The Seattle Kraken faced the Utah Hockey Club for the first time. The two most recent additions to the NHL, a lot was riding on this game. However, it was the Kraken who were able to take the win 5-2 on home ice.

Game Recap

Just about halfway through the game, the first bit of action occurred. Brandon Tanev was sent to the penalty box for boarding Michael Kesselring. The Kraken were outshooting Utah 7-1 at this point, so the extra man advantage was beneficial for them. Just 36 seconds later, Utah scored their first of the night. Logan Cooley earned the honor. Cooley passed to Clayton Keller, who looked to get the puck past Phillipp Grubauer. Seeing traffic in front of the net, he passed back to Cooley, who took the shot and scored the first goal of the night.

At 11:16, the Kraken received a power play after Barrett Hayton was called for hooking Matty Beniers. Despite some good chances, they were unable to capitalize on this two-minute man advantage. Once again, Utah was sent to the penalty box, this time Lawson Crouse for roughing Ryker Evans. The Kraken were not losing their opportunity this time, scoring on the power play with the clock reading 16:26. Jaden Schwartz earned the honor of scoring the first goal of the night for the Kraken. Unfortunately, it was called offside and subsequently disallowed.

With less than two minutes to go in the first, Yanni Gourde was able to get the score back to 1-1. Adam Larsson sent the puck around the wall which was recovered by Jaden Schwartz. He passed to Ryker Evans, who took a shot that was deflected. Gourde was able to recover the rebound, took a shot, and scored the first goal for the Kraken. Just 51 seconds later, Andre Burakovsky put the Kraken higher up on the scoreboard. Larsson sent the puck from the Utah zone into the Kraken neutral zone. Schwartz was able to get a hold of it, and passed it to Burakovsky. While in front of the net, he was able to tip the puck through the legs of Olli Maata who attempted to block the shot. As the first period ended, the Kraken led by one.

After the excitement from the first, the second period was relatively quiet until the last possible moment. With 58 seconds left on the clock, Utah was able to tie up the game. Ian Cole and Michael Carcone surged up the ice to their scoring zone, passing the puck between each other. Carcone took a shot at the net, but Grubauer was able to deflect it. Coming off a line change, Alexander Kerfoot was able to get a hold of the rebound, took a shot, and earned the second goal of the night for Utah. Despite Seattle outshooting Utah 16-5 in the first period, the visitors had control over the ice in the second, outshooting the home team 17-7. Heading into the third, both teams had to be on their A-game to take home the win.

The tie was broken at the 7:22 mark of the third period. Kaapo Kakko was able to intercept a pass from Utah. He sent the puck up toward the neutral zone, which Jaden Schwartz was able to get a hold of. With no one to defend him, he skated up to the net and scored a big tie-breaking goal to put the Kraken in the lead. Three minutes later, the Kraken got a lucky chance to extend their lead. Vince Dunn passed to Kakko, who skated up towards the goal. He passed to Matty Beniers, who took a poor shot attempt. He was able to regain control of the missed shot and take a second attempt. The puck bounced off of Karel Vejmelka’s skate and into the goal to extend the Seattle lead.

With Utah down by two, they pulled the goalie in an attempt to make a comeback. Jared McCann had other plans. Oliver Bjorkstrand was able to knock the puck loose from Utah and send it into the neutral zone where McCann was waiting. He skated up to the empty net and was able to expertly tap it in to secure the win for the Kraken.

Next Games

The Kraken look to extend their win streak when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 2. The Utah Hockey Club look to pick themselves back up as they continue their road trip, playing against the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 31.