Eberle scores 2 goals, Kraken rally past Wild in shootout
Daccord makes 34 saves; Kaprizov gets 3 points for Minnesota
By
Jessi Pierce
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
The Kraken were down 2-0 in the second period and got the tying goal to force overtime from Jared McCann with 3:26 remaining in regulation.
“They come out with two early and we battled back,” Eberle said. “I think we battled. They got the lead three times, we came back all three times. So, that’s a character win. Those are the kind of wins that we kind of build all season. I know it’s the first one, but that’s a big one. Those are always the hardest ones to get.”
McCann had a goal and an assist, and Andre Burakovsky had two assists for Seattle (1-1-0). Joey Daccord made 34 saves in his season debut.
“I don't think you want to get in the habit of having to [comeback three times], but I think it was good for our team,” Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said. “The game was a pretty good game going on. We get down by two and we got to respond, we got to come back. We got a huge power-play goal to get us back 2-1, but it was the story of the game. We got it 2-2, they got another one and we got it back with a great goal by [Tye Kartye's] line. Then they scored again and we had to come up with one late to claw back into it.
"That's just Jared McCann being Jared McCann with a great shot there that allowed us to get to overtime and allowed us to get to the shootout. It's great to claw out a win that way.”
Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Mats Zuccarello and Matt Boldy each had a goal and an assist for Minnesota (1-0-1). Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves in his season debut.
“I liked a lot more of our game and our mindset, the details of our game, than in the first one (a 3-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday),” Wild coach John Hynes said. “So, we got to build off it. We didn’t get the two, we got the one. You got to keep getting wins, you got to keep getting points. We got to, but all that’s going to be driven by, I think, the mindset, I think the style of game. And I saw lots, lots of good tonight that I think we’re going to be able to move forward with.”
Zuccarello made it 1-0 at 9:22 of the first period when Kaprizov, who was behind the net, fed him cutting through the slot. It was Zuccarello's 200th NHL goal.
“Some games are harder than others,” Zuccarello said. “Some games, you’re creating. Should have maybe scored a couple more goals and got the win.”
Boldy increased the lead 2-0 at 1:06 of the second period with a shot from the high slot that bounced off Daccord’s pads.
Eberle responded 40 seconds later, finding a loose puck down low to cut it to 2-1. It was his 300th career goal.
Eberle then tied it 2-2 at 8:15 with a power-play goal, a backdoor deflection off a shot from Andre Burakovsky.
“We've talked about scoring more goals and getting more goals. You got to get them a lot of different ways,” Bylsma said. “Power play is one of the ways you're going to be a better goal-scoring team. We got it tonight there, but you need to get it throughout your lineup as well and you need to get it in a lot of different ways.”
Kaprizov put Minnesota back in front 3-2 at 1:41 of the third period, tipping in a shot from Marco Rossi, but Kartye tied it 3-3 at 2:47 from the left circle.
Ryan Hartman answered back for the Wild to make it 4-3 at 12:33, finishing a behind-the-back pass from Boldy while cutting through the slot.
McCann tied it 4-4 at 16:34 with Daccord on the bench during a delayed penalty. He buried a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Ryker Evans.
“We’d like to hold on to leads,” Hartman said. “... Both teams had chances in overtime, they end up scoring more in the shootout, so it’s just one of those, but we got a point.”
NOTE: Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek, who played in his 500th career game, left the game following an elbow by Adam Larsson at 7:07 of the second period. Hynes said he was unsure if Eriksson Ek would play at the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
