Things looked bleak for the Seattle Kraken in the 3rd period Thursday at Climate Pledge Arena. A pair of Logan Cooley goals had erased a 3-1 deficit for the Central Division-leading Utah Mammoth. As the clock wound under six minutes, shots in the period were Utah 13, Seattle zero. That’s right, zero.
In the second period, they’d gone more than nine minutes between shots.
Then Bobby McMann finally put a puck on goal. Brandon Montour retrieved the rebound; McMann, who’d circled the net, recaptured the puck and fed Mackie Samoskevich, who fired just the second Kraken shot of the period into a gaping net for a 4-3 Seattle lead with 5:25 remaining.
Somehow, some way, the Kraken (7-3-1) had captured their signature win of the young season, 5-3 over the talented Mammoth, who had won seven of their first 10.
Kraken-Mammoth Thriller Had Nearly Everything
Special teams and waved-off scores were major storylines. The Mammoth and Kraken both scored twice on the power play, and each had a 3rd period goal erased by successful offside challenges.
Matty Beniers got up close and personal with each goal cage in a key 1st-period sequence. First, he crashed into his own net, with help from Utah’s Kevin Stenlund. Sweet revenge on the ensuing power play; Beniers headed to the Mammoth net to finish a series of pinpoint passes to put Seattle up 2-1.
On a 2nd period double man advantage, Montour doubled the lead. Earlier, a fluky Jordan Eberle goal had opened the scoring.
After Montour made it 3-1, the Kraken began hanging on by their fingernails. It felt like just a matter of time before intense pressure from the Mammoth would erase the deficit. The Cooley scores did just that.
Even so, Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer (33 saves) played brilliantly. In the middle frame, he twice repelled a pair of bang-bang chances. Grubauer made two scintillating saves in short order on former Kraken teammate Kailer Yamamoto (4 shots, 1 assist). Later in the period, Grubauer made a pair of quality saves on Lawson Crouse.
1st Period Goals
1-0 Seattle: Call him “Captain Pinball Wizard.” Eberle shot deflects off Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka’s stick and then the end glass; the ricochet bangs off Vejmelka’s back and into his cage.
1-1 Tie: Utah brought the NHL’s top power play, Seattle the #25 penalty kill. Yamamoto fed Vincent Trocheck for the tying tally.
2-1 Seattle: On the home team’s second man advantage, Beniers takes the lead back by tapping home Kaapo Kakko’s no-look, cross-crease pass.
2nd Period Goals
3-1 Seattle: For the second straight game, the Kraken opponent takes overlapping 2nd period minors. 27 seconds of 5-on-3 is enough for Montour to take two heavy slapshots. The second hits the bulls-eye, as the defenseman tallies in back-to-back games.
3rd Period Goals
3-2 Seattle: Seattle allowed Detroit back in the game on Tuesday by taking two late penalties (though they were disputed by coach Lane Lambert). Jared McCann’s last minute 2nd period high stick leads to Utah’s second PP goal, Cooley scoring 27 seconds in.
Yamamoto appeared to tie the game 1:21 later, but Lambert won a coach’s challenge for offside.
3-3 Tie: Cooley was chosen 3rd overall in 2022 by Utah’s predecessor, the Arizona Coyotes, one pick ahead of Shane Wright. From 50 feet, Cooley ties the game. Utah on road power plays improved to an eye-popping 12-16.
McMann appeared to break the tie, but Utah coach André Tourigny won his own challenge for offside.
4-3 Seattle: Samoskevich does break the tie, his 5th of the season, matching Freddy Gaudreau for the team lead.
5-3 Seattle: Not so fast! Gaudreau with his 6th, into an empty net.
Kraken Notables
Kraken skaters helped out their goalie with 18 blocks (3 by Josh Mahura), 11 in the 2nd period alone. Montour and Eberle had two-point nights.
The first Kraken Common Thread night of the season was designated as Hispanic Heritage Night. According to a press release, “Common Thread is our commitment to inclusivity and unity.
“On these nights, we feature specialty jerseys created by a local artist who reinterprets our iconic ‘S’ logo jersey in their distinctive creative style.”
Cassie Campbell-Pascall, on the ESPN+ telecast, compared the balanced scoring of this Kraken team to the playoff squad from four years ago. “They remind me of the Seattle Kraken of 2022-23. 16 goals from the top six forwards, 15 goals from the bottom six (through 10 games).”
By The Numbers
Goals by period: Utah 1-0-2 (3); Seattle 2-1-2 (5)
Shots by period: Utah 8-14-14 (36); Seattle 10-9-4 (23)
Power Plays: Utah 2-3; Seattle 2-4
Next up: The Minnesota Wild visit The Deep on Saturday.
