On Friday, Jan. 2, the Vancouver Canucks hosted the Seattle Kraken. The two teams just faced off on Monday, Dec. 29, where the Canucks won in the shootout. This game also went into a shootout, but this time, the Kraken walked away with a 4-3 win.
Game Recap
Late in the first period, Kaapo Kakko passed the puck to Jamie Oleksiak at the faceoff circle. He took the shot, but Thatcher Demko made the save. The loose puck found Cale Fleury at the blue line. With a slapshot, he scored the first goal of the night, and his first goal since 2019.
Seven minutes into the second, Elias Pettersson took a seat for interference on Eeli Tolvanen. While the Canucks had the puck in their zone, Jared McCann stole it away and skated it into the Kraken’s zone. He passed it to Jordan Eberle in the center of the ice, who, in turn, passed it to Chandler Stephenson at the faceoff dot. He ripped a shot and extended Seattle’s lead.
Just three minutes later, Adam Larsson took a seat for interference on Evander Kane. With a minute left on the extra-man advantage, Kiefer Sherwood picked up Jake DeBrusk’s rebound. With a shot, he put the Canucks on the board.
Late in the second, Jacob Melanson cleared the puck from Vancouver’s zone. He passed it to Ryan Winterton in the center of the ice. He skated it around the boards and passed it down to Ben Meyers in front of the net. He tipped the puck in to give Seattle another two-goal lead.
A minute later, Ryker Evans took a seat for holding Pettersson. Right off the faceoff, the Canucks gained control. Pettersson passed the puck up to Brock Boeser in the corner. He took a shot from a weird angle, but DeBrusk was in front. He redirected the puck into the net just ten seconds into the power play.
Six minutes into the final frame, DeBrusk skated the puck into the Kraken’s zone. He passed it to Boeser, whose shot was thwarted by Joey Daccord. Linus Karlsson picked up the rebound and scored through Daccord’s legs to tie the game.
After 60 minutes, the game was tied 3-3 and went into overtime to decide the winner.
With two minutes left in overtime, Vince Dunn lifted the puck into the net to call game. However, the goal was waved off due to Berkly Catton’s interference on Pettersson, and he went to the box. The Kraken successfully killed the penalty, and the game went into a shootout.
Neither team scored in the first two rounds. Liam Ohgren went third for the Canucks and was denied by Daccord. Matty Beniers faced Demko next. He skated up to the net, and with a leap, he scored the final goal of the game to ensure the Kraken’s win.
The Kraken have now won their last two in a back-to-back, while the Canucks have lost their last two.
Next Up
The Canucks will have the second half of a back-to-back tomorrow, Jan. 3, when they host the Boston Bruins. The Kraken will continue on their Canadian road trip when they take on the Calgary Flames on Monday, Jan. 5.
