Gourde leads Kraken to victory

 


After two disappointing losses to the lowly San Jose Sharks, the Seattle Kraken moved back into the victory column with a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. For one game at least, the line juggling by Kraken coach Dan Bylsma paid off.

The victory improves the Kraken’s record to 11-13-1 on the season and ends a three-game losing streak. The Canes, 16-8-1, suffered their third consecutive loss after a fast start to the season.

Yanni Gourde, normally a center, played right wing on a line with center Matty Beniers and left wing Jaden Schwartz, and that line accounted for six points. Gourde, the game’s number-one star, netted the game winner on a drive to the net, pouncing on a pass from Beniers (two assists).

More impressively, the Kraken held the usually potent Carolina offense to 19 shots, a team that’s known for getting a lot of shots on net. Seattle would block a season-high 25 shots. Brandon Tanev, Adam Larsson and Jamie Oleksiak would each have three blocks, and only four of 18 Seattle players weren’t credited with a blocked shot.

``This was probably our best 60 minutes of the year,” said Bylsma. ``We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.  But just the battle and compete was there all game long.”

The Kraken, who’ve been playing from behind in far too many games this year, were looking for a fast start, and Schwartz provided it. The veteran winger took a lead pass from Gourde and scored 11 seconds into the contest, the third fastest goal in Kraken history.

Carolina netminder Pyotr Kochetkov, who’d been in concussion protocol in the Canes two losses to Florida over the weekend, came out to make the save but his stick caught in Schwartz’s uniform as he took the shot.

``We’ve talked a lot, we’re not happy with how we were playing and we wanted to make it right. We wanted to make a difference,” Bylsma said. “And when you step over the boards and you get a great play by one of your leaders, to get off on a good note was massive for the group.”

``Tonight, we saw that level of play we can get to and the consistency of our game,” said Gourde. ``There’s still lots of room to grow, but at least the effort was there. The willingness to win a battle.”

Martin Necas, who has 13 goals and 26 assists on the season and was voted NHL First Star for November, provided much of the Canes offense. He found linemate Eric Robinson to the left of the net at 4:26. Kraken goalkeeper Joey Daccord appeared to be in position to make the sliding leg save, but the shot squirted into the net.

The Kraken had the only goal of the second period. Eeli Tolvanen pounced on a rebound of Oliver Bjorkstrand’s shot and slid the puck home. The Canes had only seven shots in the first two periods, two in the second period.

Necas’ power-play goal tied the game at 5:43 of the third period. The Canes appeared to take the lead two minutes later, but the goal was disallowed on replay as Robinson had jostled Daccord in front of the net.

Brandon Tanev, who’s been Gourde’s linemate most of the season (really, most of the four-year history of the Kraken) scored an insurance goal on a breakaway at 15:13. Ryan Winterton assisted on the goal, his first NHL point. Winterton and Mitchell Stephens were in the Kraken lineup last night with Andre Burakovsky and Daniel Sprong healthy scratches.

The Kraken hope to continue their winning ways on a four-game East Coast road trip when they play at the New York Islanders on Thursday night and New Jersey, Friday night.

Scoring Summary

First Period

S- Jaden Schwartz 6 (Yanni Gourde 8, Matty Beniers 8) :19. C- Eric Robinson (Martin Necas) 4:26.

Second Period

S- Eeli Tolvanen 7 (Oliver Bjorkstrand 9, Vince Dunn 3) 9:45.

Third Period

C- Necas (Sebastian Aho, Shayne Gotsisbere) PPG, 5:43. S- Gourde 4 (Schwartz 10, Beniers 9) 10:48. S- Tanev 6 (Ryan Winterton 1, Brandon Montour 10) 15:03.

Shots on Goal- Seattle 28 (Jared McCann 6), Carolina 19 (Eric Robinson 4).

Hits- Seattle 15 (Tye Kartye, Eeli Tolvanen 3) Carolina 26 (William Carrier, Seth Jarvis 4).

Penalty Minutes- Seattle 2, Carolina 4.

Faceoffs- Seattle 48.2%. Carolina 51.8%.

Blocked Shots- Seattle 28 (Brandon Tanev, Adam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak 3). Carolina 19 (Jalen Chatfield 3).

Referees- Francis Charron, Francois St. Laurent. Linesmen- David Brisebois, Justin Fournier.

Three Stars- 1. Yanni Gourde, S. 2. Martin Necas, C. 3. Jaden Schwartz, S.

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