Hurricane(s) hits Seattle, 4-1

The Seattle Kraken’s early season has featured some `fast starts,’ but last night at Climate Pledge Arena, the Kraken – partially due to some early penalties – started slowly against the Carolina Hurricanes.

In fact, except for a few spurts, the Kraken were behind the proverbial eight-ball most of the night as the `Canes skated to a 4-1 victory.

The contest concluded a five-game homestand that saw the Kraken post a somewhat disappointing 2-2-1 record after winning the first two games. Seattle now takes to the road for five games, starting in Montreal, Tuesday night.

``We weren’t surprised (by Carolina’s fast start),” said Kraken coach Dan Byslma. ``When you play a team like this, you have to execute. You have to compete under pressure, all over the ice defensively. And when you get a chance, your first execution has to be quick and fast and aggressive.”

The contest could have been even more one-sided except for the stellar netminding of Joey Daccord. For the first time this season, the Kraken eschewed their goalie rotation of Daccord and Philipp Grubauer with Daccord earning his second consecutive start between the pipes.

Carolina outshot Seattle in the early going, 9-2, but Daccord was a fortress in the net. He robbed Carolina’s Jack Drury in front with a whiplike glove save, although Drury would notch his first goal of the season in the second period.

``They’re a good team,” said Daccord of the Canes. ``They play on top of you all night. There wasn’t a lot of time and space and they got to their game quicker than we did.”

Andre Svechnikov opened the scoring for Carolina with a power play marker at 4:25. Drury’s goal was the only score of the second period.

On Thursday night, versus the Winnipeg Jets, the Kraken rallied for two goals in the final ten minutes to tie the game and earn one standings point (the Jets, undefeated on the season, won in overtime.

The Climate Pledge fans, who passed on the Halloween parties that seemed to be happening all over Seattle last night, hoped for a replay. The Arena came alive when Jared McCann cashed in on a breakaway.

In the second period, McCann was stopped on a breakaway by Canes’ goalkeeper Freddy Anderson. This time, the Kraken’s all-time leading goal scorer wasn’t going to be denied. McCann held on to the puck as long as possible and then slid a shot into the net.

Moments later, the Kraken’s Eeli Tolvanen had a good chance, but the Seattle faithful’s exuberance was short-lived. Seth Jarvis notched an insurance goal at 15:21 and veteran defenseman Dmitry Orlov added an empty netter after Daccord was pulled.

``Our guys fought really hard,” said Daccord. ``I’m proud of the way our guys battled.”

No one battled harder than Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. In the second period Oleksiak blocked a shot on his knee and hobbled around the ice in obvious pain for 1:22 as Seattle was unable to clear the defensive zone. Daccord then missed about ten minutes of ice time but returned for the third period.

Scoring Summary

First Period

C- Andre Svechnikov (Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis) PPG 4:25.

Second Period

C- Jack Drury (Jackson Blake, Brent Burns)

Third Period

S- Jared McCann 5 (Matty Beniers 3) 10:21. C- Jarvis (Jordan Martinook, Jacob Slavin) 15:38. C- Dmitry Orlov (empty net) 18:24.

Shots on Goal- Calgary 39 (Jack Drury, Brent Burns 5), Seattle 19 (Andre Burakovsky, Jaden Schwartz, Eeli Tolvanen 3)

Hits- Calgary 13 (Martin Necas 3), Seattle 25 (Brandon Montour 5).

Blocks- Calgary 6 (Sean Walker 2), Seattle 13 (Adam Larsson 4).

Faceoffs- Calgary 45.9, Seattle 54.1.

Three Stars- 1. Joey Daccord, S. 2. Jack Drury, C 2. 3. Jared McCann, S.