Kraken Rally, Lose a Close One

In a game with playoff implications for host Winnipeg, the Kraken rallied from 3-1 deficit behind alternate captain Yanni Gourde to even the score after the first two periods. The tight play continued halfway into the final period when a Jets power play (Jared McCann whistled off the tripping) tilted the game into the home squad’s direction.

Winnipeg forward Tyler Toffoli scored his 33rd goal of the season on the ensuing power play in what converted into the game-winning goal and a 4-3 victory that gives the Jets home-ice advantage in the first round of the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs. Toffoli, acquired at the trade deadline, has scored seven goals in 17 games for the Jets.

“Our entire team fought hard tonight,” said Dave Hakstol. “We're in a situation where we've dug out of a two-goal deficit, put ourselves back to even. We take a careless penalty that's the difference in the hockey game. We did a heck of a job for the first minute and 50 [seconds] of the kill, but they found a spot inside and found the game-winner ... our ability to work and stay in the fight, stay in the battle and stay consistent was good tonight.”

In the waning minutes of the third period, another Kraken comeback was stalled by a four-minute double-minor against rookie Ryker Evans, who unintentionally drew blood on a high stick against Jets forward Gabriel Valardi. But the Kraken penalty killers snuffed the shorthandedness, with recent newcomer to the units, Tye Kartye, firmly in the mix. Seattle had trouble generating scorings chances during final shifts. The Kraken are 33-35-13 for the season with the Game 82 finale set for Thursday at Minnesota.

Kraken Don’t Back Down

When Tomas Tatar took a skillful pass from linemate Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to tie up this road game at 1-1 with a minute-and-a-half remaining in the first period, it appeared to signal a change of momentum in the game and, in fact, a reversal of how recent games have trended for the Kraken. Instead of an opposing late-period goal, here was Seattle deflating a Jets team looking to secure second place in the Central Division and home-ice advantage against Colorado in the first round of the postseason. Tatar’s goal was his eighth with Seattle.

Unfortunately, that momentum swing didn’t hold up long. Winnipeg battled back with leading goal scorer Kyle Connor scoring his second goal of the game and 35th on the year. Both of Connor’s are emblematic of the Jets’ success and firepower this season: Star forward Mark Scheifele and star defenseman Josh Morrissey assisted on the scores. Scheifele now has 47 assists on the season and Morrissey is at 59 so-called “apples.”

Gourde to the Rescue

Then two-and-a-half minutes into the middle period, the Jets stretched the lead to 3-1 with a Nikolaj Ehlers goal (his 25th). It looked like the game had turned in favor of the home squad and decidedly so. Then Kraken alternate captain and all-time great scrapper Yanni Gourde practically willed his teammates back into the contest – and the proverbial fight.

Gourde scored his first goal in 20 games to tighten matters at 3-2, less than three minutes after Jets fans were likely starting to plan Games 1 and 2 at against the Avalanche in the playoffs. Rookie D-man Ryker Evans picked his eighth assist with a patient and opportunistic shot from the blue line, moving the puck on goal toward Gourde’s stick. Evans’ veteran teammate obliged with a tip-in.

This time, with less than two minutes left in the period, Gourde and rookie Tye Kartye forechecked in tandem to win the puck back in the Jets zone. First Kartye disrupted Winnipeg’s first attempt to exit their end, then as the Jets tried again, Gourde stole the puck.

Gourde and Kartye rushed elite goal Connor Hellebuyck with Gourde keeping the puck long enough that Hellebuyck committed and then sending a setup pass to Kartye. The rookie forward notched his 10th goal of the season. The second period ended 3-3 with 17 shots apiece, giving Kraken fans a chance to see their squad is playing hard even if the postseason chance has vanished.

When the third period started, Gourde was clearly talking up the teammates on either side of him on the bench as the teams awaited puck drop for the final 20 minutes.

Hits Keep Coming for Kartye

Along with scoring the tying goal in the second period, Tye Kartye notched another seven hits to move to 227 on the season, ranking him top 20 in the entire NHL. His teammates have certainly noted the rookie’s physical prowess.

“He works hard, he battles and on top of that he makes plays and creates chances for his linemates,” said Oliver Bjorkstrand, who played with Kartye on the Gourde line’s other wing Tuesday. “He's only gonna get better. He just keeps taking strides in the right direction.”