Shane Wright’s 2-Point Night Helps Kraken Defeat Panthers 2-1

The Seattle Kraken and the Florida Panthers were back in action after the 4 Nations Face-Off break. The Panthers hosted the Kraken, but home ice did not help them. The Kraken took the victory, 2-1.

Game Recap

Not even a minute into the game the Panthers went on their first power play of the night. Adam Larsson sat for hooking and Florida went on the extra man advantage. The Kraken earned their first penalty just four minutes later as Nate Schmidt took a seat for tripping. With 11 seconds left on the power play, the Kraken found the back of the net. Shane Wright sent a pass to Matty Beniers in the middle of the ice. He saw Kaapo Kakko to his left and passed the puck to him. He skated to the net and sent the puck under Sergei Bobrovsky’s legs to find the back of the net. The Kraken were on the board first.

Halfway into the second period, the Panthers were able to tie the game. Niko Mikkola sent a pass through the ice where it found Anton Lundell. He got control of it at the boards and skated towards the center of the ice. He passed to Eetu Luostarinen who was in front of the net. He tipped the puck into the net to put the Panthers on the board and tie the game.

Three minutes left in the second, Mackie Samoskevich sent the puck into the back of the net to score the second goal for the Panthers. However, Josh Mahura and Evan Rodrigues were tied up in front of the net next to Daccord. Dan Bylsma successfully challenged for goaltender interference. The second period came to a close with the game still tied 1-1.

Seven minutes into the third period, the Kraken were able to break the tie. Wright travelled up the ice with the puck, maneuvering around the Panthers players who tried to defend him. With a quick stop and a spin move, he passed the puck to Larsson in the middle of the ice. He saw Jared McCann unattended to his left and passed to him. He took a shot that was too high for Bobrovsky to stop. It found the back of the net and the Kraken were up by one.

With three minutes left to go, the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky in an attempt to earn the tying goal. The extra attacker did them no favors, and the Kraken took the victory here.

Next Up

The Kraken have the second half of a back-to-back tomorrow, Feb. 23 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Panthers will travel to Nashville, when they play the Predators on Tuesday, Feb. 25.