The Seattle Kraken had a mission heading into this game against the Vancouver Canucks: break their losing streak. Before the holiday break, the Kraken were on a five-game losing streak. Fans hoped that the holiday break would end this losing streak. Things were rough in the beginning, as the Canucks were leading 4-1 with less than five minutes remaining in the third period. However, the Kraken were able to turn it around in the third, tying the game and forcing overtime. They took home a 5-4 win.
Beniers Breaks His No-Goal Streak
This was the 37th game that the Kraken played in this season. Matty Beniers went 19 straight games without scoring a goal. That is just about half the games played so far this season. At the beginning of the second period, he was able to break this scoring drought.
Related: Kraken Call Up Gustav Olofsson and Ales Stezka From AHL’s Firebirds
Jamie Oleksiak was able to possess the puck after a poor pass from the Canucks. He saw Beniers alone and passed to him. He skated up towards the goal. Hitting the blue line, Beniers took a shot and scored the first of the night for the Kraken.
After missing a chance in the first period, being able to claim the first goal of the night for the Kraken must be a great feeling. Hopefully, it does not take Beniers 19 games to score another.
Dunn Strikes Twice and Brings Home the OT Win
Two of the five goals were scored by defenseman Vince Dunn, including the final overtime winner.
Daniel Strong took a shot attempt, but it was thwarted by the Canucks. As the home team attempted to get the puck back into their zone, Dunn swooped in and took it after a failed pass attempt from Carson Soucy. He skated up to the net and fired it in to score the third goal of the night for the Kraken.
Maybe there is a chance that Soucy forgot that he was on the Canucks for a second, bringing him back to the 2022-23 season. Whatever the case may be, Dunn’s goal helped propel the Kraken’s ability to take home the win. Not only that, he also scored the final goal of the night.
Dunn once again was able to reclaim the puck off a bad pass from the Canucks. Tyler Myers attempted to make a pass, but it hit the wall. Dunn was able to take possession of the puck after it bounced off the wall. With an incredible breakaway, he skated up towards the Canucks goaltender with no one to defend against him. With no one on him, he took the shot and solidified the win for the Kraken.
After Dunn was on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) earlier this season, this is only the 17th game he was able to play in for the season. These two goals increased his total to seven for the season. He also earned an assist off of Jaden Schwartz’s first goal, also bumping his total up to seven for the season. His current point total rests at 14. For just about one point per game, Dunn has been putting up a stellar performance this season.
The Drought Ends
As mentioned above, the Kraken were on a five-game losing streak as they headed into the holiday break. With some time to rest and recover with family, the Kraken were trying to break that losing streak. Thankfully, they had one of the best comebacks in the NHL.
Down three with five minutes remaining? Don't count the @SeattleKraken out as they earned their League-leading fifth multi-goal comeback win of the season.#NHLStats: https://t.co/SUWZrfF645 pic.twitter.com/1agx9pzfya
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 29, 2024
The Kraken team before the holiday break is not the same team that was able to perform this feat in the final few minutes of the game. They looked better and performed better than previously in the season. Perhaps the break did give them the rest that they needed to actually play better. The final score for this game definitely reflected this.
Keep Up the Momentum
The Kraken look to earn two more points when they play against the Utah Hockey Club for the first time on Monday, Dec. 30.
