Kyrou, Blues rally past Kraken to win season opener
Gets 2 goals, Broberg scores in St. Louis debut; Bylsma loses 1st game as Seattle coach
By
Darren Brown
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
It was the season opener for both teams.
“In the first period, we kind of started out a little slow,” Kyrou said. “We were playing a little hesitant, not being aggressive on pucks. After [Nathan Walker] and [Alexey Toropchenko] and [Radek Faksa] scrummed it up a little there, they got the boys going a little bit, and we started playing our game."
Justin Faulk had two assists, and Jordan Binnington made 30 saves for the Blues, who are 4-0-2 in their past six season openers.
“There was an overturned goal [for Seattle], a little bit of a scrum, we get to a power play, and we score right away off it,” St. Louis coach Drew Bannister said. “And then the next shift after that, it was like just a switch turned for us. We started forechecking, we were aggressive, our ‘D’ were down on pucks, our forwards were reloading and backing up, and it just seemed from the second half on we kind of took control of the game.”
Vince Dunn and Eeli Tolvanen scored for the Kraken, who have never won a season-opening game (0-3-1). Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves.
“There was a lot of good. Maybe a slow start, tentative start, but just in the first period, there was a lot of good,” Seattle coach Dan Bylsma said. “I think that really continued in the second period. The way to losing the game is solvable moments in the game and periods in the game.”
It was Bylsma’s first game as Kraken coach. He was hired on May 28 to replace Dave Hakstol after coaching Coachella Valley, Seattle’s American Hockey League affiliate, the past two seasons. Bylsma previously coached the Pittsburgh Penguins for six seasons (2008-14), including winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, and the Buffalo Sabres for two seasons (2015-17).
St. Louis scored three straight goals in a span of 1:55 in the second period after trailing 2-0.
“It shows you how tight the League is,” Dunn said. “You let off the gas a little bit, and there’s three back at you."
Kyrou cut it to 2-1 with a power-play goal at 13:42, racing around defenseman Jamie Oleksiak and slipping the puck through Grubauer’s five-hole with a backhand.
“It was a little set breakout there,” Kyrou said. “I kind of had a step on the guy, [Robert Thomas] made a nice little fake to the middle, and kind of hit me wide there.”
Broberg tied it 2-2 at 15:17 of the second with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle past Grubauer’s glove. The 23-year-old defenseman signed a two-year, $9.16 million contract ($4.58 average annual value) with St. Louis on Aug. 20 after the Edmonton Oilers did not match the offer sheet tendered by the Blues one week earlier.
“It felt great,” Broberg said. “I had a nice screen in front of the net, so it was nice to see it go in, for sure.”
Kyrou scored his second of the game to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead at 15:37, shooting under Grubauer's glove on a breakaway after Alexandre Texier intercepted the puck inside St. Louis' zone.
Dunn gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead 27 seconds into the second. He picked up a pass from Jordan Eberle near the offensive blue line and scored on his own rebound from the top of the crease after Binnington stopped his initial attempt from the right face-off circle.
“There’s a lot of good tonight,” Dunn said. “It’s hard for me even saying that after losing 3-2 when you’re up by two, but first one’s out of the way.”
Tolvanen pushed it to 2-0 at 2:20 from below the left circle, tipping Ryker Evans's point shot through Binnington.
Eberle was named the Kraken's captain before the game. The 34-year-old forward is Seattle’s second captain since it joined the NHL for the 2021-22 season. Mark Giordano held the role until he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 20, 2022.
“I’m obviously pretty honored,” Eberle said. “To be a captain in this league is special. I like to think that with our group, we’ve got a lot of guys who’ve got Cups, guys with playoff experience, and being part of this group has been special. My family and I love this city, love the culture here, and that was part of why we wanted to be here.”
NOTES: Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell became the first woman to coach an NHL regular-season game. Campbell, 32, was an assistant to Bylsma with Coachella Valley for two seasons before being promoted to Seattle on July 3. … Binnington got his fourth win in a season opener, breaking a tie with Jaroslav Halak, Curtis Joseph, Rick Warmsley and Mike Liut for the most in Blues history.
