Kraken post first MSG win

 

On a day when Michael Matyas became a part of Seattle sports trivia, the Seattle Kraken overcame the obstacles to defeat the New York Rangers yesterday afternoon for the team’s first ever win at Madison Square Garden.

The Kraken fell behind 3-1 in the second period, scored five consecutive goals and then held on for a 7-5 victory. Seattle concludes a four-game East Coast

road trip winning three out of four, including victories over the Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes, two of the league’s top teams.

Shane Wright, with goals in the last three Kraken games, would score the sixth Kraken goal which proved to be the game winner. The Rangers cut the lead to 6-5 with two third period goals, but Yanni Gourde’s empty-netter wrapped things up.  Wright’s linemate, Oliver Bjorkstrand, was the game’s number-one star with two goals and two assists.

However, the day started on an ominous note for Seattle. Joey Daccord, scheduled to start in goal for the Kraken, came down with a stomach virus Saturday night Philip Grubauer, who started the Kraken’s previous game Friday night in New Jersey, took over the reigns, but with their minor league affiliate 3,000 miles away, the Kraken had no backup goalie.

In hockey’s early days, sometimes the team trainer would step in between the pipes during an emergency (this was before slap shots). The Kraken did somewhat better when they were able to secure the services of Matyas, a 33-year-old financial advisor living in the New York area, who played college hockey for University of Alaska-Anchorage.

Brennan Baxandall, the Kraken’s Director of Team Services, knew Matyas when they both lived in Calgary. Adding to the story, Matyas was shopping for baby food for his two-week-old daughter when he received the call asking to suit up for the afternoon hockey game at Madison Square Garden.

The Kraken of course, were crossing their fingers that they wouldn’t have to actually play Matyas. But there were a few anxious moments, six minutes into the game, when New York’s Chris Kreider collided with Grubauer. The `German Gentleman’ had his head down for a few seconds but collected himself to play the remainder of the game.

New York’s Reilly Smith had the only first period goal on a shot that hit off Grubauer into the net. Bjorkstrand tied the game at the start of the second period with a power play goal, off a pass from Chandler Stephenson.

Filip Chytil and Vincent Trocheck put New York up 3-1, but it could have been 4-1 as Grubauer made a diving stop on Artemi Panarin’s shot.

``We knew when we fell behind 3-1, that we’d need some energy to bounce back,” said Bjorkstrand. ``We knew what we had to do.”

Brandon Tanev made it 3-2 as he drove to the net and scored off a pass from Mitchell Stephens. For Stephens, an off-season signee who played on a Stanley Cup team with Tampa Bay, it was his first point in a Seattle uniform.

Eeli Tolvanen tied the game with a shot from the slot and the Kraken took their first lead in the closing minute of the second period- Bjorkstrand’s second goal of the night. Veteran goalie Jonathan Quick wasn’t as sharp in the net as he was a couple of weeks ago in Seattle when he shutout Seattle. Yesterday, Quick allowed six goals on 21 shots.

Defenseman Vince Dunn had the Kraken fifth goal of the game, scoring for the second time in three games on a drive from the point.

``The significance of this road trip- the three wins and how we got them,” said Kraken coach Dan Bylsma, whose squad lost three straight prior to becoming road warriors. ``There was a significant change in the mindset of how we played. This was a tough road trip, Carolina, the Islanders, the Devils, the Rangers, and we had some success in all those games.”

With yesterday’s victory, the Kraken improve to 14-14-1, 7-8 on the road. Seattle hopes to continue its success when it returns home, Tuesday night, to host the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

 

Scoring Summary

First Period

NYR- Reilly Smith (K’Andre Miller, Mika Zibanejad) 3:39.

Second Period

S- Oliver Bjorkstrand (Chandler Stephenson 16, Matty Beniers 11) PPG NYR- Fili Chytil (Kaapo Kakko, Will Cuylle) 2:50. NYR- Vincent Trocheck (Adam Fox) PPG 4:47. S- Brandon Tanev 7 (Mitchell Stephens 1, Tye Kartye 3) 14:06. S- Eeli Tolvanen 8 (Bjorkstrand 10, Shane Wright 4) 15:34. S- Bjorkstrand 9 (Brandon Montour 12, Tolvanen 4) 19:34.

Third Period

S- Vince Dunn 3 (Andre Burakovsky 9, Stephenson 17) 1:00. S- Wright 7 (Tolvanen 5, Bjorkstrand 11) 11:13. NYR- K’Andre Miller (Artemi Panarin 18, Adam Fox 22) 12:27. NYR- Alexis Lafreniere (Trocheck, Panarin) 14 :57. S- Yanni Gourde 5 (Beniers 12, Jamie Oleksiak 4) 18 :14.

Shots on Goal- Seattle 22 (Vince Dunn 4), New York 37 (Chris Kreider 6)

Hits- Seattle 20 (Tye Kartye 6), New York 16 (3 tied with 2).

Penalty Minutes- Seattle 4. New York 4.

Faceoffs- Seattle 37.5%. New York 62.5%.

Blocked Shots- Seattle 20 (Will Borgen 3), New York (Victor Mancini 4).

Referees- Ghislain Hebert, Jon McIsaac. Linesmen- Jonny Murray, Kiliam McNamara.

Three Stars- 1. Oliver Bjorkstrand. 2. Eeli Tolvanen 3. Shane Wright.