Thursday night in Seattle the Kraken met the LasVegas Golden Knights. The teams had met twice before this season; Seattle came out victorious in both. The Kraken maintained that winning record, eking out a 4-3 shootout win.
The game started out rough. Mark Stone had Vegas ahead 2-0 by a minute into the second period. The Kraken had some good chances, but could not get anything past Adin Hill. Finally, almost eighteen minutes into the second period Jared McCann capitalized on a power play opportunity and the Kraken were on the board.
April 9th: Highlights Courtesy of Seattle Kraken
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In the third period Vegas scored again and the Kraken found themselves in a two-goal deficit for the second time. Berkly Catton took advantage of an out-of-position Adin Hill and with a lucky bounce scored his seventh of the season. Suddenly, the Kraken only needed a single goal to even the score.
Where else could the missing point come from but Bobby McMann? With a nearly point-per-game average since joining the Kraken just after the trade deadline, McMann has been a consistent feature on the Seattle scoreboard. On a pass from Jordan Eberle out of the corner, McMann hurled the puck over Hill’s right shoulder to tie the game.
Overtime was scoreless and the game moved on to the shootout. Mitch Marner managed to get one past Joey Daccord, but it was the first and last for Vegas. On the Kraken’s next turn, Matty Beniers deked, fooling Hill who dived left while Beniers slid the puck in on his right side. Daccord and Hill went stop-for-stop until the Kraken sent out rookie Berkly Catton.
Hoping his lucky bounce would portend good fortune in the shoot out, and it did. Catton put the Kraken up 2-1 in the shootout, and Vegas got one more opportunity to stay in the game. Pavel Dorofeyev gave is his best wrist shot, but Daccord was ready for him. The Kraken emerged victorious.
April 9th: Joey Daccord celebrates the Kraken win in the background as Pavel Dorofeyev laments. Photo by Candace Kludt | The Hockey News
Currently, the Golden Knights hold the second seed in the Pacific Division standings, just one point behind the Anaheim Ducks in first. The Kraken, on the other hand, are eight points out of a wildcard spot with only four games remaining. While not technically mathematically eliminated yet, the likelihood of any kind playoff run for Seattle is virtually nonexistent.
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