Things are starting to fall into place for the Seattle Kraken. They faced a Minnesota Wild team that was 5–1–0 coming into Thursday’s tilt but had faced some COVID-19 issues in recent days. The Kraken played a solid game from beginning to end for their second win in a row and third overall.
After starting off their previous game with a quick lead, the Kraken surrendered the lead just under seven minutes into play. Wild wing Ryan Hartman found a soft spot in the slot area and snapped a seeing-eye pass from phenom Kirill Kaprizov past a surprised Philipp Grubauer. Kraken wing Calle Jarnkrok actually had Hartman covered well, but the former Chicago Blackhawk was still able to get the shot off.
The Wild then thought they took a 2–0 lead, but the goal was waved off for high-sticking, keeping the margin at one.
This game may become the “Haydn Fleury Coming Out Game” because the defenseman had both the game-tying and game-winning goals for Seattle. Fleury scored his first with just under seven minutes remaining in the first period. Fleury found an errant Jaden Schwartz centering pass and one-timed the puck past a surprised Cam Talbot for his first goal as a member of the Kraken.
The first period ended with the score tied at 1–1, as the Kraken led in shots 13–10.
The second period is where momentum opened up for the home team. They peppered Talbot with 17 shots while only surrendering five. Fleury scored his second of the night just over seven minutes into the middle frame from an unlikely spot. He took a pass from Ryan Donato and faked a long shot. Fleury then wheeled around a defender and was stopped by Talbot, but picked up the rebound and wrapped the puck around the far post. The skill that Fleury displayed on this particular sequence is what the Carolina Hurricanes saw in the young defenseman when they drafted him seventh overall in 2014.
🚨 Two-goal night for Haydn Fleury 🚨 pic.twitter.com/30AMJQuPGz
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 29, 2021
Fleury’s nifty tally gave Seattle a lead that they never relinquished.
If not for the heroics of Talbot, the Kraken may have really ran the score up on the Wild, but the veteran goalie kept the game within reach for Minnesota. That said, the third period was mostly controlled by the visitors, as they outshot Seattle 16–8.
The score, however, remained 2–1 until the final minutes of regulation. Brandon Tanev and Mark Giordano added late empty-net goals to make the game look more lopsided than it actually was, but it ended up another two points and a tally in the win column for the home team.
Anchor points
⚓ The Kraken had a solid possession game, with only Jordan Eberle and Jamie Oleksiak under 50% in 5-on-5 Corsi.
⚓ Philipp Grubauer was very good, once again. He stopped 30 of 31 shots and held the narrow Kraken lead long enough for the two late empty-net goals.
⚓ The Kraken continue to have success by pushing shots to the slot. Based on their team makeup, this is probably the right focus. High danger chances were 10–4 at 5-on-5 in favor of the Kraken.
⚓ Joonas Donskoi has been snake-bitten lately. He continues to make plays and go hard to the net, though. Sooner or later, the flood gates will open.
⚓ The Kraken will get back to the grind on Sunday, as they host the New York Rangers at Climate Pledge Arena for a Halloween tilt. The puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. PDT.