The Seattle Kraken rallied with three goals in five minutes of the third period on Tuesday night to secure a 5-4 victory over the Calgary Flames.
Daniel Sprong, Yanni Gourde, and Matt Beniers each found the net in the final period, marking Seattle’s first-ever win against Calgary. Carson Soucy and Morgan Geekie also scored for the Kraken, with Oliver Bjorkstrand contributing two assists. Joey Daccord made 36 saves on 40 shots in his first start of the season.
“We have so much more confidence this season,” said Gourde. “Last year is behind us. We know we can rally and have the skills to do it.”
Calgary’s Tyler Toffoli, who reached 400 career points, scored a goal and an assist. Nazem Kadri, Nikita Zadorov, and Trevor Lewis also scored for the Flames, who led 4-2 early in the third period. Elias Lindholm added two assists, and Dan Vladar stopped 21 of 26 shots.
“We kept turning the puck over, and it eventually caught up to us,” Toffoli remarked. “That’s what happened tonight.”
Calgary had previously lost a 2-1 lead against Edmonton on Saturday, ending in a 3-2 defeat.
“We’re not happy. We’re an older group, and we know good teams don’t let that happen,” Toffoli added.
Calgary extended their lead to 4-2 with two goals in 17 seconds early in the third period, but Seattle responded with power-play, short-handed, and even-strength goals to take the lead.
“Finding timely plays and sticking with it is how you win these kinds of games,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said.
Beniers scored on an odd-man rush from a Jordan Eberle feed at 13:26. Gourde scored a short-handed breakaway goal at 11:26 after stripping Kadri of the puck. Sprong’s power-play one-timer at 8:31, assisted by Alex Wennberg, completed the comeback.
“A couple of tough breaks that were self-inflicted,” Kadri said. “With a two-goal lead in the third, we should be able to close it out, but credit to them, they pushed back.”
Game Notes:
- Kadri leads Calgary with 10 points (five goals, five assists) in eight games.
- Brett Ritchie extended his point streak to four games (two goals, two assists) and surpassed his point total from last season with three goals and three assists in eight games.
- Beniers extended his point streak to five games (four goals and one assist).
- Hakstol has adopted a strategy similar to Calgary coach Darryl Sutter’s by not naming a team captain this season. Seattle’s four alternates are Eberle, Gourde, Adam Larsson, and Jaden Schwartz.
Up Next:
- Seattle Kraken: At the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
- Calgary Flames: Host the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
