Above Photo: The ear-to-ear grin belongs to Seattle’s Josh Mahura, after scoring a power play goal against Edmonton. Eeli Tolvanen (20) would later score his own PP marker.
With defenseman Ryker Evans the latest addition to the Seattle Kraken injured list (upper body, out 6-8 weeks), the lede to my Monday game story applied even more to Wednesday’s final preseason game.
Needing early season replacements for Kaapo Kakko (and now Evans) for sure, and maybe Jared McCann, Chandler Stephenson, Brandon Montour and Vince Dunn, the tilts at Climate Pledge Arena become important prospect auditions.
Seattle’s Ryan Winterton aced his audition, scoring twice to lead Seattle over the visiting Edmonton Oilers, 4-2 at Climate Pledge Arena.
With several of the A.L. West champion Seattle Mariners in the house, Seattle displayed epic special teams. Josh Mahura and Eeli Tolvanen scored power play goals and Winterton added a shorthanded tally, all in the 1st period.
Neither coaching staff will be happy with a game-long parade to the penalty box. Seattle killed four of five Edmonton power plays in the first 28 minutes, aided greatly by some of Joey Daccord’s 32 saves.
1st Period
As Jaden Schwartz streaks down the slot, Ryan Winterton feeds him a perfect lead pass from the near boards. (Foreshadowing: remember this play later.) Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard doesn’t cooperate, blocking Schwartz’s tap-in try.
Defenseman Josh Mahura, one of those expected to fill the blueline injury void, rips home a 50-foot power play one-timer at 6:47. Shane Wright and Schwartz pick up the assists.
Kraken goalie Joey Daccord kicks out an in-midseason-form left pad to stifle Kasperi Kapanen’s shortanded bid. Daccord would make 12 saves in the period.
Speaking of shorthanded bids, Winterton steals the puck from goalie Pickard behind the Edmonton net. Circling the cage, Winterton backhands the biscuit into the vacated basket before a diving Pickard can get home. 2-0 Kraken at 12:03.
Edmonton takes their third and fourth minors of the period 63 seconds apart, gifting Seattle almost a minute of 5-on-3. It’s temporarily disrupted when Matty Beniers breaks his stick attempting a shot. Matty gets a new twig, feeds the puck to Eeli Tolvanen at the top of the right circle, and in a flash, Tolvanen makes it 3-0 at 15:25.
Berkly Catton negates the rest of the Kraken man advantage by taking his second minor of the period. When Jamie Oleksiak is then called for tripping, Edmonton has 37 seconds of its own two-man advantage. The Kraken survive that, but Darnell Nurse gets the Oilers on the board 5-on-4 with a smooth wrister through traffic at 17:34.
Ville Ottavainen goes off for high-sticking at 18:22, the eighth minor penalty of the stanza, fourth by Seattle. 22 seconds will carry over into the middle frame.
2nd Period
The Kraken dispose of the remaining seconds of Edmonton’s fourth power play. It helps that superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl didn’t make the trip. But a mere six ticks later, Matt Savoie makes a pretty tip of Adam Henrique’s slap pass to bring the Oilers within 3-2. Are we sure the Oilers left McDavid and Draisaitl at home? Savoie leads Edmonton with five SOGs in the first 40 minutes.
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Kraken minor number five, and the third on 19-year-old Catton: hooking at 5:26. This will not look good on your record, Berkly. Edmonton doesn’t score, but one tripping and two hooking penalties can be an indication the Spokane Chiefs’ captain hasn’t been moving his feet.
Oilers minor number five, to the player with the most lyrical name on either roster: Viljami Marjala (he’s Finnish), for tripping at 9:22. The Kraken, to this point of the period, have one shot on goal.
Somebody check those sticks Seattle uses on the PP. This time it’s Shane Wright’s weapon that betrays him, snapping in two when he tries a shot. Gifted a shortanded chance, Curtis Lazar is denied in close by Daccord.
Shots are 23-15 Oilers after 40. Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez takes an intermission ride on the Zamboni.
3rd Period
In 20 more minutes, a curious hockey world will learn if Seattle can complete a home-and-home preseason sweep of the Oilers. The Kraken were victorious in Edmonton 4-1 on Sept. 24.
The Kraken begin with 50 seconds of spillover power play time from Edmonton’s sixth minor late in the middle frame. They can’t pad their lead.
In the first period, Winterton was the “feeder” to a teammate skating down the slot. Here, he’s the “feed-ee.” Though being backchecked, Freddy Gaudreau finds Winterton, who in stride fires past Pickard to double the Kraken lead to 4-2 at 2:26.
Tye Kartye, who led the Kraken (again) with six hits, drew the second assist.
Up Next
The coaches decide on their roster, the players practice – and a bunch of players practice healing. Whoever’s chosen, and well enough to play, will reappear at Climate Pledge Arena on Oct. 9 when the hockey counts, the season opener hosting the Anaheim Ducks.