Kraken Loss
It came down to the 3rd period. Seattle and New Jersey were tied 2-2 after 40-minutes, and one might assume the home team Devils would have the energy advantage with the Kraken having played the night before.
New Jersey did prevail 3-2, but it wasn’t because the Seattle effort waned.
Hockey is a game of mistakes, and whether or not the opponent capitalizes. New Jersey’s game winning goal came off a sequence that saw the Kraken twice throw the puck to the middle of the ice in their own end. The second giveaway led to Timo Meier scoring just 53-seconds into the 3rd period.
Otherwise, it was a hard fought one-goal hockey game right down to the end.
“We’re in a tough stretch here and playing back-to-back, and this game was a dig-in, this was a fight back game,” Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma said after. “All along, guys did it for the whole 60. We took their best blows and we were in the match the whole way. We had opportunities to go ahead and opportunities there late to draw even in the game.”
Bylsma made reference to a chance from Seattle defenseman Brandon Montour in the 3rd period. He was in behind the netminder on the backhand with an empty net and slid the puck through the crease and wide.
There were multiple odd man rush opportunities throughout the game and the puck didn’t get to the net.
At the other end, Seattle goalie Philipp Grubauer was busy, facing 36 shots. He was the key to keeping things close against a fast, offensively gifted Devils team. New Jersey’s vaunted power play went 0-for-2.
Seattle went 1-for-2 on the PP with Shane Wright lighting the lamp for the 6th time this season. As a whole, the club generated a total of just 19 shots-on-goal against Jacob Markstrom.
A lopsided shot total, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
“The effort and the determination the guys put in, we’ll be proud of that,” Bylsma concluded.
Seattle, which fell back to one-game below .500 for the season, plays the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
