Blues Get Past Kraken in OT

It might still be January, but Friday’s visit to Climate Pledge Arena by the St. Louis Blues felt like a playoff game pretty much all night with skillful goals, big saves, plenty of hits, lead changes and no fans about to leave early. Understandable since the two teams entered the night just one point away from each other in what right now is a seven-team tussle for the two final bids for this spring’s Western Conference bracket of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The added ingredient of Seattle-worthy fan decibels was pulsing throughout the stands all night, right from opening cheers for returning hero Yanni Gourde

And, of course, the game went to overtime with both teams earning a standings point that will help fight off the other five teams vying for those wild-card spots. But St. Louis picked up the extra point with Pavel Buchnevich’s second goal of the game and 16th of the season. The Kraken are now 20-18-10 with the homestand concluding with Columbus Sunday night.

“We played hard tonight,” said Dave Hakstol post-game. “We played a pretty good hockey game. You can make an argument, but it doesn't make any difference [in the final score], you make it make an argument that may we deserve a little bit better. But you’ve got to turn the page and move on.”

Kraken all-star Oliver Bjorkstrand said the same: “It's a game I think we should probably win. I thought we played good enough. Unfortunately, they found a way to tie it and from there we couldn't really get that last goal. There are positives but also learning things from the game.”

Back-and-Forth Battle

St. Louis jumped out in front 1-0 and the Kraken quickly answered to make 1-1 at first intermission. Seattle built a two-goal lead with a pair of scores early second period (fan bedlam ensued) to maintain a pace that ended on this night with 36 shots for the home squad and roughly half that for St. Louis. Goaltenders Jordan Binnington (a Cup winner in 2018) and rookie Joey Daccord both made stops that batted down momentum for the opponent.

St. Louis scored on a tip-in late in the middle period to tighten the score and let loose the drama. When St. Louis evened it just a minute-plus into the third period, the Kraken intensity didn’t wane and instead waxed for more than handful of scoring threats that Binnington shielded from his net.

Gourde Stuff for Fan Fave and Linemates

Fan favorite Yanni Gourde returned to game action starting with huge welcome-back noise from the Kraken faithful when announced as the night’s starting center. Two games to rest and maybe heal up whatever minor injuries might nag a relentless player such as Gourde.  The alternate captain was noticeably tuned up to high speed and lots of right-time, right-space work with linemates Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen. 

Gourde simply looked faster than anyone else on the ice, something he espouses when talking about how the Kraken can look faster when all five skaters are moving with a purpose. Gourde and his linemates set up a near-miss Grade A chance for Oliver Bjorkstrand with five minutes left in the first period. 

It turned out to be precursor for a tic-tac-toe score for the line, marking the home squad’s third goal to establish a two-goal lead less than minutes after Bjorkstrand scored his 13th goal of the season on an early middle-period power (strong work by Alex Wennberg and Jared McCann to set up the go-ahead goal).

Just under three minutes later, Bjorkstrand started the sequence on the tic-tac-toe goal that had future Hall of Fame play-by-play man John Forslund pointing and chopping his arms up in the ROOT Sports booth, clearly emphasizing the crisp passing from Bjorkstrand to Tolvanen to Gourde-and-then-back-to Tolvanen to light the goal lamp. It’s also Tolvanen’s 13th of the season and Bjorkstrand’s goal and assist marks his eight multiple-point of the season.

Dumoulin Chasing Career High in Goals

Kraken free agent defenseman Brian Dumoulin played eight seasons in Pittsburgh, winning two Stanley Cups, and scored five goals in just one season and four goals in another. Friday night, the third-pair defenseman and PK regular scored his fourth goal in his 46 Seattle games to date. He is tied with D-partner and former Pittsburgh teammate Justin Schultz with four goals apiece, second to Vince Dunn’s eight scores. His wrist-shot score game less than three minutes after St. Louis opened the scoring of this matchup of playoff contenders with just one standings point separating them.

Dumoulin is enjoying the opportunity to play in Dave Hakstol’s systems of play that encourage defensemen to join the offensive push (something Jamie Oleksiak nearly converted a big score at least twice Friday night). 

“Trying to shoot a lot more,” said Dumoulin matter-of-fact in front of his locker after the OT loss. “I think of myself as a pass-first guy, so I’m getting my head into shoot first and I can always pass off from there. I've been able to read off a lot of guys [forwards] and create a lot more offense.”

Daccord Delivers When Needed Most

There are any number of pivotal saves an NHL goalie needs to make to keep his team in the hunt of a win, such as not falling behind or too far behind or, one of the more valuable type, making a point-blank stop on a Grade-A scoring chances late in a period to keep the game tied. That’s exactly what Kraken starter Joey Daccord did with 2:40 left in the first period. St. Louis forward Jordan Kyrou, who has 13 goals on the season, including a tying goal in a comeback road victory in Calgary last Tuesday. Seattle outshot STL 11 to 5 in the opening 20 minutes, but going to the locker room down a goal would have ebbed the Kraken flow. 

After St. Louis tied matters later second period (during which Seattle again outshot the visitors, 10 to 7),  Daccord stood tall in his net with a pair of saves during a Blues push in the closing minute. The stops were workmanlike but amidst a scramble with his teammates and STL skaters zigging and zagging in his purview. 

In the third period, St. Louis knotted the game at 3-3 just a minute-and-a-half into the frame. Twenty-two seconds later, Blues defenseman Colton Parayko was net-front solo with a chance a quick-strike dagger of a goal, but Daccord calmly made the save to keep things even. Make no mistake, the Kraken were controlling pace and scoring chances most of the night. Any Daccord letdown could have finished off the Kraken chances at earning important standings points in the Western Conference wild-card chase.