The Seattle Kraken closed out their four-game road trip with a bang. The Kraken headed to the East Coast, where they faced off against four teams, closing it out with a trip to play against the New York Rangers in the Big Apple. Fortunately for the Kraken, they were able to clinch another victory on the road, taking a 7-5 victory home with them.
Bjorkstrand on Top
Oliver Bjorkstrand had an impressive performance, netting a total of four points with two goals and two assists.
Bjorkstrand was able to kick off the scoring for the Kraken at the top of the second period with a power play goal. Chandler Stephenson had possession of the puck thanks to a pass by Matty Beniers. Seeing the Rangers closing in on him, and Bjorkstrand relatively all alone, Stephenson passed the puck to him. From there, he was able to score the first Kraken goal of the game and tie up the score.
His second goal came towards the end of the second period. With less than a minute on the clock, Bjorkstrand was able to score once again. Brandon Montour passed the puck to him from the blue line, after receiving it from Eeli Tolvanen off the faceoff. Montour passed it up to Bjorkstrand, who was able to tip it into the net since he was right in front. He earned the fourth goal of not only the game, but the second period as well.
Even with two goals, he was not done for the night and earned two assists as well. Earning them on Tolvanen’s second-period goal and Shane Wright’s third-period goal, Bjorkstrand was the first star of the game with four total points.
Grubauer Kept Kraken Alive
When looking at the summary of the game, it is clear that the Rangers outplayed the Kraken. They beat the Kraken in the faceoff circle, winning 40 out of 64. On top of this, they also outshot the Kraken 37 to 22. While the defense core is to thank for keeping them in the game, there is another player who can be credited with this as well; goalie Philipp Grubauer.
Related: How the Seattle Kraken Can Overcome the Loss of Captain Jordan Eberle
With Joey Daccord out due to an emergency illness, an emergency backup goalie (EBUG) was called in. Due to this, Grubauer had to start in net for the game. This was only his tenth start of the season, but arguably a very important one.
Although he allowed five goals, Grubauer was able to save a whopping 32 shots the Rangers took. The game was very close, but it was the goalie in the end who kept the Kraken within winning distance.
This game also marked only the second win of the season for Grubauer. Daccord has seen more ice time than him, but he has definitely stepped up when he has needed to.
Wright Is Finding His Stride
After being forced to sit out for three games, Shane Wright has been on a massive point streak since his return to the ice. He was made to watch the games from the press box with general manager Ron Francis, and perhaps that was the correct idea.
Has Shane Wright arrived?! 😤 pic.twitter.com/jKmU8nuhI5
— NHL (@NHL) December 8, 2024
Earning six goals in his last eight games, Wright is finally making plays happen. A large part of his developmental plan was encouraging him to be a playmaker for the Kraken. It appears that something has finally stuck and he is doing just that.
Next Steps
The Kraken look to keep the winning spirits alive when they head back home to host the Florida Panthers on Dec. 10.
