Aleksander Barkov pushes the Panthers past Kraken in SE

Aleksander Barkov scored in regulation time and again in the shootout as the Florida Panthers opened their five-game road trip with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

Barkov and Sam Reinhart separated in the shootout for the Panthers, while attempts by Seattle’s Eeli Tolvanen and Oliver Bjorkstrand were stopped by Sergei Bobrovsky.

Bobrovsky made 17 saves in regulation and overtime as the reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers extended their point streak to seven games (6-0-1).

Chandler Stephenson scored a goal in regulation time for Seattle and Joey Daccord stopped 32 of 33 shots. Daccord returned after missing the Kraken’s 7-5 road win over the New York Rangers on Sunday due to an illness.

The Kraken had two breakaways in the final minute of overtime but failed to convert. Shane Wright fired a shot past the right side of the net on his first attempt, and Bjorkstrand shot past the side of the net with 6.9 seconds left after Bobrovsky blocked the angle.

Seattle scored first with 15:39 left in the first period when Yanni Gourde’s pass brought Stephenson to a breakaway. Stephenson skated down the middle of the ice and hit Bobrovsky with a quick wrist shot to the glove side.

It was just the third goal of the season for Stephenson, who was Seattle’s top offseason offensive player. Jared McCann received a second assist, his 100th with the Kraken since entering the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

The Kraken nearly took a two-goal lead late in the second period when Gourde capitalized on a breakaway before Florida defenseman Nate Schmidt was able to raise his stick from behind. The Seattle bench called for a major penalty to no avail, and Gourde was limited for the remainder of the game due to a lower-body injury.

The Panthers pushed the puck to the other end of the court and Barkov scored a one-timer just inside the right faceoff dot at 18:59 after receiving a cross-ice pass from Reinhart. Barkov’s shot sailed over Daccord’s shoulder as the goalkeeper tried to climb across the goal crease.

–Field level media