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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