Tye Kartye deflected a slap shot from Oliver Bjorkstrand for the decisive goal with just 2:40 remaining, leading the Seattle Kraken to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. This game marked the end of the regular season for both teams, who failed to make the playoffs.
In a dramatic finish, Brock Faber responded to Yanni Gourde’s empty-net goal by scoring for the Wild during a 6-on-4 power play with 1:05 left following the removal of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Despite this, Kraken goalie Joey Daccord made 21 saves, and the defense held firm.
“It’s been a challenging season, so we should have taken it down to the wire,” Daccord reflected.
Brandon Tanev, who assisted on both of Gourde’s third-period goals, heroically blocked a shot with his lower body in the final moments, collapsing in pain as the game concluded.
“Turbo made some elite blocks there,” Gourde praised. “Everybody battled.”
Kirill Kaprizov notched his 46th goal of the season on a power play in the first period, while Mats Zuccarello scored the equalizer midway through the third period for the Wild.
Matty Beniers tied the game for the Kraken in the second period with a power play tip-in before Gourde’s shorthanded breakaway goal. Gourde later added an empty-netter.
Beniers, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, saw his numbers dip to 15 goals and 37 points this season, a drop from his 24 and 57 points in the previous season.
Kaprizov finished the season with 96 points, which is the second-highest in franchise history. Behind his 105 points in the 2021-22 season, Kevin Fiala’s 85 points in the same season rank third.
Kaprizov capitalized on a turnover by Kraken’s leading scorer, Jared McCann, to score the game’s opening goal.
The Wild have had five 40-goal scorers in their 23-season history, with Kaprizov achieving this milestone three times. Eric Staal and Marian Gaborik are the other players who reached this mark.
“If you want to succeed in this league, you need a player of his caliber,” coach John Hynes stated. “I respect his effort.”
Daccord had a strong season for the Kraken, but after their unexpected first-round victory over the 2022 champion Colorado last spring, the team regressed. The Kraken and the Wild were contenders for the Western Conference wild-card spots but were eliminated several games ago.
The Wild missed the playoffs for the second time in 12 years, eliminated five games ago. Fleury, who signed a $2.5 million contract extension for next season, was a bright spot, receiving the Wild’s nomination for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and passing Patrick Roy for second place on the all-time wins list in January.
Fleury, 39, was honored with the Wild’s Tom Kurvers Humanitarian Award before the game. Kurvers, an assistant general manager for the Wild, died in 2021 from cancer.
Despite the accolades, Fleury highlighted his absence from the playoffs for the first time since 2006 as the season’s main takeaway.
“The last part of the season was strange, playing with nothing at stake,” Fleury said, who made 23 saves. “Not a good feeling, and something I don’t want to feel next year.”
