Against the Tampa Bay Lightning, opponents have little margin for error; Tampa is top-four in both goals scored and goals prevented.
The Seattle Kraken didn’t come close to error-free hockey Tuesday versus Tampa at Climate Pledge Arena. Miscues and missed coverages led to three Lightning goals, two by all-world Nikita Kucherov.
Kucherov would complete his hat trick with an empty net goal, adding two 3rd period assists for a 5-point night in Tampa’s 6-2 victory. Brandon Hagel contributed a goal and three helpers.
Seattle climbed back into the game with middle period scores from Bobby McMann and Jared McCann. For McMann, that makes four goals and six points in his first three games after being acquired from Toronto. Phillip Grubauer made 19 saves in the Kraken net; he was faultless on the Tampa goals.
Because San Jose lost to Edmonton tonight, the Kraken remain (by their fingernails) in possession of the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
1st Period
Jared McCann makes a mistake a player with his experience shouldn’t make. Possessing the puck just outside the Kraken blue line, McCann tried escaping Tampa pressure by forcing the puck back into his defensive zone. That allows the Lightning to be onside when they steal the biscuit, with Gage Goncalves putting the visitors up 1-0 at 5:45.
(Goncalves also led the Lightning with five hits. The Jacob Melanson hit parade was back in town, with nine hits for the Kraken.)
Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde are making their first appearances in Seattle since the Kraken traded the pair to the Lightning at the 2024 trade deadline. Bjorkstrand gets a tribute video at an early TV timeout. Shane Wright welcomes Gourde back to Climate Pledge with a hug; unfortunately, while the game’s in progress, that’s called a hold, sending Wright to the penalty box.
With seven seconds left on Wright’s minor, Ryker Evans is boxed for tripping. Wright, back on ice after the brief Lightning 5-on-3, makes a key block to kill the second minor. As it’s ending, Tampa’s Corey Perry goes off for high-sticking. When Seattle is sloppy exiting their own zone, an impatient CPA crowd voices their displeasure.
More displeasure: Kucherov rips off Ben Meyers in the Kraken zone. A pretty give-and-go with Brandon Hagel sets up Kucherov for an empty-net goal – his 35th – and a 2-0 lead at 18:49.
2nd Period
Kucherov scores again by putting the finishing touches on precise cross-ice passes by Hagel and Anthony Cirelli, 57 seconds into the period. Grubauer has had no chance on any of the Tampa Bay goals.
Bobby McMann may not be able to save the Kraken all by himself – but he’s trying. His 23rd of the season, 10 seconds after the Kucherov score, gave McMann the Kraken team lead in goals. That cash register sound you hear is the price rising on the new contract he’ll sign (somewhere) after the season.
McMann and McCann indirectly combine to bring the Kraken back within one. McMann gets cross-checked dangerously into the boards by Darren Raddysh. Four seconds after the penalty expires, McCann is inexplicably allowed to walk right in front of Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and fire past him at 9:46.
Right after getting his own tribute video, Gourde almost burns his old team on a shorthanded breakaway. The puck rolls off his stick at the last instant. In the last minute, Grubauer keeps the deficit at one with a 10-bell save on Hagel.
3rd Period
Kraken past, meet Kraken future. Gourde nails Meyers with a shoulder or elbow that sends the Kraken forward to the ice. When he rises, the gloves come off. Gourde gets the better of the fisticuffs, eventually twisting Meyers back down to the ice. Each will spend the next five minutes recuperating in the penalty box.
Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour can’t contain Cirelli in front of Grubauer. Cirelli slams a rebound home from close range to restore the Lightning two goal lead at 4:35. Kucherov picks up his 3rd point of the night with his 73rd(!) assist.
Up Next
A six game road trip to round out the month begins Thursday in Nashville against the Predators.