FINAL: Dallas Stars 4, Seattle Kraken 2
No surprise, the Dallas Stars came out hard in Game-2 and it was up to the Seattle Kraken to survive the various waves of desperation and home team momentum. Goalie Philipp Grubauer was the main reason the visitors stayed in it, making a number of sterling saves as the Stars outshot the Kraken 11-5 in the first period.
No score after one period, not a bad position to be in on the road in a game that the folks at American Airlines Center had to have.
Special Teams in the 2nd
Once the Stars got on the board at 3:43 of the 2nd period with Wyatt Johnston banging home the rebound of his own deflection, a powerful momentum surge kept Seattle on its heels.
Evgenii Dadonov added to the lead at 9:04 with a burst of speed down the left wing and a wraparound goal at the right post to make it 2-0. It could have been worse. “Grooby” saved the day on numerous occasions.
The wave ended when Kraken rookie Tye Kartye ripped home a heavy shot, top shelf, on a 2-on-1 at 11:05.
The Kraken tilted the ice in their favor for a bit before the Stars picked up their third power play opportunity of the night late in the 2nd period.
The Stars would tally again at 16:57, just the 3rd power play goal Seattle had given up in the postseason on 23 chances. Joe Pavelski scored on a rebound from the doorstep, his whopping 5th goal in two games.
The Kraken had yet to see a man advantage.
Kraken Goal Scorers:
2nd Period
2-1 Stars – Even Strength – Tye Kartye (2) from Vince Dunn, 11:05
On a 2-on-1 rush, Kartye kept the puck after crossing the blueline on the left wing, and ripped home a shot top shelf.
3rd Period
— Tyler Seguin would add a goal eleven minutes into the 3rd period on a deflection. 4-1 Dallas. The Stars successfully sat on their 3rd period lead, trapped in the neutral zone, and took advantage of an opportunity with the Kraken trying to stretch the ice.
— Seattle picked up its first power play with 6:52 remaining in the 3rd period. Could the put a little pressure on the Stars?
Not on the power play, but they would get a late goal from Jordan Eberle and then put a ton of pressure on Dallas with the Seattle net empty and the extra attacker on the ice.
4-2 Stars – Even Strength – Jordan Eberle (3) from Yanni Gourde, 16:32
With a power move to the net down the left wing, Eberle cut to the net and went top shelf, short side.
— Shots on goal finished 37-27 in favor of the Stars. Power plays: Seattle 0-for-1, Dallas 1-for-3.
— There’s an extra day off between games. Game-3 in Seattle will take place at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday evening with an approximate 6:45 puck drop. Game-4 will be Tuesday night at the same time.
