Balanced effort lifts Kraken past Nashville

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The Seattle Kraken turned in their most solid effort of the season scoring four unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the Nashville Predators, 7-3, last night in the Music City.

Balance was the key word for the Seattle skaters as 13 players entered the scoring column and six had two points on the night. The Kraken can boast a successful road trip as they garnered four out of six possible points with a 2-1 record against Minnesota, Dallas (the Kraken’s only loss) and Nashville, three of the better teams in the Central Division of the Western Conference.

Leading the way was a newly formed line of Jared Schwartz-Chandler Stephenson-Oliver Bjorkstrand. While new linemates this season, Schwartz and Stephenson have known each other since their junior days.

“It’s been just four games together with Schwartzy,” said Stephenson, an off-eason acquisition signed from the Vegas Knights as a free agent.. “We've been talking the whole time; I think we're more familiar with one another now. And Ollie is just a world-class shooter, which you saw on that goal. You give it to him, and he puts in the back in the net.”

Ryker Evans opened the scoring for the Kraken at 3:27 of the first period. The young defenseman scored his second career NHL goal on a slap shot off a pass from fellow defenseman Adam Larsson.

Bjorkstrand made it 2-0 off a centering pass from Stephenson – Andre Burakovsky had previously been the left wing on that line. But Nashville, looking for their first win of the season, quickly rebounded with goals from Michael McCarron and Tommy Novak.

However, the Kraken would still take a lead to the first intermission. On Seattle’s first goal, Brandon Tanev had set up a useful screen on Nashville goalie Juuse Saros. Tanev was in a similar position when defenseman Brandon Montour fired from the point, but this time Tanev was rewarded with a goal as he tipped home the shot.

A less hectic second period saw only one goal as defenseman Brady Skej (five shots on goal) tied the score, 3-3, at the 17:17 mark. The Predators could have taken a lead after second period as Joey Daccord made two big saves on Filip Forsberg with five minutes remaining. Daccord has manned the nets in both Kraken victories this season.

The third period belonged to the Kraken. Schwartz’s goal gave Seattle the lead for good, less than two minutes in. Bjorkstrand and Stephenson assisted on the goal giving those three linemates two points on the evening.

Jordan Eberle, the Kraken’s 34-year-old captain, recorded his team-leading third goal less than a minute later. The Kraken went up 6-3 when Matty Beniers charged the net, passed over to Jared McCann, who would score on his own rebound.

Adam Larsson added an empty netter and fellow defenseman Jamie Oleksiak chipped in with two assists in the third period. Vince Dunn returned to the Kraken lineup after missing one game with an injury but didn’t figure in the scoring.

“I think you saw a lot of good in a lot of different areas,” said Kraken coach Dan Bylsma. “We talked about our execution and our cohesiveness, playing connected. That was evident (on the Bjorkstrand goal). It starts with coming out of the D-zone. Schwartz makes a wall play and Chandler’s speed produces a two-on-one. It's necessary for us to get some rewards for playing the right way and doing the right things. That kind of execution is great to see and you saw all over the game in a lot of different ways.”

The Kraken improve to 2-2-0 on the season. Seattle begins a five-game homestand with the Philadelphia Flyers tomorrow night (Thursday) at Climate Pledge Arena. The Flyers (1-1-1) lost to the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3, last night.



Scoring Summary

First Period

S- Ryker Evans 1 (Adam Larsson 1), 3:2S7. S- Oliver Bjorkstrand 1 (Chandler Stephenson 1, Jaden Schwartz 1) 7:07. N- Michael McCarren (Juuso Parssinen, Luke Evangelista) 14:47. N- Tommy Novak (Mark Jankowski, Luke Evangelista) 17:05. S- Brandon Tanev 1 (Brandon Montour 2, Yanni Gourde 2) 19:27.

Second Period

N- Brady Skiej (Ryan O’Reilly, Filip Forsberg) 17:17.

Third Period

S- Schwartz 1 (Bjorkstrand, Stephenson 2) 1:19. S- Jordan Eberle 3 (Jared McCann 2, Jamie Oleksiak 1) 2:40. S- McCann 2 (Matty Beniers 1, Oleksiak 2) 11:54. S- Adam Larsson 1 (unassisted), empty net.

Shots- Seattle 36 (Brandon Tanev 6), Nashville 34 (Brady Skej 5).

Hits- Seattle 23 (Tye Kartye 7), Nashville 28 (Jeremy Lauzon 6).

Blocked Shots- Seattle 19 (Jared McCann, Jamie Oleksiak 3), Nashville 8 (Alex Carrier 2).

Faceoffs- Seattle 41.3. Nashville 58.7.

Penalty Minutes- Seattle 6, Nashville 6.

Three Stars- 1, Jaden Schwartz S 2. Oliver Bjorkstrand S. 3. Jared McCann S.

Referees- Francis Charron, Brandon Blandina. Linesmen- Jonny Murray, Michel CormierSc

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