3 Takeaways From the Kraken’s 4-2 Win Over the Sharks – The Hockey Writers – Seattle Kraken

On Saturday, Dec. 20, the Seattle Kraken closed out the season series with the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center. The two teams each had one win under their belts from their two meetings earlier in November. This game began with neither team scoring in the first period, despite the Kraken having 17 chances and the home team having 12. 

It was the Kraken who broke the ice in the second period with an unassisted goal from Eeli Tolvanen. Shortly after, Adam Gaudette tied the game up with a power-play goal. The third kicked off with an early goal from the Sharks, but the Kraken answered back to tie up the game just a minute and change later. With two more goals that followed, the Kraken beat the Sharks with a 4-2 final score, earning the season series win as well. 

Lindgren Nets His First as a Kraken

Ryan Lindgren was a newer addition to the blue line this offseason after the Kraken signed him on July 1 when he became a free agent. Seattle signed him to a four-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $4.5 million. So far, Lindgren’s main achievement with the team has been leading in penalty minutes, with a total of 39. However, he scored his first goal with the team in this game against the Sharks. 

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Early in the third period, Frederick Gaudreau gained control of the puck and began skating it into the neutral zone. William Eklund knocked him into the boards, and he lost control of the puck, but Chandler Stephenson retook control. He passed it down the ice to Lindgren. He skated into the faceoff circle and took a shot. The puck hit the top corner of the net and went in to give Seattle the lead once more. 

With his goal in this game, Lindgren now has five points to his name. Unfortunately, he still took a penalty in this game, which caused the Sharks to score their power-play goal. In a way, Lindgren scoring his first goal makes up for it just a little bit. Now, if he can just stay out of the box.

Stephenson With a New Career Best

Stephenson was on a hot streak before this game, but it just increased in this game. With his assist on Lindgren’s goal, Stephenson recorded his eighth point in as many games. However, he also scored an empty-net goal, so his streak extends to nine points in eight games. 

This is Stephenson’s best point streak in his career. On top of this, he now holds the fourth-longest streak in Kraken history. Congratulations to Stephenson on this personal milestone and also his Kraken milestone. Let’s see how long he can keep this up for. 

Blue Line Struggled

While the blue line managed to find some success in this game, there is no denying the struggles they also endured. In the first 30 seconds of the third period, Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson found themselves in front of Joey Daccord’s net. Colin Graf took a shot, and with the two defensemen in the way, the puck bounced off Larsson and crossed the goal line for the Sharks’ second goal of the night. 

It was an unfortunate placement for the two defensemen, and at the end of the day, it cost them a goal. Luckily, the Kraken managed to gain the lead once more with a goal from Ryker Evans shortly after, and then Lindgren’s goal a little while later. Both Evans and Lindgren are a big part of the blue line, so they made up partially for Larsson’s mistake. However, they need to curb these silly mistakes to get back into winning performance. 

Kraken Continue on the Road

The Kraken will continue making their way through the California teams, taking on the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, Dec. 22.