Kraken finds offense but loses 5-4 in OT to the Ducks

The areas the Seattle Kraken hoped to improve on this season were goal scoring and better goaltending. In last night’s season opener at Anaheim, the Kraken set team records with three power-play goals and 48 shots on goal. But two late goals and an overtime breakaway goal by Troy Terry left the Kraken on the short end of a 5-4 decision.

To remedy the goal-scoring situation, the Kraken added Andre Burakovsky (22 goals with the Colorado Avalanche) via free agency and acquired Oliver Bjorkstrand (28 goals)  in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. That duo provided immediate dividends as Burakovsky and Bjorkstrand both recorded power play goals in the second period. Five of the eight goals in the contest were scored on the power play Last year’s number-one draft pick Matty Beniers had the first multi-point game of his brief career (a goal and an assist).

“We had good chemistry on the power play but I think we made little mistakes,” said Bjorkstrand. “We played pretty well. We scored on the power play but we could have buried more (goals) when it was five-on-five.”

The Kraken outshot the Ducks, 48-26 overall and led 4-2 with 11 minutes left. Philipp Grubauer coming off  a disappointing 2021-22 season made some nice saves, but gave up a couple of breakaway goals. According to MoneyPuck.com a hockey analytics site that rates quality shots, the Kraken should have had five goals and the Ducks only two.

The game began an ominous note as Anaheim scored in the first minute of play. Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak had trouble clearing the puck from behind his own net and Terry fired the puck home.

The Kraken tied the game at 10:13 when Beniers standing to the left of the net hit a cutting Jared McCann who one-timed the shot home. McCann was the Kraken’s leading scorer a year ago with 27 goals, eight on the power play. He also tallied a goal in Seattle’s first ever game in Las Vegas.

Seattle’s second goal on the power play looked similar to the first. This time, Burakovsky was the trailer and he took a pass from defenseman Vince Dunn. Bjorkstrand made it 3-1 when he fired a slap shot from about 30 feet out with Alex Wennberg screening Anaheim goalie John Gibson. Another newcomer, defenseman Justin Schultz a free-agent from Washington, assisted on the goal.

We just moved the puck quick,” said Beniers regarding the Kraken’s crisp passing on all the goals. “We’ve been practicing a lot. It’s about building chemistry and getting reps and feeling good about each other.”

Anaheim got a power play of their own to cut the lead to 3-2, Kraken penalty killers Karson Kuhlman and Wennberg came in on a 2-on-1 breakaway but Gibson made the save. Unfortunately for the Kraken, defenseman Will Borgen joined the offensive attack and was out of position when the Ducks went up the ice on a 3-on-1 break. Ryan Strome, a free agent signee from the New York Rangers, scored on a pass from Mason McTavish. “We got greedy there,” said Kraken coach Dave Hakstol.

Seattle made it 4-2 in the third on Benier’s first goal of the season This was the Kraken’s first non-power play goal although Borgen and Anaheim’s Maxime Comtois were in the penalty box serving fighting majors. Comtois had flattened Benier with a high hit earlier in the game.

Moments after the score, Grubauer made his best save of the night kicking out Frank Vatrano’s shot from in close. But Vatrano, who also played for the Rangers a year ago, scored seconds later. After the game, Hakstol said the Ducks caught the Kraken in a bad line change leading to the goal.

Trevor Zegras, a 20-year-old who played on US Junior teams with Beniers, tied the game 4-4 at 13:23, the fifth power play goal of the contest. Seattle would get another power play chance in regulation but Gibson made four saves.

“We scored on three power plays but I wish we scored a fourth,” said Hakstol. “It looked like Ebs (Jordan Eberle) had an open net but the puck hit a skate.”

The teams matched breakaways in overtime. Defenseman Adam Larsson took a stretch pass from Beniers but Gibson not only made the stop but sent a clearing pass ahead to Terry . The Anaheim forward fired home a back hander to end the game.

GAME NOTES

The Kraken’s number-one draft pick Shane Wright made his NHL debut but didn’t figure in the scoring. Wright’s parents were in attendance.

For the first time since the 2003-2004 season, Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf wasn’t in the lineup. The long-time Ducks’ captain retired at the end of last season as Anaheim’s all-time leading scorer.

John Klingberg made his Anaheim debut last night. The former Dallas Stars defenseman was rumored to be a Kraken free-agent signee in the off-season. Reportedly Klingberg was disappointed with the offers he received on the free-agent market and only signed a one-year deal with the Ducks. Klingberg had two assists in the game.

The Kraken are in action again tonight when they travel up the road to face the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings lost their season opener to the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3, on Tuesday night. Seattle makes its home debut Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena against the Golden Knights.

GAME STATS

Scoring Summary

First Period A- Troy Terry (Mason McTavish, Ryan Strome) 0:51. S- Jared McCann (Matty Beniers, Jaden Schwartz) PPG 10:13.

Second Period S- Andre Burakovsky (Vince Dunn) PPG 0:38 S- Oliver Bjorkstrand (Justin Schultz, Ryan Donato) PPG 6:38. A- Ryan Strome (McTavish, Trevor Zegras) 18:24.

Third Period S- Beniers (Schwartz, Carson Soucy) 4:09. A- Frank Vatrano (Strome, John Klingberg) 9:56. A- Zegras (Terry, Klingberg) PPG 13:53.

Overtime- A; Terry (John Gibson) 0:38.

Shots on goal – Seattle 48, Anaheim 27.

Penalty minutes – Seattle 11, Anaheim 15.

Referees- Francois St. Laurent, TJ Luxmore. Linesmen- Bryan Palich, Caleb Appleton.