After taking some time to find their groove, the Seattle Kraken are now hitting their stride and doing it against some of the NHL’s top teams.
Colin Blackwell and Alex Wennberg scored within three minutes of each other in the second period, propelling the Kraken to a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night.
Yanni Gourde and Adam Larsson also found the net in the first period for the Kraken, while Philipp Grubauer made 29 saves, including 13 crucial stops in the third period.
“We’re getting great efforts from everyone in the lineup,” Blackwell said. “Tonight’s a great example—despite some adversity, we weathered the storm. We might have lost a game like this early in the season, but now we’ve got our identity rolling.”
After a successful five-point road trip, Seattle returned home and notched their third win in four games and fifth in seven. Most of these victories have come against top-tier teams.
Seattle’s recent wins include home victories over Washington and Carolina and a road win at Florida. Since November 21, the Kraken are 5-1-1, with their 11 points tied with Minnesota for the most in the league.
“The biggest factor tonight was contributions from everyone in the lineup,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “Big or small, we got contributions from everybody.”
Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard recorded a goal and an assist for the Oilers. Stuart Skinner made 30 saves as Edmonton saw their three-game winning streak snapped.
McDavid pulled the Oilers within one goal with his 16th of the season with 8:16 left in the third period.
Edmonton had a power play with 1:31 remaining after Larsson was called for roughing, but the Oilers couldn’t find the equalizer, even with a 6-on-4 advantage.
“We had some opportunities, especially on the power play, but didn’t capitalize,” Edmonton coach Dave Tippett said. “We were right in the game until the end.”
Gourde opened the scoring just 49 seconds into the game with his sixth goal of the season, putting Seattle up 1-0.
Draisaitl, who leads the league with 21 goals, tied it at 6:41 in the first period. Larsson then scored against his former team, restoring Seattle’s lead with 9:22 left in the first.
Bouchard’s slap shot at 8:12 of the second period tied the game again.
Blackwell put the Kraken back on top with 6:54 remaining in the second period, and Wennberg extended the lead to 4-2 just 2:47 later. Wennberg’s goal appeared to be a pass intended for Marcus Johansson but deflected into the Edmonton net.
Skinner made a crucial glove save on Morgan Geekie during a Seattle power play with 8:32 left in the third, keeping it a two-goal game. Sixteen seconds later, as the power play ended, McDavid tipped Bouchard’s shot past Grubauer.
“We had a good push and fought our way back but just came up a little short,” said Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who had two assists. “Overall, it was a pretty solid game, and Skinner made some big saves to keep us in it late.”
WELCOME HOME
Edmonton’s Kailer Yamamoto and Derek Ryan became the first NHL players born in Washington state to play a regular-season game in their home state. Both are from Spokane.
NOTES
Seattle scratched forwards Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz for the second straight game. Eberle skated on his own before the morning skate, while Schwartz did not. … Kraken assistant coach Paul McFarland took a puck to the forehead during the first period, leaving a large gash above his left eye. … Draisaitl played in his 500th career game. … Seattle’s Kole Lind recorded his first career point with an assist on Blackwell’s goal. … Nugent-Hopkins earned his 500th career point.
UP NEXT
- Oilers: Host Los Angeles on Sunday.
- Kraken: Host Pittsburgh on Monday.
