Final Buzzer: Extra, Extra - Dueling in Detroit

The Kraken pushed an up-and-coming Detroit Red Wings team into overtime and beyond Wednesday, scoring a late third-period goal on a highlight-reel shot by Ryan Donato.

The eventual result, a 4-3 shootout loss, still earned Seattle a standings point to make it five of a possible eight points on a four-game road trip that commenced with a cross-country Thanksgiving flight to Tampa Bay, then four games in six nights.
With the top two Seattle scorers, Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Eberle, both unavailable with lower-body injuries sustained in a Monday win over Buffalo, the Kraken needed the extra gear-and a resulting pair of goals--from Donato in Motown.
"He not only scored two goals," said Seattle center Yanni Gourde, who played an outstanding game in his usual all-out mode. "He won his puck battles in the defensive zone."
Gourde assisted on his Wednesday linemate's first goal of the game, which came on the first shift after Donato had blocked a Red Wings scoring chance by taking the puck on the top of his left skate boot. It is as painful as it sounds.
"He's gutsy," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said post-game. "It probably doesn't show up anywhere, maybe one notch on the stat sheet for shot block .... he had a helluva shot block before he scores the goal ... He's probably gonna need an ice bag or two."
Hakstol made the point, too, that captain Mark Giordano remains in COVID protocol, so this team was down three members of its captaincy.

That's Kraken Hockey, Indeed

Seattle fans already know it. Future Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster John Forslund knows it. Supporters of other NHL teams are finding it out. The Kraken just flat-out play entertaining, end-to-end hockey on many nights and in many periods. Wednesday provided more proof of that case.
Down 3-2 with less than six minutes remaining, defenseman Jamie Oleksiak skated up into the offensive rush and Detroit zone. He moved the puck with sharpshooter Donato trailing the NHL's biggest player just a half-stride behind. Oleksiak stopped, the puck moved to Donato's stick blade. Donato, known for a quick release, did just that to rocket a shot into the upper left corner of Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss' net.
The final minutes were nail-chewing and exciting and all-out tense. A highlight moment: Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer making an acrobatic, stand-tall save on Detroit's Adam Erne with three minutes remaining.
The 3-on-3 overtime period, as per NHL rules established in 2015, provided even more thrilling and worrisome moments. Detroit controlled play a good portion of the five-minute period, with lots of pressure. Gourde did summon two superb scoring chances during OT only to be stopped by Greiss.
Then, with six seconds left in OT, Filip Hronek hit the post. In the shootout, Detroit's Lucas Raymond, just named NHL rookie of the month for November, hit the post to give Joonas Donskoi the opportunity to tie up the shootout at 1-1 after the requisite three shots.
On the fourth round, Erne got his revenge after getting stoned by Grubauer late in the third period. Greiss' shoulder found a piece of Alex Wennberg's shootout attempt and Detroit secured the win, 4-3. The Kraken earn a standings point and leave for home for a Friday matchup with Edmonton, going 2-1-1 on the road trip.

Who Dunn It

Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn scored his team's first goal to tie the game during a four-goal second period. Mid-third period, Dunn almost tied up the game again, but his stinger of a shot (to borrow from SEA play-by-play man extraordinaire John Forslund) hit clanging goal-frame iron instead of rippling net.
Dunn's shot looked like it might be the closest of Seattle scoring chances in the final 13-plus minutes of Wednesday's loss at the hands of a young and fast-coming Red Wings team. One of the biggest reasons for that speeding pace of a Detroit rebuild is 19-year-old rookie sensation Lucas Raymond, who scored a go-ahead goal with a turnaround deadly wrist shot sizzling past Grubauer 6:30 into the third period.

