DALLAS – Needing more than seven minutes to get their first shot on goal of a newly-resumed NHL schedule wasn’t exactly the playoff stretch run launch the Kraken spent the past week envisioning.
In a game seemingly over before it was officially halfway done, the Kraken took a 4-1 loss Wednesday night to a depleted Dallas Stars team as play resumed league-wide following the Winter Olympic break. They surrendered a late first period goal, then three more the opening six plus minutes of the middle frame in dropping their ninth straight contest against the Stars.
Wyatt Johnston scored a pair of goals for Dallas while Matt Duchene and Sam Steel had the others as the Stars got bodies to the Kraken net early and often. The game turned decisively at the 5:35 mark of the second when Sam Steel, his team already ahead by two, leaped on a loose puck in the crease and jammed it past goalie Joey Daccord.
The Kraken challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal stood and Johnston would tip home a Miro Heiskanen point shot just 39 seconds later on the resulting delay of game penalty assessed the visitors. That made it 4-0 and with the Stars by then outshooting the Kraken 18-4, it was clear that no comeback would be forthcoming.
Casey DeSmith seemed poised to hand the Kraken their first shutout loss in nearly three months, a stretch dating back to a Nov. 29 home loss against Edmonton. But Ryker Evans ended that chance just under seven minutes into the final frame by firing home a slapper after a net front scramble.
The fists were flying soon after as veteran forward Adam Ernie landed several punches on Jacob Melanson and then Ben Meyers got the better of Justin Hryckowian, pounding him to the ice before officials got between them.
Both teams started slowly following the three-week Winter Olympic pause, though it was the Stars who entered the game decidedly more shorthanded. Dallas was without Team Finland star forwards Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz, out due to a lower body injury and illness respectively.
They also had No. 1 goalie Jake Oettinger serving as Casey DeSmith’s backup for the night due to his getting back to Dallas on Tuesday following Team USA’s gold medal win two days prior. Add the fact that Dallas defender Thomas Harley played for Canada on Sunday, while Finnish defenders Heiskanen and Esa Lindell won bronze medals on Saturday and the Stars were not exactly their typical Western Conference powerhouse selves.
The Kraken played Eeli Tolvanen after his bronze medal performance for Finland, but Kaapo Kakko got the night off.
The goaltending swap of Oettinger for DeSmith didn’t exactly benefit the Kraken as much as hoped. DeSmith entered 4-1 lifetime against the Kraken with a 1.00 goals against average and .964 save percentage and wasn’t really tested in this game before his team put things out of reach.
The Kraken were out-shot 11-3 in the first period despite two power play chances. They managed to keep the score even until Johnston tipped home a Lindell shot with 79 seconds to go in the frame.
Dallas then out-shot the Kraken 15-6 in the middle period, with Matt Duchene deflecting home the very first attempt on a point blast by Hartley just 1:43 in. Steel would score on the next front rebound just three minutes later and only moments after the Kraken had finished killing off a penalty.
