In a battle of Pacific Northwest rivals, Kraken take down NHL’s best in 5-2 win over Canucks
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In the past two weeks, the Seattle Kraken have effectively had their season put to the test. There was no blueprint to how many games that they could afford to lose, but it was growing increasingly apparent that they needed to get their game together and start stacking points, as the long win and point streaks to end 2023 and begin 2024 had not fully dug them out of the deficit that they had put themselves in with their poor start to this season. For all intents and purposes, this Kraken team has been able to response now with points in their last four games, including three wins in that stretch and two of them coming against the top point getting squads in the entire NHL. The deck was stacked against them, and still largely is given the rest of their schedule this month and in March, but Seattle has shown their defiance to these odds and might just make this city believe in them again after last year's enthralling Stanley Cup playoff run that ended just minutes before they could reach the Western Conference finals. In many ways, tonight’s win represented just how they got to those playoffs last season: Jared McCann’s magic, Jordan Eberle adding in clutch moments, strong defensive play, and Philipp Grubauer standing tall in net.
Vince Dunn and Jared McCann celebrate Dunn’s first period goal that tied the game against the Vancouver Canucks in the Seattle Kraken win at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday, February 22nd, 2024. (Photo by Rio Giancarlo)
Showing their mettle early
The early first period especially put Seattle back against the wall, as Vancouver got on the board first and immediately had a power play following that goal. After the Kraken had some minimal offensive zone time that presented some danger, the Canucks were able to get the puck in deep and actually sustain some time in Seattle’s zone, getting a bit of an advantage during that. As he was trying to protect the right side of his net, Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer got his stick stuck in the side netting of the goal, leaving him stickless as Vancouver held dangerous possession for an extended period of time. A pass into the high danger area by Brock Boeser and a failed shot attempt by Tyler Myers leaked into the front of the crease, where Canucks forward J.T. Miller was able to collect it and get a backhanded shot around Grubauer. A tough situation without his stick and against an unmarked skater resulted in the first goal of the game, and a tripping penalty against Jordan Eberle half a minute later put the Canucks in position to double up on Seattle. A test of resiliency was on the table for the Kraken, and they needed to be able to pass it.
Seattle’s penalty kill managed to stave off that Vancouver man advantage, ensuring that it didn’t produce any tough looks as Grubauer hadn’t been able to see a clean shot yet. First test of the night passed, but a long hockey game still to go and a deficit to overcome. Following the Miller goal, the Kraken dominated the chances on net as they pressed hard to find a hole in Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko that just wasn’t appearing to them despite some solid chances, at least not until just after their first power play of the night. An Elias Lindholm high sticking goal saw a Seattle power play that generated some nice chances, but the goal itself didn’t come until a few seconds after the man advantage had ended. A strong play by Andre Burakovsky saved possession for the Kraken, as he got the puck over to Vince Dunn at the point. After some pass backs between him and Jared McCann, Dunn unleashed a clapper from just inside the blue line that beat Demko thanks in part to a well-executed screen by Alex Wennberg. Test one, kill off the Canucks power play, check. Test two, tie this game up, check.
The Brandon Tanev and Conor Garland fight early into the second period continued the Seattle Kraken momentum. (Photo by Rio Giancarlo)
A Turbo tussle, and three big goals help the Kraken pull away
Following the Dunn goal, Seattle continued to put the pressure on Vancouver, which resulted in a Kraken power play that only took up four seconds in the first period with the rest spilling over into the middle frame. Seattle didn’t waste time capitalizing on it, as just over 20 seconds into the second period, Jared McCann got on the board against his former team. McCann had been left all alone in the middle of the slot as the majority of players on the ice were trying to win a battle on the boards, and Jared’s wrist shot found the top corner of the goal to beat Demko and give the Kraken their first lead of the game. Not even 40 seconds after the McCann goal, the second period continued it’s high energy as Brandon Tanev and Conor Garland dropped the gloves, with Tanev landing ten times as many punches as Garland and taking him down. In case you’re a delusional Canucks fan, that means your guy lost the fight, and the one punch Garland landed does not somehow equal a win.
You’d have thought that with the McCann goal and the Tanev tilt, Seattle was going to continue carrying the momentum forward, but that wasn’t how this game went. The Canucks had flipped the switch and were pushing the Kraken back, eventually getting another bizarre goal. Vancouver had entered the Seattle zone with speed, and a Pius Suter show attempt deflected off Justin Schultz instead of being straight up blocked, redirecting off the side of Sam Lafferty and past Grubauer, who really couldn’t have guessed that was going to happen. A tough break, considering how the first goal against had gone and how this second one found its way into the back of the net, but thankfully that was the last Canucks goal that the Kraken had to deal with in this contest. Vancouver went on the power play after that second goal as well, but to no avail as the Seattle kill was tough. The teams traded power plays, but nothing resulted of it and the game lacked the action level it had seen early until six and a half minutes left in period two.
