Final Buzzer: Tanev Wins It

PITTSBURGH - The Kraken are now undefeated this season in the four games during which the first period was scoreless. Second-year Seattle is now undefeated in the last four games played (a franchise record), including a sweep of this past week's three-game road trip.
Feels pretty good, Kraken faithful? Fan-favorite Brandon Tanev was certainly feeling the joy and fun. He scored the game-winner at 16:21 of the final period, on a play started by Morgan Geekie, who moved the puck quickly to Yanni Gourde behind the Pittsburgh net, finding Tanev for what could not be a sweeter goal.

"It definitely did," said Tanev, smiling, when ROOT SPORTS' Piper Shaw suggested it must feel good to score his first game-winning goal of the season against his former franchise. "It was a great road trip for our group. We are working together as a unit of five [when on the ice].
"Obviously, personally, it's great for me. But I think it's more important the team got all six [standings] points on this road trip. That's the mindset and the goal we had set out for the three games we played. We beat three good teams."
Coach Dave Hakstol talked about growing chemistry during his post-game remarks: "This group is pretty tight ... I never thought at any point felt our group was rattled ... The guys were calm and looking at what they can do on the next shift. That's significant."

Gourde's Three-Point Night

Fellow energizer Yanni Gourde has been clicking of late with the similarly relentless Tanev on what you can call a third line if you choose. After winning a faceoff to get the puck back to defenseman Vince Dunn, who scored to tie the game at 1-1 in the first period.

Gourde next scored his first 5-on-5 goal of the season (after a shorthanded score in Tuesday's win) to put the Kraken up 2-1 in the second period. Morgan Geekie's terrific puck win and deep in the Penguins zone, went net front and off Tanev's skate, pinballing the puck to Gourde, who flicked it past PIT goalie Tristan Jarry.

Gourde finished his three-point night with a primary assist on Tanev's game-winner. He logged two goals and three assists on the road trip. The Kraken are now 7-4-2 in their first 13 games, as the squad flew home with a six-game homestand awaiting.

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Penguins Power Outage

Surefire Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby opened the scoring here Saturday in this rematch game, scoring his 523rd career goal on a signature quick-release hard shot and resulting goal. New-gen Pittsburgh star forward Jake Guentzel fed a pass for the primary and future Hall of Famer defenseman Kris Letang picked up the assists.
Guentzel was robbed by Martin Jones in the second period (one of six Grade-A chances in the period). Letang took four shots through two periods to no luck and, the Penguins third Hall of Famer in the making had two solid chances that Jones rejected. Another younger PIT star, Bryan Rust, was 0-for-5 against Jones in the first 40 minutes. Both Guentzel and Rust were clearly shaking their heads on misses near the net.
Guentzel broke through to the game in the third when his pass intended for Rust was accidentally deflected in by rookie sensation Matty Beniers, who was shadowing Rust net-front. Beniers immediately threw his stick up in the air, frustrated.
Rust had a terrific chance with a minute remaining and the Penguins net empty, but Jones turned him down again.

Killing on the PK

A bright spot? The Kraken changed up some systems within their penalty kill moving to a 1-3 forecheck when playing down a skater, (don't worry! We'll be digging into what this means more fully soon!)
As with any change, it took some time for the Seattle players to get comfortable with it, but it's been working with good chemistry of late. After giving up two power-play goals against in each of the first two games of the season, the Kraken PK has steadied and came into Pittsburgh with three perfect games on the penalty kill defending eight of eight short-handed situations in total.
Across three opportunities against the Penguins, the Kraken allowed five shots on target against but no goals. The visiting team even generated a scoring chance of their own. The Penguins were attempting a retrieval at top of the zone when Morgan Geekie expertly read the play, intercepted it, and gained possession. Then he was off to the races, even though his shot was ultimately turned away by Tristan Jarry.
It's also worth noting that the first Kraken penalty kill may have been important not just for its success but also its timing. Shane Wright was called for hooking just 1:36 into the game. Instead of giving the Penguins a way to seize momentum early, the PK kept the game at evens (and did it again about six minutes later) to help steady Seattle's start. Equally important was when the Kraken killed off the third infraction of the game which took noted penalty mainstay Yanni Gourde off the ice for two minutes.
In a game where the Penguins held the offensive advantage in five-on-five play, the importance of keeping their powerplay off the scoresheet gave the Kraken opportunity to keep fighting in the game.

First Things Fatiguing

The Kraken's first period in this final game of a three-road trip started with what coach Dave Hakstol doesn't like to see: His five skaters on ice defending too much, wearing themselves out, not having optimal energy to mount an offensive rush if they do get control of the puck.
On top of those offensive and oxygen deficits, Kraken forwards Shane Wright and Jordan Eberle were whistled for penalties in the first seven-plus, putting the still-hot Seattle penalty-kill to the test twice with the likes of Brandon Tanev, Yanni Gourde, Morgan Geekie, Jamie Oleksiak and Adam Larsson. The PK delivered, with SEA goalie Martin Jones making the necessary stops. Late period, the Kraken picked up the pace to cut the shots-on-goal margin to 12-10. Jones faced two Grade-A scoring chances in the first frame.