Yanni Gourde scored twice in Seattle’s four-goal third period, including the game-winner with 6:47 remaining, as the Kraken rallied to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 on Saturday night.
Jaden Schwartz and defenseman Adam Larsson also found the net for the Kraken, who controlled much of the game with a 42-24 shots advantage but trailed 2-0 entering the third period.
Joe Veleno and Taro Hirose scored for Detroit, now losing seven of its last eight games.
The expansion Kraken, spending most of the season at the bottom of the Pacific Division, have won two of their last three games.
“It’s just one game,” Larsson said. “Losing has been tough, and I think everybody’s sick of it. This is one game, and we have to build on it. This needs to be the standard. It can’t just be a one-night thing.”
Despite Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic making 38 saves and stymying Seattle for most of the game, the Kraken finally broke through in the third period.
“He gave us a chance to find our footing,” Detroit forward Sam Gagner said. “He made a couple of incredible saves. When your goaltender is playing like that, you’ve got to find a way to reward him.”
Larsson opened Seattle’s scoring at 7:10 of the third, trimming Detroit’s lead to 2-1 with his career-high fifth goal of the season. Less than three minutes later, Schwartz scored with assists from Vince Dunn and Alex Wennberg to tie the game.
Gourde scored the go-ahead goal at 13:13, assisted by Haydn Fleury, and added an empty-netter with 18.7 seconds left to seal the victory, bringing his season total to 16 goals.
“It was a combination of everything,” Larsson said of Seattle’s comeback. “The volume of shooting, physicality, structure-wise, I thought we looked good. That was one of our best periods in a while.”
Detroit initially took the lead in the second period after Seattle failed to capitalize on a 5-on-3 power play. Veleno scored at 13:18 off an assist from Dylan Larkin, and Hirose extended the lead with a power-play goal three minutes later, assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi and Lucas Raymond.
Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves for the Kraken.
“We don’t have any room for error,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “We’ve got to ensure we show up with our A game every night.”
Seattle took the game’s first 13 shots, but Nedeljkovic made several acrobatic stops. Detroit didn’t register a shot until Gagner’s attempt at 11:27 of the first period.
“We just stayed with it,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “The first period was excellent. In the second period, I liked our first 10 minutes. We made a couple of mistakes. … We got it going in the third.”
The teams ended the frame scoreless despite outshooting the Red Wings 16-6 in the first period.
“Ideally, we would’ve found a way to get one or two in the first period,” Hakstol said. “You have a decision to make after the second period. Do you stick with it and push, or do you quietly go away in the last 20 minutes? The guys pushed.”
Game Notes
Seattle captain Mark Giordano was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Kraken forward Karson Kuhlman was activated after missing 18 games with an injury. Kole Lind was reassigned to AHL Charlotte. Tyler Bertuzzi returned to the Red Wings lineup for the first time since the birth of his child on March 11.
UP NEXT
- Red Wings: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
- Kraken: Play at Arizona on Tuesday.
