The Seattle Kraken somehow managed to out-shoot the Vancouver Canucks 28-17 on Thursday night at Climate Pledge Arena on their way to beating the neighbors from the north 3-1.
This was the line-up for the Kraken when the evening started:
Andre Burakovsky – Alex Wennberg – Kailer Yamamoto
Oliver Bjorkstrand – Yanni Gourde – Eeli Tolvanen
Tye Kartye – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Brandon Tanev
Devin Shore – Shane Wright – Jacob Melanson
Jamie Oleksiak – Ryker Evans
Jaycob Megna – Justin Schultz
Gustav Olofsson – Cale Fleury
Philipp Grubauer
Kraken Dominate 1st
The best line on the ice was the Kraken “4th-line” with Melanson scoring the only goal of the stanza while creating multiple opportunities. He was physically engaged, mixing things up with Canucks D-men Ian Cole and Matt Irwin on separate occasions,
The goal came at 9:25 with Melanson burying a rebound along the ice past goalie Thatcher Demko. The assists went to linemates Wright and Shore.
The pace was good and the intensity noticeable for a preseason game. Maybe this cross border rivalry is building.
Sloppy 2nd
So much for that.
Early in the 2nd period the Kraken were hemmed in their zone for longer than a minute. A tough pass from Oleksiak to Evans along the end boards and a blatant turnover by Wright leaving the zone didn’t help matters. Seattle survived the pressure.
It was a precursor of things to come during a sloppy 2nd period for the home team.
At 8:08, Canucks winger Conor Garland made the Kraken pay for their transgressions, with another zone exit turnover leading to a 2-on-1. It was perfectly executed with center Pius Suter finding Garland in the left wing circle to go top shelf on ‘Grooby’.
As the period moved along, the Kraken battened down the hatches and the Canucks scoring chances dried up.
After two periods Seattle outshot Vancouver 19-10. There were only ten total shots in the second; 6-4 Kraken.
Step Up The Competitiveness!
Joey Daccord took over for Grooby to start the 3rd period. Demko remained.
One hoped with the score tied 1-1, natural competitiveness would take over and make things a lot more compelling.
With Canucks D-man Ian Cole in the box for holding, Seattle would capitalize on an early power play. Off a failed clear, Tolvanen had all day to set up in the slot and rip a shot past Demko. The Finn was originally heralded in the 2017 NHL Draft for his wicked release. The go ahead goal came at 3:55.
Tolvanen would rip another one home at 15:44 after a Canucks D-zone blown assignment led to a 2-on-1 down low. Bjorkstrand and Gourde had the assists.
The Canucks managed seven shots in the 3rd period, six of them with the goalie pulled.
Power Plays: Seattle 1-for-3, Vancouver 0-for-1.
The Kraken host the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night in another preseason game.
Recent Volley:
— Kraken Game Day: Nelson Sent To OHL; Jonesy Wins Hockeyville
