Not-So-High Five: Kraken Fall, 6-3

On a night when Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer was solidly supporting a 2-1 lead after Oliver Bjorkstand scored a decidedly déjà vu goal and Eeli Tolvanen converted a highlight play in the first period, this Saturday night divisional matchup tilted the wrong way in the final minutes of Period 2 and early in the third period.

Calgary scored three goals in exactly five minutes of play, tying the game on a Noah Hanifin goal at 19:00 of the middle period at the end of a power play during which Grubauer and his penalty-kill teammates nearly doused four minutes that included some 5-on-3 duty. Hanifin, drafted by GM Ron Francis when the Kraken hockey boss was in Carolina, somehow threaded a puck through traffic. Grubauer got a piece of it but it leaked through.

A minute and 33 seconds into the final period, Flames forward Yegor Sharangovich tipped in the game-winner and veteran Mikael Backlund finished the wreckage with his first goal of the year and first as captain of the Flames. Calgary and goaltender Dan Vladar held firm for the next 14-plus minutes before Jaden Schwartz redirected a Matty Beniers shot on an extra-attacker goal to make it 4-3. Calgary ended any suspense with two empty-net goals after the Schwartz score to make it a 6-3 final, ending the Flames six-game losing streak.

“Plain and simple, there's no ducking that for us,” said Hakstol, referring to Calgary’s third and fourth goals as “simple plays” during which the foes got to pucks first. “We got out-hustled in our own building in the first 10 minutes of that third period.”

“I feel like maybe they were, I think, more desperate than us,” said Kraken veteran center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who said Seattle made mistakes that allowed Calgary to cash in on the resulting opportunities. “If you don't meet the desperation of a team like this, you’re gonna be in trouble.”

Bjorkstrand: Same Location, Same Success

Seattle bagged another two-goal opening period Saturday with goals by Oliver Bjorkstrand (on the power play) and Eeli Tolvanen (his second in four games after drawing blanks in the first eight dates of the 2023-24 season). It could have been more, especially off the stick of Alex Wennberg, robbed acrobatically by Calgary goalie Dan Vladar on a rebound attempt.

Bjorkstrand’s goal was, stick tap to baseball/malapropism great Yoga Berra, déjà vu all over again. Shooting a dart from the right point – nearly the same spot as the man-advantage goal to start the Kraken scoring in Thursday’s win – Bjorkstrand beat Vladar to the goalie’s upper-right corner and, yes, nearly the same location inside the goal post and crossbar. Bjorkstrand has six points (three goals, three assists) in the last six games. The Danish winger is heating up on the power play and, for now, playing alongside Matty Beniers and rookie standout Tye Kartye during 5-on-5 play is nothing but good for the Kraken’s hopes to rack up standings points in November.

Tolvanen Heating Up?

Similarly, Tolvanen notching his second goal in four games after zeroes in the first eight games is another potential heat-up that can be a potent blend with Jared McCann (five goals in last eight games) on the other wing and scrappy playmaker Yanni Gourde in between.

After Saturday’s morning skate, Gourde was happily talking about the chemistry of his line now that McCann has swapped lines with the aforementioned Bjorkstrand. Gourde was discussing how McCann’s high-end shooting skills are a huge plus, then quickly amended that Tolvanen’s shot arsenal is dangerous to opponents too. On Tolvanen’s goal, Devin Shore shoveled an offensive-zone pass to Gourde, who quickly snapped a slot pass to Tolvanen, hitting his linemate in full stride. Tolvanen made sure to securely steer the puck past Vladar before the Flames goaltender had any chance to slide left to right.

It should be noted that Tolvanen scored on his natural left side while now manning the right wing position to make room for 2022-23 leading scorer McCann. “I played both sides before,” said Tolvanen Saturday morning, waving off any adjustments needed.

Halloween Over, But Scary Cross-Check on McCann

During the ninth minute of this divisional showdown, Jared McCann dropped down to the ice while blocking a shot from Calgary’s Andrew Mangiapane. McCann slid with the puck under him. Mangiapane was whacking about on the fallen McCann before finishing the play by dangerously cross-checking McCann across the back of the neck.

Mangiapane was whistled off for a five-minute major penalty for the blatant action, with the referees announcing a video review of the penalty. After review and discussion with the NHL’s situation room in Toronto, Mangiapane was assessed an additional match penalty, skating off for the night to resounding boos from the Climate Pledge Arena full-house crowd. McCann did return later first period, but not until after fans and no doubt players/coaches/GM Ron Francis alike were figuratively holding their breath.