Jordan Eberle’s second period goal gave the Seattle Kraken a two-goal lead in their win against the Vancouver Canucks at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday, February 22nd, 2024. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
Seattle regained their lead with a Justin Schultz slap shot from within the blue line, thanks to a moving screen by Matty Beniers that also dragged Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers in front of Demko. The Kraken may have been happy going into the second intermission with that one goal lead, but they struck again just over a minute later. Following a faceoff won in the Vancouver zone, Jared McCann from within the trapezoid found Jordan Eberle in front of the crease, and after his first shot bounced off the left leg pad of Demko, his second effort tucked itself into the top of the netting and the Seattle lead was two. The Canucks lacked offensive quality in the third period, the Kraken were able to hold on and get an empty netter from Jordan Eberle to add on and put the finishing touches on one of the biggest Seattle wins this season.
A massive victory against a division rival is big on many levels
The months of February and March were going to be tough for this Kraken team, even before we had to get to this point and realize that they would be battling to climb back into a wild card spot during this stretch. This game against the Canucks, who have been at or around the top of the standings for most of the season, and the following teams who are in or around a playoff spot take place this month or in March: Minnesota, Boston, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg (twice), Vegas (twice), Nashville, and Dallas. That’s a long list of playoff teams or groups that are fighting to find themselves in one of those spots, making the current battle even more uphill than it already was for Seattle considering their poor start to the season. The Kraken have shown their ability to come out with statement wins before, including two of them now in their past three games (Boston, Vancouver), but they will certainly need to find a way to maintain this compete level for the rest of the way if they’re going to return to the postseason for a second consecutive year.
Jared McCann celebrates his second period goal to begin the second period in the Seattle Kraken win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, February 22nd, 2024. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
With Jared McCann playing with the sort of form he’s been in as of late, Jordan Eberle finding his ways to contribute to this lineup, the work rate of the Tolvanen-Gourde-Bjorkstrand line, a solid defensive effort from the pairings, and a strong tandem in net, it’s exciting to think about what this Kraken team can accomplish this season. Obviously, the problem for them, as mentioned previously, has been their lack of consistency this year, but Seattle seemed to understand the weight of this game tonight. Outside of the two odd goals that Vancouver scored, the Kraken managed to keep the Canucks chances to the outside and minimized their high danger opportunities. Doing that against this Canucks team, and just last week against that Bruins team, is a testament to what this team can accomplish when they’re firing on all cylinders. It’s up to the staff and this roster to find it within themselves to maintain that sense of urgency in their play and ride it to another playoff berth. After all, once you get into the dance, it’s all fate in the Stanley Cup playoffs. You’ve just gotta punch your ticket to get in.
Quick notes
Tonight is the final time the Kraken will play the Canucks this season. Tonight's victory gives Seattle its first-ever season series win against Vancouver.
Brian Dumoulin played in his 600th NHL game tonight.
He became the 35th skater and the 12th defenseman from the 2009 NHL Draft to appear in 600 regular-season NHL games.
The Kraken have not surrendered a power-play goal to the Canucks in their last five meetings, going 18-for-18 on the penalty kill during that span.
Seattle has scored at least four goals in six of the last seven games they have played against Vancouver since the start of the 2022-23 season.
With a goal and three assists tonight, Jared McCann extended his point streak to six games, matching his career high that he set earlier this year from Jan. 16 to 24.
He has also scored in three consecutive games for the first time this season.
McCann's four points both set a single-game career high and tied the franchise record for points in a single game.
McCann has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in his last 16 games against his former team, which includes totaling 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 11 games against the Canucks as a member of the Kraken.
This is McCann’s third straight season with 25+ goals.
Jordan Eberle has 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) in his last 25 games against Vancouver dating back to April 11, 2015, which includes totaling 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 11 games against the Canucks as a member of the Kraken.
What’s next?
Following tonight’s big Seattle Kraken win over the Vancouver Canucks, they’ll get a day of practice (at least it’s on the schedule, currently) before their next contest, the third game of the current six-game homestand. It’ll be a special occasion on Saturday, February 24th as the Kraken will be wearing their Winter Classic jerseys for the first of two times after the actual outdoor game itself. That contest against a Minnesota Wild team that is battling with Seattle for one of the remaining playoff spots has a 7PM PST puck drop and will be broadcast on Root Sports Northwest within their market (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska) and on ESPN+/NHLPP nationwide. Minnesota is in a tough stretch in their own right, having lost two of their last three (but beating this Canucks team by a score of 10-7 in an odd game) after rattling off four straight wins.
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Check out our previous Seattle Kraken articles here.
Cover photo and other photos in this article by Rio Giancarlo, and his portfolio here.
Check out our previous articles with writing by Charles Hamaker here.