Dunn Good: Down three, Kraken rally for OT win

Beniers, smiling with his teammates near the Vancouver goal, went to the bench to cuff his gloves in celebration of his fifth goal of the season. It was the young reserve captain’s first goal in 20 games. He scored his last goal on November 14th in a home win against Chicago.

But seven minutes later the game seemed to be slipping away from the Kraken. Vancouver forward Conor Garland burst into the Kraken zone while SEA defenseman Brandon Montour kept his opponent out. Garland finally landed a slap shot on the wall side of the right faceoff circle, hitting Kraken starter Philipp Grubauer between the leg pads. The Kraken goalkeeper lowered his head as the shot leaked, obviously wanting to come back.

Seven minutes after that go-ahead shot, original Kraken defenseman Carson Soucy worked the puck deep inside the Kraken while Brandon Montour stick-checked it from an awkward angle. But Soucy found Canucks forward Brock Boeser, who was cross-ice and net-front behind Vince Dunn. Soucy passed to Boeser, who fired a quick shot past Grubauer to make it 3-1. It was Soucy’s second assist of the period, scoring the second assist on the Garland goal.

“Electricity” shortage for octopuses

After Beniers’ goal, the Kraken were awarded two power plays in the next seven minutes of play. Neither of the two options for the man advantage achieved much. There was also a power play towards the end of the first period with only one shot on goal in the Canucks’ six minutes of penalty time. Additionally, the best scoring opportunity was a short-handed Vancouver attempt and another Canucks rush that forced a puck freeze and a faceoff in the Kraken zone.

On the credit side of the table, Grubauer made two Class A saves midway through the second period to maintain the 2-2 tie as Vancouver was the aggressor responding to its own score.

Feel the first period

The first period after the holiday break began as what Kraken coach Dan Bylsma calls a “low event,” including the first seven minutes without a stoppage in play. But in the second half the shots on goal and other events such as the first centimeter of fresh snow increased. The Kraken, who went without a shot on goal for much of the period, had a handful of shots and several quality chances. Yanni Gourde and Vancouver defender Derek Forbort were sent off for rough conduct. Near the end of those penalties, Seattle rookie Shane Wright went into the box to hook.

Wright was released just nine seconds later when Grubauer stopped Jake DeBrusk’s shot, but it went up for a baseball-style pop-up, fell behind the Kraken goaltender and was inches from the goal line. Adam Larsson tried to keep the ball out of the net, but that didn’t work as Brock Boeser shot the ball into the net, giving Vancouver an early lead.

Powerful comeback

The Kraken had never come back from a three-goal deficit early in the third period, let alone in the final five minutes. In fact, they became only the third team in NHL history to win a regular season game in which they faced a three-goal slump in the final five minutes of regulation time.

Kraken fans can point to the catalysts of Schwartz, who scored his 500th career NHL point with his game-winning goal, and Dunn, the overtime hero.

Schwartz followed up on a dump-in retrieved by Oliver Björkstrand. Björkstrand passed the puck back to Schwartz, who raced toward the net. Schwartz’s initial shot was blocked by Demko, but due to the chaos in the goal area, his rebound ended up in the net.