After getting flattened by the Winnipeg Jets 8-1 on Tuesday (Dec. 10), the Boston Bruins had a chance to rebound versus a comparatively easier opponent on Thursday (Dec. 12) as they visited the Seattle Kraken. However, life for the Bruins in 2024-25 continues to throw them challenges, as the Kraken defended home ice with a 5-1 win.

Seattle Strikes Early

Seattle isn’t a club that jumps out to early starts often, but this proved to be the exception to the rule. Boston was sent to the sin bin 24 seconds into the contest when David Pastrnak was called for high-sticking. The Kraken won the faceoff in the Bruins’ zone. This allowed Matty Beniers to skate around along the left boards for a few moments before sending the puck into the crease, where Oliver Bjorkstrand tipped the puck for a 1-0 lead.

The Kraken weren’t done. At 5:14, Jaden Schwartz doubled the host’s lead to 2-0 with a fine effort to the right of Boston’s Joonas Korpisalo. Skating along the goal line, he backhanded a shot top shelf over the netminder’s shoulders.

Boston wouldn’t get back into the match until the second period. Thanks in part to a more lockdown defensive effort and more moxie on the attack, the Bruins were provided a lifeline. Seattle’s Brandon Montour thought he had made a stunning defensive play when he dove in Philipp Grubauer’s crease to try and swat away a loose puck. However, his effort also had him cover up the puck. That’s a no-no in the NHL rule book. As such, Brad Marchand was awarded a penalty shot, and he made the Kraken pay.

Fortune Favors the Kraken

Sometimes, to be good, one just needs to be lucky. Then again, a team can create its own luck.

That was the case in the third period. With Seattle hoping to create distance between them and Boston, a Jared McCann blast in the slot was deflected by a Bruins defender into the air. Vince Dunn happened to pass by and tapped the airborne puck into the net to make it 3-1 at 3:07.

The Kraken’s fourth marker was the dividend that paid off from some fine puck movement between Eeli Tolvanen, Shane Wright and Oliver Bjorkstrand, who rifled a shot from the slot past a screened Korpisalo. The home fans could taste victory now.

Jared McCann would slot the puck into a gaping net at 18:06 – not without effort, though – for the proverbial icing on the cake en route to a 5-1 final score.

This was one of the better efforts this season from beleaguered Seattle crease keeper Grubauer. The German shielded his net from 33 of the 34 shots he faced.

Seattle will remain in the confines of Climate Pledge Arena for their next game. That’s on Saturday (Dec. 14) when the Tampa Bay Lightning are in town. The Bruins also play on Saturday. Their travels out West take them to Vancouver for a date with the Canucks.