Kraken Can’t Hold Off Vegas Clincher

LAS VEGAS – The Kraken took to the ice here, having defeated Vegas three times already this season. But a season sweep was not to be. Vegas rallied with four unanswered goals to clinch the Pacific Division title. Second-place Edmonton  can only reach 94 points with a Thursday night win over Vancouver 

After two strong periods of work in goal, the third 20 minutes started with some turbulence for Kraken rookie goaltender Nikke Kokko. In the first minute, he nearly misplayed a puck into a go-ahead goal for Vegas but scrambled back to prevent disaster. But just another shift later, Mitch Marner tipped in a shot past Kokko to make it 2-1 after Seattle had established an early lead on a Shane Wright score. The Marner mid-air deflection of VGK defenseman Brayden McNabb’s shot from the point was in the high slot and proved hard for Kokko to track and stop.

The goal drew huge cheers from the home crowd that knew even an overtime or shootout loss would reap a standings point, which would close out second-place Edmonton and set up Vegas as Pacific Division winner. The Oilers play LA Thursday, but can only reach 94 points to Vegas’ 95. So, taking a 2-1 lead meant the Kraken would have needed to score three more goals to prevent VGK from clinching. As it turned out, Vegas tacked on two more scores for a 4-1 final, both by VGK third-line Reilly Smith.  

“They turned up the physicality,” said Kraken head coach Lane Lambert about the Vegas rally starting later second period. “They're a big hockey team. They started to own pucks down in our zone. We spent too much time in our zone. But the bottom line is the physical play and the size of their hockey team. We couldn't find an answer for that.

Defenseman Vince Dunn offered in his post-game comments that the Kraken lost touch with playing simply, making too many passes and not exiting the defensive zone efficiently. Lambert strongly concurred.

“I don't understand why our hockey team can't sustain a 60-minute game,” said Lambert. “That's it's got to change. We refuse to move the puck up quickly. We take it back into our zone. We turn it over and over again. This is why we have to defend so much. There's a lot to think about here.”

Kokko Turns Quality Body of Work

To his credit, Kokko made several solid saves after the early scrambling in the third frame. He finished with 22 saves and put together three formidable NHL games in the past week, including his first NHL win against Calgary last Saturday. He will no doubt be welcomed back to American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Valley for the Calder Cup Playoffs, in which he starred last spring.

He’s been great, said Dunn. “I think tonight, he held his own. He made a lot of great saves, and he’s pretty good at playing the puck. It's not easy, especially with the way things have been for our team, for him to come in right now. He's playing as best as we can ask him to. It's nice to know we have some depth [at the goalie position]. I think we can definitely make things a lot easier on him ... We’ve got to slow the game down and give him a chance to succeed.

Lambert was equally positive about Kokko’s body of work this past week: “He played a game tonight ... From my standpoint, he made some saves for us. The kid has confidence. He plays the puck pretty well. He turned it over there [early third period], almost got scored on, but those are things he's going to learn. And there isn't a lot of rhythm with defensemen on this team. There wasn’t maybe quite enough clarity [where the D-men were] a couple of times for him, but I thought he was good.”

Wright Back to It 

The last time Shane Wright appeared in uniform was March 28 in Buffalo. He played 3:36 of ice time before leaving the bench and not returning. He practiced in a red no-contact jersey in the past week and was cleared to suit here Wednesday, centering a line between Finnish veteran Kaapo Kakko and Finnish rookie Jani Nyman.  

The last time Wright scored a goal was Feb. 4 before the Winter Olympics break, notching two in a 4-2 road win in Los Angeles. He broke the string of zeros with the game’s opening goal here in Nevada, with Nyman earning the primary assist and D-man Jamie Oleksiak picking up an assist too. Kakko deserves mention for skillful lateral skating and puck retention behind the Vegas goal line, ultimately affording his linemates to dig on the high-danger side of the goal line. Wright now has 12 goals on the season.

Later in the second period, the Kraken shut down a second Vegas power play of the night, but soon after, home-squad defenseman Shea Theodore threaded a shot from mid-range through net-front traffic after picking up a puck ricocheting off a side wall in the Seattle zone. He didn’t get an assist, but give credit to Vegas third-line winger Reilly Smith, whose flash screen in front of rookie goalie prospect Nikke Kokko made it a more difficult save amid several bodies from both teams.  

First Period Rock Solid 

The first period here looked solid on the scoreboard for Kraken coach Lane Lambert and his charges. Seattle finished the opening 20 minutes with 11 shots on goal compared to five for Vegas. The Kraken penalty snuffed a later-period VGK power play, and rookie goaltender Nikke Kokko turned in his seventh consecutive poised and productive period in goal as all three NHL-tested goaltenders on the Seattle roster were not dressed, two for injuries and one on personal leave. Kokko faced two high-danger chances during the frame, per Natural Stat Trick.  

In fact, the Kraken held a 9-1 advantage in shots during the first 12 minutes, impressive considering Vegas was the high stakes. The shots on goal margin reduced to 9-6 in the next four minutes, which included the Golden Knights' power play. A highlight on the PK was young SEA defenseman Ryker Evans’s near-crease breakup of a dangerous pass with a Vegas foe ready for a tap-in 

 “I've really liked Ryker in the last month, month and a half,” said head coach Lane Lambert after Wednesday’s brief morning skate. “I’ve liked his battle level. I think he's gaining confidence in that area. He's always going to skate the puck, move the puck. He's doing a good job of that. But for me, it's his battle level, not only in front of our net, but in the corners. I think he's done a really good job of that.”