Dunn scores in OT, Kraken defeat Sharks

SAN JOSE -- Vince Dunn scored at 1:58 of overtime to give the Seattle Kraken a 2-1 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Thursday.

Dunn took a stretch pass from Jared McCann and scored with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle. The goal extended the defenseman's franchise-best point streak to 11 games (16 points; four goals, 12 assists).
"Just fortunate, I think," Dunn said. "Just get it on net and try not to turn it over. If you miss a shot wide, it can turn the other way, and it's an odd-man rush the opposite way. So for me, just give myself a chance. I think it was a fortunate goal for me. [I] just kind of caught them on the change a little bit. I think just reading the pre-scout and everything [helped]."

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored, and Philipp Grubauer made 31 saves for the Kraken (38-23-7), who had lost three in a row (0-2-1). They host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday before a four-game road trip next week.
"I think last time we were in here (a 4-0 loss on Feb. 20), it wasn't the game we were looking for," Grubauer said. "We didn't grab the points. So, we wanted to make sure we got the points today. Coming up is a pretty big test. We are playing teams that are even with us in the standings."
Seattle remained one point behind Edmonton for third place in the Pacific Division after the Oilers won 4-1 against the Dallas Stars on Thursday. The Kraken moved four points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference; Winnipeg lost 3-0 to the Boston Bruins.
"The end result is extremely important, the two points," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "I really liked our first two periods. We didn't have anything to show for it, but I said it before the game, [that] this is going to be a tight, hard-fought game."
William Eklund scored on a penalty shot, and James Reimer made 30 saves for the Sharks (19-36-14), who have lost five straight (0-3-2).
"It was a good hockey game," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "A hard game. There wasn't a lot of room out there. I really liked our effort. I thought we did a lot of good things, [we] just weren't able to capitalize on some of our chances. I thought we defended a lot better tonight. I liked a lot about our game. It's unfortunate."
Eklund put the Sharks ahead 1-0 at 1:18 of the third period. The forward was slashed by Kraken forward Ryan Donato on a breakaway and scored five-hole on the penalty shot.

The 20-year-old rookie forward has scored in back-to-back games. He was the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
"Ever since I saw him for the first time, I thought, 'This kid is special,'" Reimer said. "Just the way he plays. He sees the ice, the way he can move. He's just a little water bug out there."
Bjorkstrand tied it 1-1 on a breakaway at 7:03 after a long pass from Yanni Gourde. It was his 15th goal of the season.

Reimer made 15 saves in the second period.
"'Reims' was standing on his head giving us a chance to win," Eklund said.
NOTES:Dunn is the third NHL defenseman to have an 11-game point streak this season, joining Erik Karlsson of the Sharks (14 games, Dec. 3-Jan. 6) and Josh Morrissey of the Jets (11 games, Dec. 4-22). … San Jose forward Evgeny Svechnikov left in the first period with an undisclosed injury. There was no update. … Eklund is the second-youngest player in Sharks history to score on a penalty shot (Jeff Friesen, 19 on Dec. 2, 1995). It was the first time San Jose scored on a penalty shot since Logan Couture against the Minnesota Wild on March 11, 2019.