“I think it’s a game of momentum, especially with the firepower they have,” Hayden said of an Oilers team that’s won 11 of 14 and their last eight games in a row over the Kraken. “And in the second (period), I think some turnovers -- myself included -- fed them a bit.”
It was a tough way to end a night when the Kraken proved admirably aggressive and formidable during even-strength play. Also, a difficult way to end a day devoted to the first half of a “Mom’s Trip” that saw players’ mothers travel with the team for group activities and to watch this game from a private suite ahead of doing the same for Tuesday night’s home contest against Anaheim.
The Kraken fell to 1-4-1 lifetime at this arena, largely by going 0-for-4 on the power play and failing to build on their first period leads. A huge momentum swing came just after a Vince Dunn go-ahead goal late in the frame when the Oilers took successive minor penalties to give the Kraken a minute’s worth of 5-on-3 advantage right before intermission.
But they failed to score, and Connor McDavid quickly tied it early in the second, slamming his own rebound past goalie Joey Daccord. Then, midway through the frame, Corey Perry took a long Darnell Nurse stretch pass, went in all alone and fired the puck between Daccord’s pads as he attempted a poke check.
That was all the Oilers needed, even though the Kraken buzzed goalie Calvin Pickard in the third – squandering another power play in the process – ahead of Mattias Ekholm adding an empty net goal in the final minute of regulation.
Particularly irritating to players after the defeat was the fact they’d played particularly well at even strength, proving a formidable foe that had the Oilers running around at times.
The Kraken entered knowing the Oilers had an emergency goalie named Tyler Palmer from the University of Alberta signed to an amateur tryout contract to serve as the night’s backup netminder after regular Stuart Skinner had a child born earlier in the day. So, a decision to go to the net aggressively on starting netminder Pickard made plenty of sense and paid off when Hayden – his mom Diana watching from the suite -- did it and was pushed from behind into the goalie by a defender.
The Oilers unsuccessfully challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld.
“I didn’t have a great view of the replay,” Hayden said. “I still haven’t seen it very well. But our staff indicated to me that it was probably a good goal.”
For Hayden, credited with a primary assist on the play, the opportunity to play with his mother watching alongside others was a cherished moment given much of his journeyman career and, particularly the past few seasons, has been spent in the American Hockey League.
Hayden later started a skirmish in front of the Kraken net when a forward came in too heavily on goalie Daccord. The Kraken had spoken pregame about the need to be more aggressive in all facets, and regardless of whether or not it was knowing their mothers were watching from the stands that provided some spark, they certainly were on point in the early going.
“That’s part of it, but I think that’s got to be a part of my game every night,” Hayden said of imposing himself on opponents. “Good things seem to happen when guys get to the blue paint.”
There were plenty of guys buzzing around in front of Pickard’s blue paint crease when Dunn’s slapper from the point took some bounces and wound up in the net to put the Kraken up 2-1.
