Kraken Get Offense From Unlikely Sources In Win

Kraken veteran Yanni Gourde admitted in a victorious postgame locker room that it’s been a while since he’s felt good about his on-ice contributions.

His first goal of the season to open the scoring Saturday afternoon in a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders wasn’t a thing of beauty; but his beaming smile after a Brandon Tanev shot banked in off his body told all anyone needed to know. Between Gourde, Tanev, a still-goal-less Andre Burakovsky setting up Jared McCann’s tying third period marker and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak netting the winner in the closing minutes, a whole lot of guys not usually lighting up scoresheets came through to compensate offensively for a Kraken team missing injured Jordan Eberle and still without Vince Dunn indefinitely.

“Honestly, it was challenging,” Gourde said of having not scored in a career-high first 17 games to start the season. “It’s tough to be out there and feel like you’re not doing too much to win games.

“There have been other areas where I thought my game has been good. But offensively, I wanted to help my team win every night. I haven’t been able to do that and it’s wearing on me.”

Joey Daccord made several tough saves to preserve his team’s fourth consecutive win, stopping Brock Nelson on a shorthanded breakaway chance with two minutes to play as the Kraken moved back over .500 at 9-8-1. Nelson earlier in the frame had put the Islanders ahead 2-1 on another shorthanded breakaway chance, just nudging the puck over the line after an initial Daccord stop.

Members of Nelson’s extended Pacific Northwest family, as well as his Minnesota-based grandfather Bill Christian – now 86 and a star with 1960 Olympic gold medalist Team USA – were in the Climate Pledge Arena stands watching as both teams waged a hard-fought affair that at times devolved into a slog. But before Nelson’s goal could give the visitors any momentum, Burakovksy hit McCann in full stride with a pass and watched the team’s scoring leader snap a shot behind goalie Ilya Sorokin to tie things just 37 seconds after the Kraken had fallen behind.

Oleksiak then netted the winner with Tanev – who’s stepped up big on this undefeated homestand – causing all kinds of havoc in the crease. The Islanders challenged for goalie interference after Tanev bumped Sorokin ahead of the incoming shot, but the goal was upheld.

A period earlier, Oleksiak had raced back into his end to break up a 3-on-1 scoring chance for the Islanders, then nearly scored on the ensuing rush.

The Kraken haven’t always gotten unexpected contributions like this, particularly on their recent road trip when they scored just four goals in losing their final four games. With Eberle now slated to miss at least Sunday’s game against the New York Rangers in addition to Dunn still being out, more firepower was needed.

The Kraken bumped Burakovsky, who, like Gourde, has never gone this deep into a season without scoring, into Eberle’s top-line right wing spot. They also added newly re-acquired Daniel Sprong to the fourth line right wing and some power play duty in hopes of his heavy shot providing offensive spark.

Sprong was good friends with Burakovsky during his last Kraken stint in the 2022-23 season, and the pair are sitting next to one another in the dressing room.

“He couldn’t be quiet,” Burakovsky said. “He just quacked in my ear the whole time.”

Like Gourde, Burakovsky hasn’t had much to “quack” or crow about offensively, though he’s picked things up noticeably in recent games. In addition to spotting McCann and hitting him “right on the tape” with his breakaway pass, Burakovsky again was driving play in the offensive zone and nearly scored for the third straight game.

“I think confidence is a big key,” said Burakovsky, a former 20-goal scorer injured for much of his first two seasons here. “It’s hard to play when you’re not really feeling a whole lot of confidence.”

There were times he admittedly “got nervous” when the puck came to him. But “the last eight games” he’s seen the ice better and feels as if he really wants to do more.

“I want the puck on my stick,” he said. “I want to make plays. I want to skate with it and create chances and opportunities for my linemates and me.”

His pass to McCann was “more like an instinct play” – one of those confident players can make. Burakovsky said he knows he’s a “top six” winger that belongs up in Eberle’s spot. He just had to remind himself of that when things weren’t going as well, focusing on making simple plays and avoiding the complex ones until he was fully ready.

Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said his team needs a confident Burakovsky making plays and freewheeling the way they know he can.

“I was super happy for him,” he said of Burakovsky’s pass to McCann. “It was at a time we needed it. They had just scored the shorthanded goal and we needed to come up with a big play from our big players and Andre did that with a pass to Canner.”

Likewise, Bylsma said, the entire team needed to see Gourde lift a huge weight off his back with the opening goal. Even though Bylsma saw it as “a line goal” – with Tanev and Tye Kartye contributing equally to generate the result – Gourde being in the right place, right time was a constant of what he’s tried to do even when not scoring.

“Yanni has been around the net a lot lately,” Bylsma said. “He’s had some opportunities to score. But it’s only when it goes over the goal line that you get the satisfaction of playing the right way.”

Gourde agreed that continuing to go to the net and dig hard for pucks was the only way he could mentally endure this toughest start to a season.

“I’m just trying to grind games, trying to do the right things,” Gourde said. “I’m trying to get to the scoring areas. I’m trying to get open for opportunities. What I’m telling myself is to just keep working hard and hopefully it comes sooner than later.”