On Dec. 10, the Seattle Kraken hosted the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. While the two teams were in fierce competition the entire night, it was the Panthers who eventually took home the victory in a 2-1 shootout win.
Game Recap
The first course of action of the game went to the Panthers, but not in a positive light. Tomas Nosek was sent to the penalty box seven minutes in for slashing Mitchell Stephens. The Panthers managed to kill the penalty and play resumed at full strength. Shortly after, the Kraken received a penalty. This time, Shane Wright received a two-minute minor for tripping Sam Bennett 12 minutes into the first period. After two minutes of Florida with the extra attacker and no goal, the Kraken successfully killed the penalty.
With just four minutes left in the period, the Kraken kicked us off with the scoring. Assisted by Yanni Gourde and Jared McCann, Chandler Stephenson had a fantastic breakaway. Outskating the two Panthers flanking him, Stephenson was able to send the puck into the back of the net and put the Kraken on top as the period came to a close.
All of the action in the second period came within the last three minutes. Anton Lundell received a penalty for roughing Gourde. The penalty ended, and the Panthers were back at full strength. With a minute and a second left on the clock, Aleksander Barkov scored. Sam Reinhart had control of the puck. Seeing Barkov alone towards the faceoff circle, Reinhart passed to him, which led to the tying goal. As the period came to a close, with a score of 1-1 going into the third, the pressure was on for both teams.
Four minutes into the final period, Jamie Oleksiak was sent to the penalty box after tripping Dmitry Kulikov. The Panthers were unable to benefit from the extra man advantage. Immediately after they had their power play, the Panthers were sent back to the box. Again it was Nosek, this time for interference on Wright. The Panthers were able to successfully kill the power play once more.
Halfway into the third period, Yanni Gourde exited the game. It was announced that he would not return, due to a lower body concern. As the third came to a close, the score was still tied 1-1. Each team picked up a point, and to overtime they went.
While Wright and Bjorkstrand had excellent chances in OT, the two teams remained scoreless leading to a shootout.
Eeli Tolvanen shot first for the Kraken, but his shot went too high. Barkov shot first for the Panthers. His shot landed in the back of the net, leading to the first goal of the shootout. Bjorkstrand was up next for the Kraken, whose shot was blocked by Sergei Bobrovsky. With the game resting on Sam Reinhart’s shoulders, he skated up towards Joey Daccord. Faking out the goalie, Reinhart was able to put the puck into the back of the net and win the game for the Panthers.
Next Games
The Panthers look to continue their win streak when they face off against the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 12. The Kraken will continue their homestand, hoping to pick up two points when they host the Boston Bruins on the same day.
