Jared McCann scored a goal and provided an assist to propel the Seattle Kraken to a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday night, marking their third win in four games.
Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Adam Larsson also scored for Seattle, which has gone 6-2-1 in its last nine outings. Philipp Grubauer made 35 saves, helping the Kraken tie the Flames in the Western Conference playoff chase, seven points behind idle Nashville for the second wild card spot.
Seattle’s victory was the 100th in franchise history, achieved in 225 games. This ties St. Louis for the third-fastest expansion team to reach that milestone, following Vegas (173 games) and Florida (223 games).
“For our team right now, we’re in the fight here. The most important win is going to become 101,” McCann said. “That’s not to take anything away from that milestone because I hope everybody in the organization that’s worked extremely hard to make that happen feels their contributions and a lot of pride in it.”
Andrei Kuzmenko scored twice for Calgary, breaking their five-game winning streak. Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves.
Kuzmenko, who has scored 13 goals this season, has scored five in 10 games since joining Calgary from Vancouver on Jan. 31 in the Elias Lindholm trade.
Grubauer, who missed significant time due to a lower-body injury, has excelled since his return on Feb. 13, posting a 5-1-0 record with a .943 save percentage.
“Grubby’s been good,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “Just the calmness that he provides. You can add up the big saves tonight at the right time.”
Larsson’s goal 21 seconds into the third period put Seattle up 3-1, but Kuzmenko’s second goal at 7:46 cut the deficit to 3-2.
Calgary received consecutive power plays in an attempt to tie the game. However, after failing to score on the first, McCann stripped the puck from Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson, raced in on Markstrom, and scored short-handed for his team-leading 26th goal with 7:31 remaining.
“I was pretty gassed so I just tried to get the shot off quick,” McCann said. “I like to go low blocker but decided to change it up at the last second. He’s a big goalie, so I was able to find a spot.”
Calgary coach Ryan Huska hinted that Andrew Mangiapane’s pass back to Andersson might have contributed to the turnover.
“I thought Raz got put in a tough spot up top,” Huska said. “Now he’s flat-footed with pressure coming out at him.”
Less than a minute later, Calgary rookie Martin Pospisil received a major penalty and a game misconduct for hitting Seattle defenseman Vince Dunn into the end boards from behind. Visibly shaken but unable to leave the ice on his own, Dunn did not return.
“Garbage,” Hakstol said about the hit. “But not really a lot different than the first hit six or seven seconds into the game. You run around like that. You probably need to answer when somebody comes to you man to man, and that didn’t happen either.”
Despite a sluggish first period where Calgary fell behind 1-0, they improved in the second, tying the game at 7:50 on Kuzmenko’s power-play goal. Kuzmenko faked going behind the net, causing Grubauer to look the other way before jamming the puck inside the near post for his 100th NHL point.
Seattle reclaimed the lead less than five minutes later when Oliver Kylington’s poor defensive coverage left Bjorkstrand open in the slot, and he converted McCann’s centering pass for his third goal in four games.
Seattle dominated the first period, outshooting Calgary 11-2 and scoring the only goal at 4:04 when Dunn’s point shot was corralled by Gourde and whipped behind Markstrom for his eighth goal.
Seattle center Alex Wennberg did not play due to “trade-related issues,” according to Hakstol. The 29-year-old Swede, a pending UFA, has nine goals and 25 points in 60 games.
UP NEXT
- Kraken: At Winnipeg on Tuesday night to finish a two-game trip.
- Flames: At Tampa Bay on Thursday night to open a three-game trip.
