Playing at home has been an abnormally dubious proposition for the Vancouver Canucks this season. Only sporting a 7-7-5 tally when contending at Rogers Arena, the Canucks thought they had righted the ship deep into Saturday’s contest (Dec. 28) versus the Seattle Kraken. The visitors, led by Vince Dunn, had something to say about that and completed an improbable comeback from three goals down to win 5-4 in overtime.
JUST CALL US THE COMEBACK KRAKEN pic.twitter.com/g5kUOv9g3G
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) December 28, 2024
Brock Boeser Breaks Open Game
A somewhat muted affair in the opening frame started opened up when Seattle’s Shane Wright was sent to the sin bin for hooking Max Sasson at 15:54.
The hosts immediately cashed in, starting with a faceoff win in the Kraken’s end. Jake DeBrusk ripped a one-timer from the right opposite circle, which Philipp Grubauer bravely repelled. But the rubber was sent airborne in a straight line upwards. Gravity yanked it back down into crease traffic, where Brock Boeser deftly tapped into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Canucks Control Second Period
That would be all the scoring until the middle frame, which saw the goal lamp turned more.
Matty Beniers had not found the back of the net since Nov. 11 versus the Chicago Blackhawks. His 19-game goalless drought finally ended at 1:18 when he sent a wrist shot from the slot that the Canucks’ Thatcher Demko got a piece of, but not enough.
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The Canucks were undeterred and made the Kraken pay for not cashing in on a power play. A final attempt on goal went wide, and Teddy Blueger cleverly sent a long pass to Connor Garland, who left the penalty box after serving his time. The latter perfectly rifled a slap shot past Seattle’s keeper for a 2-1 advantage.
The Canucks made their opposite number suffer later in the second period when more Seattle pressure went unrewarded. Vancouver recovered the rubber, broke out, and Carson Soucy sent a pinpoint accurate pass from across the crease to Boeser, who happily obliged by torching a shot for a 3-1 lead and a brace for himself.
Seattle Snatches Win From Jaws of Defeat
Vancouver tried avoiding third-period drama by netting their fourth of the game at 3:09. Seattle’s defense fell asleep for a moment, which was all DeBrusk needed to slip by unnoticed. J.T. Miller mailed a pass and DeBrusk confidently beat Grubauer top shelf to make it 4-1.
That’s when things got funky.
Vancouver had a goal disallowed when it was deemed that the puck had been gloved in. No matter. It was still 4-1 with 16 minutes left.
Seattle pulled within two at 15:15 when Vince Dunn delivered a pass to Jaden Schwartz, who was in close and redirected the disc. 4-2.
The Kraken opted to pull their netminder for a man advantage, and boy, it worked. Seattle pressure caused major issues for the Canucks, and a clumsy attempt at clearing saw the puck land on Dunn’s stick in the slot with a clear way to the net and he sent it past Demko to make it 4-3 at 18:48.
Seattle levelled the terms at 19:10 via Schwartz, who almost single-handedly slithered into the slot, fired, and batted his rebound through traffic. Incredibly, this match would need overtime.
The beguiling comeback was made complete when Dunn got his second of the game at 2:15. A poor Canucks turnover while on the attack allowed Dunn to go the other way and slot home the biscuit into the basket and be embraced by his teammates.
Jubilation at one end, heartbreak at the other. The Kraken had been involved in a few crazy games this season, but this one might take the cake. Seattle will next play on Monday (Dec. 30) at home against the Utah Hockey Club. The Canucks have a few days to wash the bitter taste away before they host the Calgary Flames on New Year’s Eve.
