Final Buzzer: Oil Spill

EDMONTON - The Kraken and Oilers were even after one period with a goal apiece, but a two-goal middle period by host Edmonton proved to provide the foundation for a 5-2 victory that snapped the Kraken's seven-game road winning streak. Seattle is now 26-14-4 with eight wins in their last 10 games.
"I thought we had a really good first 10 minutes,' said Kraken coach Dave Hakstol. "Then we took a bad penalty [Morgan Geekie went off for slashing]. That slowed our momentum. We did a nice job on the penalty kill ... I'm not saying that got their momentum going but it broke our momentum."
Hakstol was less enamored with the second period in which Edmonton built a 3-1 lead the Kraken couldn't overcome: "For me, there's two things that stand out. [Edmonton] had too many rush opportunities that came off our play, especially our play on the wall, either in the offensive or defensive zone."

"In games like this, you've got to have everybody going," said Hakstol, elaborating on the second thing he didn't like. "We had several guys below the bar tonight ... we've got to have everybody digging in and doing their part. We didn't have that to a high enough level tonight."
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Hakstol responded to a media question about a potential Edmonton tripping penalty on the second Edmonton goal by answering those are things out of his control but did concede tripping could have been called. The Kraken coach added he thought the Oilers could have been whistled for too many men on the ice on the third Edmonton goal. Even so, he said better play along the wall and "everybody going" are things in the team's control.

Record-Setting Early Third Period

Down 3-1 after the first 40 minutes, Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn made matters intriguing (for a short while at least) by scoring his ninth goal of the year just 22 seconds into the third period to make it 3-2, with the assist going to Alexander Wennberg. It marked an eight-game point streak for Dunn, which is a franchise record.

Unfortunately, Edmonton notched a response goal just 61 seconds later. The goal was credited to Oilers forward Zach Hyman. It was inadvertently directed into the net and past Martin Jones by an Eeli Tolvanen poke check. Jones didn't expect it and Tolvanen was making the right play to disrupt Hyman in the high slot, but it doomed Seattle on this particular night.
When you score goals, you know you're going to get a push from the other team," said Dunn after the game. "We need to be prepared for that. We need to execute. We need to be disciplined in our structure, and we need to make those plays. It's a big shift after you score."
By mid-third period, Edmonton notched a fifth goal, this one from Ryan McLeod. EDM goalie Jack Campbell finished the night with 28 saves.

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Edmonton Goes Ahead

Early in the second period, Edmonton rookie defenseman Vincent Desharnais wristed a puck to Martin Jones' crease from just inside the blue line. Jones made the initial save on what appeared to be a bit of a knuckler, but the puck seeped behind the Kraken goalie. Neither Jones nor nearby defenseman Will Borgen saw the open puck but veteran forward and Spokane native Derek Ryan took quick note and tapped the puck into the net.
Desharnais, 26, played his first NHL game last Friday in Anaheim and Tuesday earned his second assist in four contests, all wins for the Oilers. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL Draft and was called up after 122 appearances in the AHL and another 37 games logged in the ECHL.
The Kraken's next shifts were strong responses to the momentum swing, applying pressure, and getting off shots. But no tying goal was in the works. Instead, former Carolina and Ron Francis draft choice Warren Foegele scored the vital third goal for Edmonton. On the scoring play, the Oilers were buzzing around the Kraken with Jones rejecting two scoring attempts but Foegele, who had two Grade-A scoring chances in the first period, somehow managed to sweep his stick to put a rebound shot across the goal line while literally on the seat of his hockey pants.

Jones Faces Double-Digit Grade-A Chances

Martin Jones' seven-start winning streak ended on the same night the Kraken's seven-game road winning streak was snapped. Jones was valiant in the Seattle net, facing 10 Grade-A scoring chances in the first two periods alone - with none for the Kraken. He finished the night with 28 saves.

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Four-Penalty First Period

When Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky drew a penalty 190 feet from the Oilers' net in the third minute of this divisional showdown, the Seattle power play delivered. Coach Dave Hakstol started with the second unit quarterbacked by Vince Dunn, he of the hot scoring hand lately.
But the Kraken's top power play unit came over the boards to put the visitors up 1-0 with 16 and a half minutes left in the opening period. Daniel Sprong, as per his season-long quest to put pucks on net and/or net front, sent his elite shot through traffic toward Oilers free-agent goalie Jack Campbell (winner in his four prior starts). It looked like Jordan Eberle tipped the puck but it turned out to be Sprong's 15th goal of the year (fifth on the power play). That's a new career-high for a season in just 37 games played. Justin Schultz and the aforementioned Burakovsky earned the assists.

Midway through the first period, Seattle was outshooting the potent Oilers offense, 5 to 4 in shots on goal. But that looked like it might change quickly when Morgan Geekie was whistled off for slashing (not long after his strong move on Campbell during the same shift). But a disruptive and relentless effort by Kraken penalty killers didn't allow a shot.
Not long after, Edmonton forward Warren Foegele worked his way all alone net front. Kraken starting goalie Martin Jones made the stop. Two minutes later, EDM superstar Connor McDavid took an outlet pass at his own blueline from fellow superstar Leon Draisaitl, then sped down the ice, weaving past and through Kraken defenders to beat Jones and even the score 1-1. It was McDavid's 38th goal of the year and a mind-blowing 84th point in 46 games.
A late-period Oilers power play yielded two shots this time around, one a full-on breakaway for Foegele. Jones was up to the task to make the save with 15.5 seconds left in the period. The shots on goal totals tilted to Edmonton, 13 to 7, by period's end.