Kraken fall short in Montour's successful return

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For the fifth time in ten games this season, the Seattle Kraken played an overtime period. This time around, the OT lasted only 44 seconds as Cole Caufield’s shot trickled through the pads of Joey Daccord, to give the Montreal Canadiens a 4-3 victory last night at Climate Pledge Arena.

Caulfield, the game’s number-one star, now holds the NHL record of 11 overtime goals (three this season). The contest also marked the second overtime game of the campaign between the Kraken and the Canadiens, both ending with a 4-3 Montreal victory.

Seattle drops to 5-2-3 on the season. With the Vegas Golden Knights defeating the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-2, the Kraken reside in second place in the Pacific Division, two points behind the Knights. All 32 NHL teams were in action last night, what the NHL calls `The Frozen Frenzy.’

The Kraken sent the game into overtime with three goals in the final 11 minutes of regulation. After Alex Newhook had given Montreal a 3-0 lead with a shot from the right circle, the Seattle offense, which had only 11 shots in the first two periods came to life.

Brandon Montour, who missed four games last week when his brother passed away from ACL complications, led the Kraken comeback. On a power play, Montour fired a shot from the point with Jaden Schwartz screening in front, to beat Montreal netminder Jakub Dobes.

When Shane Wright fired home a 20-footer to make it 3-2 (and Wright loves to score goals against the Canadiens who passed him up in the 2022 amateur draft) at 15:17, the Kraken pulled Daccord for an extra attacker with 2:38 remaining.

Once again, Montour stepped up. Taking a one-timer from Vince Dunn, Montour fired another of his howitzer-like shots from the point. With Jordan Eberle screening in front this time, the puck hit the stick of Montreal defenseman Alexandre Carriere and found its way into the net.

“It’s nice to get a point but we’d like to obviously create more throughout the game,” said Montour, who talked openly about his brother Cameron at the Kraken practice facility earlier in the day. Montour called his brother, who leaves two small children, ``his best friend.”

Last season, Montour scored a three-goal hat trick and an overtime goal against the Canadiens.

“We found ways to get a few more pucks to the net, and get them in,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said of the third period. “Obviously, we did a really good job at six-on-five and our power play scored a big goal for us to get us going.

``Earlier in the game we passed up too many opportunities,’’ said Lambert. ``On our first power play we just passed the puck around and got nothing.’’

When asked about Montour’s performance in his return, Lambert said, ``I expect nothing less. He’s just a character guy. He’s an elite player who sees the ice well.’’

The Kraken will have a few days off before they host the New York Rangers, Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena.

Scoring Summary

First Period

M- Cole Caulfield (Nick Suzuki, Noah Dobson) 10:25.

M- Juraj Slafkovsky (Caulfield, Suzuki) 17:20.

Second Period

No scoring.

Third Period

M- Alex Newhook (Kirby Dach, Noah Dobson) 5:55.

S- Brandon Montour 1 PPG (Berkly Catton 3, Mason Marchment 4) 8:57.

S- Shane Wright 3 (Montour 5, Eeli Tolvanen 2) 15:17.

S- Montour 2 (Vince Dunn 4, Jaden Schwartz 5) 18 :17.

Overtime

M- Caulfield (Suzuki, Hutson) 0 :44.

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