Final Buzzer: Kraken Rally Not Enough

• Canucks start fast, scoring twice in first four minutes against Kraken goalie Joey Daccord, and add a goal late to go up 3-0 at first intermission. When Dallas and Vegas went into overtime Tuesday, the point earned by the Stars mathematically eliminated Vancouver by early second period here.
• Kraken rally in middle period, scoring twice to close the gap with goals from Jordan Eberle and Morgan Geekie. Matty Beniers notches primary assist on Eberle goal, now has points (3 goals, 3 assists) in six of his first seven NHL games.
• Daccord makes several big saves late second period and good portion of final period, but Canucks score two late goals to seal it.

VANCOUVER -The Kraken have started out strong in recent games in these final days of the inaugural season. First periods have not been a problem and in fact the Seattle trend has been to outscore their opponents in the opening 20 minutes.
The script transposed here on a night in which the division-rival Canucks won the game, 5-2, but were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vancouver posted the fast start with two goals in the first four minutes and taking a 3-0 lead into intermission.
"Uncharacteristic of us," said Jared McCann, who assisted on the Kraken's first goal and nearly tied the game at 3-3 in the third period. "We pride ourselves on good starts. We're gonna try to move past this one and move on to the next game [which is at home Wednesday against Los Angeles]."
"That's the first sleepy start we've had in a while," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "They capitalized on a couple of early chances."
Depth-goalie Joey Daccord earned the start in goal, coming out of leading American Hockey League affiliate Charlotte to a division title. He made a big save early on Vancouver captain Brock Boeser but soon after couldn't stop a 2-on-1 breakout in which forward Sheldon Dries used teammate Tyler Myers as a decoy (plus AHL call-up Dennis Cholowski defended properly by closing the passing lane to Myers), keeping the puck and beating Daccord from mid-range.
"We didn't give Joey a chance to settle in," Hakstol said. "But the goaltender, their job is to get the team through a couple of rough spots. I think he would play that first 2-on-1 differently [if he could do it over]."

Skating into the Future

Fans tuned in to the Kraken game Tuesday, whether watching the John Forslund-JT Brown telecast on ROOT SPORTS Northwest or listening to Everett Fitzhugh and Dave Tomlinson on KJR 950, were time-traveling of sorts in the second period. Matty Beniers, 19, and Morgan Geekie, 23, provided a glimpse of winning days ahead.
On the Kraken's first goal, a power-play score, Beniers hounded Vancouver penalty killers in deep in the Canucks end. His forechecking led to the Kraken keeping the puck in the zone. The puck cycled to Jordan Eberle, who shovel-passed to McCann, who dished behind his back to Beniers. The rookie alertly had his stick down and in perfect position to one-touch the puck to Eberle for the score.
Four minutes later, at even strength, Seattle veteran center Riley Sheahan went below the Vancouver goal line to win a puck back along the boards. He moved the puck to Geekie, who received it at a sharp, less advantageous angle. But the pure shooter in Geekie ripped the puck high-right far corner to beat VAN goalie Spencer Martin. A key part of Geekie's seventh goal of the year was his quick release on the shot.
Mark it, the creativity of both young players will be cheered for seasons to come at Climate Pledge Arena. But the Kraken don't have to wait for next season; both players had great scoring chances (Hakstol likes to call them "good looks") that would have tied the game if not for Grade-A saves by Martin.
"They're just going to get better and better," McCann said. "They will get more confidence. The more pucks you have, the more you get a feel [for scoring and playmaking at the NHL level]."

Second-Period Strangeness

Daccord's Night

The first period did not play out as imagined for Daccord, making his fourth NHL start of this inaugural season. After an early stellar point-blank save on Vancouver captain Brock Boeser, the American Hockey League star, called up Monday, surrendered a pair of goals in the first four minutes.
Daccord appeared to settle from there, making several quality stops, including a near-net wrist shot from Vancouver young star defenseman Quinn Hughes that was a one-on-one battle with the SEA goalie.
With seven minutes remaining and after several quality scoring chances from Victor Rask, McCann, Matty Beniers and Morgan Geekie, Daccord was disappointed about surrendering the fourth goal on a shot that rolled up his stick and looked like it hit the back of his blocker glove (as per goalie coach Andrew Allen).
Daccord couldn't control a rebound on a Matthew Highmore shot that Vancouver defenseman Luke Schenn jammed in to make it 4-2. VAN defenseman Quinn Hughes closed out the scoring to make it 5-2.
[The fourth goal] is one I've got to stop," Daccord said. "That one's on me ... It's a tough loss. I was real proud myself keeping it at three to give us a chance. I really thought we were going to tie it up at 3-2. That really was a buzzkill ... Next time, I will be better."