On the Lines

When veteran forwards Eberle and Schwartz ended up on the injured list Wednesday, Hakstol and his coaching staff had some shuffling to do among the four forward lines.
Hakstol placed young wing Mason Appleton with ongoing linemates Alex Wennberg and Marcus Johansson while Donato joined regulars Gourde and Donskoi.
Jared McCann joined Morgan Geekie and Brandon Tanev to form a line while center Riley Sheahan played between Colin Blackwell and Kole Lind (the latter called up from AHL Charlotte Wednesday; he assisted on a Sheahan goal in the last and recent AHL game they played together).
Gourde was cooking up plays throughout the opening period, instantly bonding with Donato during a rush and serving up a tantalizing chance that the lefthanded Donato couldn't quite direct into a wide-open right side of the net.
Soon after, Gourde, an equal-opportunity center, centered a second pass net front, this one for Donskoi, who couldn't quite find the puck under his feet. Then Gourde worked himself in front of Greiss, attempting to tip an Oleksiak shot but just missing.
Donato left the game through the player tunnel after a shot block with seven minutes remaining in the second period, potentially providing even more challenges for Hakstol and assistant coach Paul McFarland, who oversees the forwards. But Donato shook off the puck that slammed into the top of his skate to join the next shift with Gourde and Donskoi.
Donato's left foot was no doubt feeling much better on that next shift when Detroit defenseman Jordan Oesterle lost the edges on his skates in the Detroit end. Donskoi gathered the loose puck, shovel-passed to Gourde, who dished to Donato for the Kraken's second goal late in the second period. Donato saw another wide-open half of the net and this time buried it.
By the way, Kraken fans watching the ROOT SPORTS Northwest broadcast likely noticed Donato and Gourde busily talking and gesturing iceward to each on the near miss in the first period and again gabbing after the goal. Donato has four goals on the year.

Dueling German-Born Goalies

As the opening puck was dropped, Grubauer could gaze across at fellow countryman and NHL goalie, Greiss. They figure to be Olympic teammates in a couple months if the COVID-19 pandemic doesn't prompt cancellation.
Greiss, 35 and five years Grubauer's elder, made several key saves to keep the first period scoreless. He turned away two "Grade A" scoring chances as evaluated by SportLogiq and 10 shot attempts from the slot area near the Red Wings net (some blocked by Detroit defenders).
Grubauer made a huge save of his own on a Grade A effort by Pius Suter midway through the opening minutes.
It looked like Seattle opened the scoring later in the first period. Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon has been peppering the opposition's net with hard shots from inside the blue line of the offensive zone and also joining playmaking rushes in many recent games.
Lauzon, the team's expansion pick from Boston, thought he scored on a laser of a shot from his usual left-point location, but referees called it off because Appleton made incidental contact with Greiss inside the crease. Whether Appleton was pushed by rookie sensation and DET defenseman Moritz "Mo" Seider is debatable because the goal was disallowed and a faceoff outside the Red Wings zone ensued.
About a minute later, Greiss, possibly feeling a sense of relief and/or a mental version of smelling salts, perked right back up, stopping Appleton and Johansson on back-to-back net-front shots.

Rookie Redux

Speaking of Seider, the 20-year-old German-born defenseman (yes, he will be on the Olympic squad, too) was named NHL rookie of the month for October. His 19-year-old teammate, Raymond, was just given the designation for November by the league.
Late first period, Raymond suddenly looked like he was the player to open the scoring, beating Grubauer short-side at a shallow angle. But the Kraken coaching staff successfully challenged that the play involved an offsides entry into the zone (a Detroit skater preceding the puck cross the blue line).
During his post-game press availability, Hakstol discussed the quick and effective work performed by the Kraken's lead video analyst Tim Ohashi and video analyst Brady Morgan to reverse the goal.
"[The offsides] was clear," Hakstol said. "Our guys in the back did a good job. Those guys did a great job not only seeing it right away but getting the information and right picture to us on the bench.
"It's not always easy, when you have 20 to 30 seconds. It sounds like a lot of time but ultimately it's not a lot of time. Those guys did a great job on that."

Beniers and the Suite Life

The Kraken's top prospect, University of Michigan sophomore Matty Beniers, attended Wednesday's game with a pretty good seat - in the visiting general manager's suite with Kraken GM Ron Francis and assistant GM Jason Botterill, who was a star scorer for the nearby Wolverines NCAA powerhouse program himself.
When asked what it felt like to be around the Kraken organization in person and watch this game alongside Francis and Botterill, Beniers was excited.
"It's special," Beniers said to Kraken colleague Alison Lukan. "Just to be around here and just talk to (Francis and Botterill). You know, they're normal guys. They're actually really nice.
"It's fun to pick their brain, what they're thinking about the game, this game in particular. And positive things to hear ... It's been a good experience. It kind of gives you goosebumps and gets you pretty excited about what's to come."