The Seattle Kraken played 259 periods of hockey during the 2023-24 season. 82 in each of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd periods, plus 13 in overtime. Except for the Winter Classic and the nine-game winning streak that surrounded it, most of those periods are best forgotten – and likely have been, as the Kraken and their fans eagerly turn the page to a new hockey season.
But before we completely shut the memory bank on those 259 periods, one curiosity is worth revisiting. Who could have imagined that of all those 1sts, 2nds, 3rds, and OTs, the wildest, wackiest 20 minutes of the season would also be the LAST 20 minutes of the season.
Watch your step entering the wayback machine, as we set the dials for Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on the evening of April 18, 2024. If we arrive early enough, like 2 1/2 hours before gametime, we’ll see Kraken forward Yanni Gourde practicing stickhandling drills on the pavement below the stands to hone his coordination. This will become important later
Kraken vs. Wild 3rd Period Begins
20:00: Kraken and Wild tied 1-1.
15:04: Seattle’s Jared McCann attempts a lift-check, but instead clips the face of Jake Middleton and is called for high-sticking.
14:53: Brandon Tanev calls his own number on a shorthanded 2-on-1 with Yanni Gourde, but fires wide. Tanev does so many things well – except finish scoring chances. He raises his head skyward as play continues. As we’ll come to learn, he should have passed to Gourde.
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13:22: Why it’s dangerous to shoot wide on the man advantage: Freddy Gaudreau’s miss rims along the boards out to the blue line, where it’s fumbled by Declan Chisholm. Tanev knocks the puck away, then passes to Gourde, who has nothing but open ice from the red line in. Instead of attempting a deke, Gourde zings a shot past Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury for a shorthanded goal and a 2-1 Kraken lead.
This was Gourde’s fifth breakaway of the season, but the first time he’s converted. For extra style points, Gourde takes his shot while twirling his right leg in the air.
More Kraken Penalty Trouble
13:19: Just three seconds after Gourde’s goal, and with 16 seconds remaining on McCann’s minor, Tanev is assessed his own high-sticking penalty. For those keeping score, Brandon missed a 2-on-1 scoring chance, recorded a shorthanded assist, and took a minor penalty all in space of 84 seconds.
13:14: Athletic Kraken goalie Joey Daccord, from beyond the blue paint, dives back to the left post to stab a Kirill Kaprizov stuff attempt with his glove while prone on the ice.
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11:19: A Pierre-Edouard Bellemare clear completes a successful Kraken double penalty kill. This would be Bellemare’s landmark 700th NHL game, the most ever by a French-born player – and his last with Seattle. A fearless penalty-killer, joyful locker room presence, and wise elder (at 39) on how to survive the hockey grind, Bellemare will be missed.
Breakaways & Ridiculous Daccord Saves
8:47: When Brian Dumoulin’s centering pass deflects off a Minnesota skate, he and all three Kraken forwards are trapped below the top of the faceoff circles. Mats Zuccarello has a breakaway from his own side of the red line. Late in the season, opponents found breakaway room above Daccord’s glove hand (something he’s no doubt worked on), as Zuccarello does to tie the game 2-2.
7:24: Daccord isn’t done performing ridiculous, impossible saves that made him a surprise sensation in Seattle. Pushing off from left post to right, he robs Kaprizov again. Bellemare reaches a glove behind Joey’s head and brings it forward for a hug. Up in the ESPN booth, Kevin Weekes, a former NHL goalie, exclaims, “I’m stunned!” Weekes compares Daccord’s glove grab to catches by Mariners’ outfield greats Ken Griffey, Jr. and Ichiro. My, oh my!
3:38: Sometimes when you pinch, you get bitten instead. (I think I read that in a Canadian fortune cookie.) This time, it’s d-man Justin Schultz caught in deep, leaving Wild counterpart Jake Middleton to make a half-rink length dash. Like Zuccarello, he attempts to go glove hand high, but his backhand sails wide.
Tye Unties Game, Gourde Goes Empty-Shorty
2:40: Seattle has had four more minutes of offensive zone time than the Wild, and here it pays off. After 25 seconds of puck possession, Oliver Bjorkstrand blasts from the right point. Tye Kartye, with position in front of Minnesota defender Ryan Hartman, deflects home the go-ahead goal. An 11-goal NHL season for the player who two years ago was an AHL 4th-liner. That’s Kartye hockey, baby.
2:25: What prosperity the Kraken found last season, they didn’t handle well. Jordan Eberle unwisely trips Marco Rossi before the Wild player reaches center ice. By the time Seattle touches the puck, 1:59 remains. With an offensive zone faceoff, Minnesota pulls Fleury to create a 6-on-4 advantage.
1:46: Daccord somehow blocks a Zuccarello drive he could barely see with traffic in front. Tanev’s bid for the empty net from his own goal line is intercepted by Brock Faber at the blueline. However, a fortunate deflection goes right to Gourde. This time, no fancy stickhandling necessary, just speedy skating. Gourde pushes his 2nd shorthanded goal of the period into a yawning cage for a seemingly safe 4-2 Kraken lead.
This bears repeating: two shorthanded goals, 12 minutes apart, by the same player. Minnesota, still on the power play, pulls Fleury again. Gourde is back on the ice – could there be a mind-blowing single-period shorthanded hat trick?
1:05: Indeed, another goal is scored, but it’s a 6-on-4 Wild power play tally. Faber, who suffered the unlucky bounce on Gourde’s empty-netter, gets one of his own. (Faber, BTW, is not related to the college John Belushi attended in Animal House.) The Kraken PK will finish allowing six goals in its final nine games, including two on this evening.
Final-Minute Frenzy
0:58: A bit of near-Kraken history. Fleury exits one more time for an extra Wild attacker, as the puck is flipped in on Daccord. It’s the last minute of the season, no player from either team is within 30 feet, so Daccord settles the puck down and lifts a shot toward the vacated Minnesota net. The fling was hard enough and on-target enough for a goalie goal, except Faber batted away the pop fly at the Minny blueline.
0:05: Stop me if you’ve heard this before – Fleury leaves for a 6th Wild skater. Faber (did he ever leave the ice?) sends a low, testing drive that Daccord saves. Tanev makes a painful block on Kaprizov’s blast at the horn, leaving him down on the ice in pain. Matty Beniers, who got tripped and climbed back to his feet, dropped again to block the shot as well.
“It was only fitting that we brought it down to the wire there at the last second,” Daccord said of the 4-3 curtain-closer. “Guys made some huge blocks and some great plays all night.”
With characteristic understatement, coach Dave Hakstol said, “It was a bit of a crazy 3rd period.” This would be the last period Hakstol coached for the Kraken, as he and assistant Paul McFarland were dismissed after the season. In addition to Bellemare, it was also the last Seattle game for defensemen Dumoulin and Schultz, and forward Tomas Tatar.