The Kraken once again played two solid periods and one very bad period. And for the second night in a row, that very bad middle period sunk their chances. It was good to see the team fight hard in this one, and Chris Driedger, despite allowing three goals, really did make some phenomenal saves. But it wasn’t enough, and Seattle’s three-game winning streak has officially turned into a two-game losing streak.
PERIOD 1
Things nearly got off to a disastrous start for the Kraken when Joe Pavelski tapped in an easy rebound less than three minutes into the game. The Stars really need this one to give them a good shot at the playoffs, and they came out playing like it. But upon further review (and honestly, the initial view) Driedger was interfered with by Roope Hintz. Head coach Dave Hakstol won a challenge and the game stays tied at zeros.
Seattle got themselves a power play a short while later, and technically they failed to score with the man advantage. Instead, they waited an extra two seconds after the penalty expired before Riley Sheahan capitalized on a big juicy rebound to give the Kraken the game’s real opening goal.
Talk about a swing in momentum. A mere four minutes separated the Kraken trailing 1-0 and the Kraken leading 1-0. But as we’re well aware by now, the Stars need this one — and played like it. Driedger had to be on his game to keep this one close, and he certainly was on his game (so long as nobody knocked him out of his crease).
Dallas continued to up the pressure, but Driedger was up to the task. As the period neared its end, Yanni Gourde gave Seattle a little cushion when he tipped in a Derrick Pouliot clapper that left goaltender Jake Oettinger no chance. That brings Gourde’s career goal total to a nice round 100, an impressive feat for an undrafted player in this day and age.
PERIOD 2
Seattle came out a bit stronger to start the second, generating the first few chances early on. But it didn’t take long for things to rapidly deteriorate. Jason Robertson got the Stars on the board when he tapped home a pass from Miro Heiskanen that somehow snuck through the legs of Vince Dunn. And they weren’t done there. The Stars kept the pressure on, and Driedger made some great saves to keep Seattle ahead, but eventually Derrick Pouliot took a cross-checking penalty and the Stars took advantage with a power play goal just two minutes after their first to tie the game. Dave Hakstol called his timeout to try to slow the momentum, as I’m sure he was having flashbacks to the 5-goal second period in Minnesota the night before. It didn’t work though, and Dallas took their first lead of the game a short while later.
That’s where the bleeding stopped, fortunately. The teams went back to the dressing room with the Kraken trailing 3-2 and the Kraken needing a chance to reset and get things back on track.
PERIOD 3
Things settled down a bit for the Kraken in the third. The teams traded chances early, but it was Seattle who really turned it on in the back half of the period. The line of Alex Wennberg, Kole Lind, and Victor Rask in particular combined for some impressive shifts in the third. They maintained possession in the offensive zone for what seemed like minutes, but the Stars did a great job preventing any shots finding their way to the net. Rask did eventually get a golden opportunity to tuck in a rebound right out in front but Oettinger got just enough of it with his glove to deflect it wide.
Vince Dunn took a nasty gnarly high stick late in the period, which sent him to the dressing room, but as it was on a follow through from a Stars clearing attempt, there was no penalty on the play. Seattle pulled Chris Driedger with just over a minute remaining, but the tying goal never came. The Stars took the win 3-2.
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