On Monday, Jan. 12, the Seattle Kraken took on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The two teams had already met earlier this season in Seattle, and the Rangers left with a 3-2 overtime victory. In this game, the Rangers came out strong, scoring two goals within the first five and a half minutes. The Rangers held Seattle off in this period and outshot them 11-9.
However, the Kraken commanded the ice in the following two periods. They opened the scoring just a minute into the first period and went on to score three more unanswered goals between the final two periods. The Kraken outshot the Rangers 20-11. Seattle leaves the city that never sleeps with a 4-2 win, bringing the season series to a tie, with each team winning one game.
Tolvanen Opens the Scoring Early in the Second
As mentioned above, the Kraken were down by two goals as the middle frame began. It was Eeli Tolvanen who got Seattle on the board early. The two teams were in the middle of a line change when Gabe Perreault had the puck in the neutral zone. Frederick Gaudreau stole it from him and skated it into the Kraken’s zone. He passed it across the ice to Tolvanen, who picked it up with his backhand from in front of the net. He sent the puck past Jonathan Quick to bring the Kraken within one goal.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Kraken’s 3-2 Loss to the Hurricanes
This goal marked Tolvanen’s eighth of the season and the first in a seven-game point drought. He last recorded a point on Dec. 28, where he scored two goals and recorded an assist for three points. He has had plenty of success on the second line alongside Gaudreau and Jaden Schwartz. With the injuries, this line has moved around a bit, but now Tolvanen is back to finding his stride with points.
Ex-Rangers Record a Point Against Former Team
Ryan Lindgren and Kaapo Kakko both celebrated their first game back at Madison Square Garden since being traded by the Rangers. Each player received a nice welcome back message and a round of applause from those in attendance. Both players managed to record a point against their former team as well.
Three minutes after Tolvanen scored, Vince Dunn took a slap shot from the blue line, but Quick made the save. Matty Beniers picked up the rebound and sent it around the boards for Kakko. He picked it up from behind the net and dished it to Jordan Eberle between the faceoff circles. His shot bounced off the crossbar and into the net to tie the game. This was also Eberle’s first game back after missing the last two due to injury, so this was a great confidence boost for him.
Heading into the third period, the two teams were tied with two goals apiece. Halfway into the final frame, Shane Wright carried the puck into the Kraken’s zone. He dropped it down to Jared McCann, who passed it up to Lindgren near the net. He took a shot, but Quick made the pad save. Both Wright and Berkly Catton were in front of the net and got their stick on the puck, trying to make it cross the goal line. It was Catton’s efforts that broke the tie and gave the Kraken their first lead.
Former Kraken Carson Soucy also recorded an assist on Mika Zibanejad’s first goal of the game. It was a full affair of players recording points against their former team.
Catton Keeps At It
Since he played his first NHL game on Oct. 20 against the Philadelphia Flyers, Catton has been working hard to score his first goal. He recorded his first point with an assist in this game, but it took 27 more games for him to score his first goal, which he achieved on Jan. 6, when he scored two. In his last four games, Catton has four goals. The Kraken just started their East Coast road trip, and he has scored a goal in their last two games to kick it off.
With McCann dropping back down to the third line again with Eberle back in the lineup, he is now the right wing for Catton’s line while Wright continues to play center. The three are already building their chemistry back, since they weren’t playing together for the past two games.
Catton has been an exceptional part of the Kraken’s bottom six, and he is on track to continue doing so.
Kraken’s Road Trip Continues
The Kraken will travel to the other side of the Hudson River, where they will take on the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
