then whistled a wrist shot through the five hole of Demko and was greeted by his teammates after an exuberant celebration.