Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena marked the second rivalry match of the week between the Seattle Kraken and the Vancouver Canucks.
View the original article to see embedded media.
Chandler Stephenson made his pre-season debut after signing with the Kraken in July. The former Vegas Golden Knights center signed a seven-year deal with an average annual value of $6.25 million. The Kraken made additional cuts to their roster before tonight’s game, sending several rookies back to their affiliated teams.
Related: Kraken Reassign Eight Players To The Coachella Valley Firebirds
Debuting for Vancouver was former Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk, who was signed as an unrestricted free agent to a seven-year, $38.5 million contract. Sawyer Mynio, the 19 year old defenseman for the Seattle Thunderbirds, had some ice time as well. Vancouver drafted Mynio in the third round, 89th overall at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
First Period: Eeli Tolvanen executed a powerful five-man play with Shane Wright, resulting in Seattle’s first goal at 15:57. He poked the puck past Vancouver goalie Kevin Lankinen after a pass from Larson, assisted by Eberle.
Seattle killed a power play after a high-sticking penalty was called on Brandon Biro against Arshdeep Bains. Shortly after, Vancouver’s Nate Smith was called for holding against Ben Meyers. Mahura had a breakaway that was interrupted by Lankinen’s skate. Moments later, Brandon Montour scored his first pre-season goal as a Kraken with a redirected shot off Vancouver’s Derek Forbort. The Kraken led 2-0 at the end of the first period, having registered 11 shots on goal.
Dexter Guiang Photography
View the 4 images of this gallery on the original article
Second Period: The Kraken rookies from Coachella Valley helped Seattle take a 3-0 lead, thanks to a goal by Ryan Winterton, assisted by Lleyton Roed. Winterton’s first-ever NHL goal came off a rebound from a previous shot by Roed. Vancouver cut the Kraken’s lead with an unassisted shorthanded goal by Tyler Myers.
Dexter Guiang Photography
View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article
Third Period: Vancouver’s Sammy Blais received a penalty for interference after delivering a hard upper-body hit on Montour. The Canucks managed to kill the power play. Stephenson, Montour, and Tolvanen put pressure on Lankinen, but failed to score a goal. A scuffle broke out around the Kraken’s net, with Oleksiak defending starting goalie Joey Daccord, while Kiefer Sherwood was charged with a minor penalty. The Kraken missed three empty-net opportunities as Vancouver pulled its goalie in an attempt to even the score. Ultimately, the Kraken won their first pre-season game with a final score of 3-1 over the Canucks. Final shots on goal, SEA 23 VAN 20.
Dexter Guiang Photography
View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article
The Three Stars of the Game were all awarded to Seattle: Montour, Daccord, and Winterton, who earned the first star. The Kraken will embark on a two-game road trip, with their first stop in Edmonton tomorrow to face the Oilers, followed by a matchup against the Calgary Flames on Monday.
Make sure you bookmark THN’s Seattle Kraken site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
Related
Related: Kraken Place Two Players On Waivers For The Purpose Of Being Assigned To The Coachella Valley Firebirds
Related: Photos: Kraken Preparing for Redemption
