On Wednesday, Dec. 10, the Seattle Kraken hosted the Los Angeles Kings. This marked the first of four matchups for the two teams this season. The two teams played a competitive game, but it was the Kraken who won in overtime, 3-2.
Game Recap
The first period saw one power-play opportunity for each team. The Kings outshot the Kraken, nine shots to the home team’s six. The score remained neutral after the first frame.
Early in the second period, Cody Ceci took a seat for tripping Jani Nyman. With a minute and change left on the extra-man advantage, Vince Dunn passed the puck to Jared McCann in the center of the ice. He hammered the shot into the corner of the net to score the first goal of the night.
Following a failed 5-on-3 attempt, Brandon Montour skated the puck into the Kraken’s zone on an extra-man advantage. Immediately after he got into the zone, Joel Armia created a turnover. He passed it Alex Laferriere in the neutral zone. He skated up to the net with speed, with no one defending him. His shot hit the crossbar and bounced in to tie the game.
With eight minutes left in the second, the Kraken had a chance to score. It was unclear if the puck crossed the goal line, and the referees blew the play dead. After an official review, it was determined that the puck did not, in fact, cross the line and the score remained tied at one goal apiece.
Late in the third, Ryker Evans took a double minor for a high-stick on Corey Perry. Less than 30 seconds into the power play, Anze Kopitar passed the puck to Kevin Fiala, skating up to the net with speed. He hit the crossbar and gave the Kings the lead for the first time in this game.
Less than a minute remaining, Anton Forsberg was called for tripping Jared McCann. He hit the ice hard, and although he skated off on his own power, he was helped down the tunnel and did not return to the game. Off the faceoff on the extra man advantage, the Kraken won it, and Dunn kept the puck in the Kraken’s zone. He passed it up to Eeli Tolvanen, who took the shot. Matty Beniers was in front and got his stick on the puck, tipping it into the net to tie the game with 26 seconds left on the clock.
One minute into overtime, Adrian Kempe took a seat for slashing Beniers. Seattle got to work immediately on the 4-on-3, as Tolvanen passed the puck to Dunn at the center of the ice. With a one-timer, he scored the game-winning goal and ended the Kraken’s six-game losing streak.
Next Up
The Kraken will hit the road and take on the Utah Mammoth on Friday, Dec. 12. The Kings will be back in action at home on Saturday, Dec. 13, when they host the Calgary Flames.
The season series will move to Los Angeles when the Kings host the Kraken later this month on Dec. 23.
