Calgary Flames 5, Seattle Kraken 2.
Coming off a 4-1 loss at home on Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Calgary Flames looked pretty good for the first two minutes of Friday’s game against the Kraken. Then Seattle’s forecheck took over for the next six minutes. It allowed John Hayden to tip home a goal for a 1-0 Kraken lead.
Calgary would answer on a two-on-two rush with Elias Lindholm beating Seattle D-man Adam Larsson to the net to tie things up not long after.
The rest of the first period would see a Flames club trying to redeem itself for the egg they laid the night before at the Saddledome against the Blackhawks. They’d take the lead on a Tyler Toffoli goal at 13:28.
Calgary would add a biggee in the final five seconds as big defenseman Nikita Zadorov notched his 8th goal of the season.
The Kraken were reeling a bit as the first 20 minutes came to an end.
Kraken Goal Scorer
1st Period:
1-0 Kraken – Even Strength – John Hayden (1) from Will Borgen and Daniel Sprong, 5:20
Hayden executed a perfect deflection past Flames goalie Dan Vladar while standing in the right wing circle.
Special Teams
While the Kraken penalty kill has heated up, now 15 for its last 15 over the last six games including this one, the Seattle power play has cooled off. Tonight it was one of the key differences in the hockey game. The Kraken man advantage finished 0-for-5.
Yes, the Seattle 5-on-5 game has been a powerhouse all season, but that doesn’t mean the Kraken can miss on that many power play opportunities. As the club marches along to a potential playoff spot, special teams and goaltending must both be humming along.
That said ….
3rd Period
3-2 Flames – Even Strength – Eeli Tolvanen (9) from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Adam Larsson, 10:36
Remarkable sequence, Martin Jones stops a breakaway at one end, Tolvanen rips one home at the other not long after their fifty power play opportunity expired.
— The Flames answered on a 3-on-2 rush a minute and four seconds later. Defenseman Noah Hanifin, the trailer on the play, one-timed a snap-shot 5-hole on Jones. Blake Coleman would add an empty netter.
— Shots on goal finished 38-31 in favor of the Flames. Power plays: Seattle 0-for-5, Calgary 0-for-2.
— The Kraken are right back at it on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team with the worst record in the NHL and coming off a 5-2 Friday night loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
