Sharks take 2 from Kraken

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When followers of the Seattle Kraken looked at the NHL schedule a week ago, the Kraken appeared to be heading into a stretch where they could pick up standings points and move up the ladder in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.

The Kraken had four straight games against the bottom two teams in the Division – the Anaheim Ducks and the San Jose Sharks. Things started off well, when Seattle toppled the Ducks, 3-2, on Monday night.

But then disaster struck as the Ducks and the Sharks once again proved the old cliché about games being played on the ice and not on paper. The Ducks beat the Kraken on Wednesday and post-Thanksgiving, last place San Jose swept the home-and-home series, culminating in last night’s 4-2 victory at Climate Pledge Arena.

Instead of the six, seven or eight points that Kraken fans had visions of, Seattle could only muster two and after loss number two to San Jose, the Kraken drop to 11-13-1 overall and a tie for seventh place with the Sharks.

``When you give other teams a chance it leads back to puck play, bad turnovers, giving (the Sharks) opportunities. We didn’t give them a lot of chances, but we gave them some great ones,” said Kraken coach Dan Byslma.

There were encouraging signs for the Kraken heading into last night’s game. Top  defensemen Vince Dunn returned to the lineup after missing 17 contests with an upper-body injury. And Dunn looked good, even getting into a shoving match with the Sharks’ Ethan Caldwell on one of his first shifts.

What wasn’t encouraging- SJ’s Mario Ferraro scored the first goal of the contest that hit Kraken defenseman Will Borgen, who was actually behind goalie Joey Daccord who came out to block the shot, and the puck ricochet into the open net.

The Sharks made it 2-0, two minutes into the second period. Luke Kunin’s shot trickled through Daccord’s legs. The Kraken’s Philipp Grubauer had given up a similar goal against SJ the previous game.

Midway through the period, the teams combined for three goals in 1:19, bringing back memories of the previous day, when the Sharks and Kraken combined for six goals in the second period (San Jose won that game 8-5).

Cody Ceci, usually not an offensive-minded defenseman, made it 3-0 and Will Smith, one of two teenage phenoms on the Sharks’ roster (along with number-one overall draft pick, Macklin Celebrini) scored 46 seconds later. Jaden Schwartz finally put Seattle on the scoreboard at 10:17. Matty Beniers assisted on the goal, his first point in six games.

Jared McCann scored his team high 10th goal of the season to cut the Sharks’ margin in half. The Kraken had their chances to tie the game in the third period. Schwartz missed an open net and Beniers appeared to score with six seconds remaining but after review, Yanni Gourde was called for goalie interference.

San Jose goalkeeper Mackenzie Blackwood was the number-one star of the game, recording 36 stops for a .947 save percentage. Daccord and Grubauer both had subpar performances in the net against the Sharks, particularly Grubauer, who surrendered eight goals on 26 shots.

“We had the puck on our stick a lot of the time and then just found a way to give it away and didn’t really create a lot of chances in the offensive zone,” Dunn said. “Their goalie made some big saves but we didn’t really make it hard enough on him.”

The Kraken now begin a tough road trip, starting in Carolina, Tuesday night. The Hurricanes have a 16-7-3 record in the Metro Division. However, their starting goaltender, Frederik Andersen underwent knee surgery on Friday. Backup goalkeeper Pyott Kochetrov has missed the last two games with a concussion.

Scoring Summary

First Period

SJ- Mario Ferraro (Mikael Grandlund, Timothy Liljegren) 16:54.

Second Period

SJ- Luke Kunin (Ty Dellandrea, Jake Walman) 1:51.  SJ- Cody Ceci (Macklin Celebrini, Walman) 8:59. SJ- Will Smith (Granlund, Kostin) 9:45. S- Jaden Schwartz 5 (Matty Beniers 7, Oliver Bjorkstrand 8) 10:17.

Third Period

 S- Jared McCann 10 (Ryker Evans 13, Brandon Montour 10) 6:27.

Shots on Goal- San Jose 23 (Tyler Toffoli 3), Seattle 38 (Jared McCann 6)

Hits- San Jose 11 (2 with 2), Seattle 21 (Tye Kartye 6)

Penalty Minutes- San Jose 4, Seattle 2.

Faceoffs- San Jose 50.9% Seattle 49.1%.

Blocked Shots- San Jose 21 (Jake Walman 3) Seattle (4 players with 2)

Referees- Tom Chmielweski, Kyle Rehman. Linesmen- Tyson Baker, Ryan Gibbons.

Three Stars- 1. Mackenzie Blackwood, SJ. 2. Will Smith, SJ. 3. Jared McCann, S.

Friday Game

Scoring Summary

First Period

SJ- Timothy Liljegren (Tyler Toffoli, Alex Wennberg) 2:07. S- Oliver Bjorkstrand 6 (Eeli Tolvanen 2) 3:03. SJ- Klim Kostin (Fabian Zetterlund, William Eklund) 6:25. S- Chandler Stephenson 2 (Jaden Schwartz 9) 16:58. S- Shane Wright (Bjorkstrand 7, Stephenson 13) 19:16.

Second Period

SJ-Will Smith (Mikael Granlund) 2:45. S- Shane Wright 4 (Chandler Stephenson 14, Ryker Evans 11) PPG, 7:20.  SJ- Jake Walman (Eklund, Macklin Celebrini) 8:24. SJ- Granlund (Kostin, Smith) 13:10. SJ-Celebrini (Zetterlund) 14:03. S- Yanni Gourde 3 (Evans 12, Brandon Tanev 5) 19:43.

Third Period

SJ- Ethan Cardwell (Nico Sturn, Henry Thrun) 7:37. SJ- Jake Walman (unassisted) empty net 15:13.

Shots on Goal- Seattle 31 (Brandon Montour 4), San Jose 27 (Jake Walman 4).

Hits- Seattle 26 (Tye Kartye 4) San Jose (Klim Kostin 4).

Faceoffs- Seattle 44.8%. San Jose

Referees- Kyle Rehman, Corey Syvret. Linesmen- Travis Toomey, Mitch Hunt.

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