On Friday, Jan. 2, the Seattle Kraken faced off against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. The two teams just faced off against each other on Monday, Dec. 29, in which the Canucks won 3-2 in the shootout.
In this game, the Kraken had an early two-goal lead in the second period, but the Canucks started making a comeback. By the time the third period rolled around, the Canucks managed to tie the game with a score of 3-3. Just like on Monday, this game needed overtime and a shootout to determine the winner. However, this time, the Kraken took home the 4-3 victory instead of the Canucks.
Fleury Nets His First as a Kraken
Just two and a half minutes remained in the first period, and the Kraken were trying to find a scoring opportunity. Eeli Tolvanen sent the puck across the ice for Kaapo Kakko, who had to make a spin move to try and gain control of it again. He sent the puck around the boards with the help of Jamie Oleksiak, where it found Cale Fleury at the blue line. He picked it up and took a slap shot, which put the Kraken on the board first.
This was a huge accomplishment for Fleury, not only because he scored the first goal of the night, but he also scored his first goal since his rookie season back in 2019. He scored his first-ever goal on Nov. 16, 2019, with the Montreal Canadiens against the New Jersey Devils. Now, a little over six years later, he nets his first with the Kraken, the team he has been a part of since their first season, when they claimed him from Montreal in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Fleury should feel pretty good about his performance.
Beniers With a Filthy Shot to Win in the Shootout
This game went into a shootout to determine the winner. The Kraken were on the second half of a back-to-back, after just beating the Nashville Predators the night before. The pressure was on, as the Kraken just broke their second half of a back-to-back win drought since March 2024.
Related: Seattle Kraken’s 3 Stars of December
Both the Canucks and the Kraken failed to score in the first two rounds of the shootout. Liam Ohgren went third and again, he missed. Matty Beniers went third for the Kraken, and all the pressure was on him. He skated up to Thatcher Demko, maneuvered the puck to where he had an open space, leapt into the air, and scored on the Canucks goalie to win the game.
This was a redemption goal for his team after Vince Dunn scored earlier in overtime, but the goal was waved off due to Berkly Catton’s interference on Elias Pettersson. The Kraken went on the penalty kill and managed to kill off the 4-on-3 for the Canucks, which sent the game into the shootout. Just like Fleury, Beniers should be incredibly happy with his performance in this game.
Kraken Need to Strengthen Their Penalty Kill
Although the Kraken managed to kill off the penalty on Catton during overtime, the Kraken need to strengthen their penalty kill overall. Two of the three goals the Canucks scored in this game were on the power play, with Jake DeBrusk scoring his goal just 10 seconds into the extra-man advantage.
The Kraken have allowed their opponents 111 total power-play opportunities, and they have the worst penalty kill in the NHL, with a 70.3% success rate. Yes, the penalty kill had some good moments, especially during overtime, as mentioned above. However, if the Kraken want to continue succeeding as they have in these past few games, they will need to ensure their special teams are as strong as they can be.
Kraken Continue on the Road
The Kraken will continue on their Canadian road trip when they take on the Calgary Flames on Monday, Jan. 5.
