The Seattle Kraken lost 5-1 to a tight checking Florida Panthers club on Saturday night, bringing the home team’s seven game win streak to an end. Despite directing thirty-seven shots on net, another two dozen opportunities were interrupted by Florida defenders clogging the middle of the ice on the backcheck.
Special teams played a big part in the game. The Panthers finished 3-for-4 on the power play, the Kraken 0-for-2. Seattle might take issue with the number of opportunities either way.
Early Turning Point
Quite the sequence in the first period.
First, some gamesmanship at about the 9:30 mark from Florida following an icing call against them after heaps of pressure from the Kraken. Exhausted, Panthers defenseman Colin White appeared to fake a wrist/arm injury to avoid having to stay on the ice following the icing. He earned a fresh replacement player after holding his arm, looking at the ref, and then walking part way down the dressing room tunnel.
Six seconds later, Florida goalie Spencer Knight knocked the goal off the pegs while under more pressure. This was just about the time White was (already) making his way back to the bench.
Legitimate circumstances or shady tactics? We’ll never know.
A couple of minutes later at 13:00, the Panthers scored a goal that was reviewed for goalie interference. Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer was mostly out of his crease when he was run over by the rushing Panthers defenseman Marc Staal. Before ‘Grooby’ could recover, Carter Verhaeghe took a pass from Sam Bennett and deposited the puck into the empty net.
The Kraken asked for a review for goalie interference, lost the challenge, and were given a minor penalty for delay-of-game. The Panthers, Verhaeghe again, scored on the power play.
The evening would require a similar comeback to Thursday evening against the Washington Capitals, down 2-0 after one period.
It didn’t happen. Not always, but more often than not, “come from behind hockey is losing hockey.”
Kraken Scorers
2nd Period
2-1 Florida lead – Even Strength – Jared McCann (11) from Jordan Eberle, 1:53
Eberle fired an off-speed shot from the right wing half wall that handcuffed Knight, he dropped the puck, McCann banged home the rebound. It was McCann who forced a turnover deep to start the play.
Kraken 3 Stars:
1) Jared McCann – Hard working goal.
2) Jordan Eberle – Assist, 2 shots.
3) Jamie Oleksiak – Two shots, led the club in ice time wity 22+ minutes.
