Kraken hungry for more after 1st taste of playoffs ends in Game 7 loss

DALLAS --The fans sang Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" late in Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round at American Airlines Center on Monday, emphasizing the words "we're halfway there" as if the Dallas Stars had already won and were halfway to the Stanley Cup.

And then Oliver Bjorkstrand scored for the Seattle Kraken with 19 seconds left.

In the end, the Kraken lost 2-1, but it was fitting that they gave the crowd a few anxious moments first. Written off by so many in their second season as an NHL expansion team and first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they fought to the finish and came oh-so-close to the conference final.

"Unfortunately," goalie Philipp Grubauer said, "we ran out of time."

It hurts, and the Kraken earned the right to feel the pain. To call it growing pains too quickly might be almost offensive to them. They weren't just happy to be here. They were here to win, believed they could win and proved they were legitimate contenders right now. This season mattered for its own sake, not just for the future.

"We're one win away from having an opportunity to be one of the final four teams playing," coach Dave Hakstol said, "so you see that pain in guys, especially in the veteran guys that really understand how hard it is to get here."

But in time, in the big picture, it will go down as growing pains.

To lose in Game 7 of the second round, you have to get to Game 7 of the second round. The Kraken did it after finishing 30th in the NHL in their inaugural season, making a 40-point improvement this season, defeating the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round and giving the Stars a test.

"From Day One, everyone's kind of written us off," forward Jordan Eberle said. "We took a big leap this year. I don't think anyone expected us to make the playoffs, no one expected us to beat Colorado, and I'm sure no one had us to get to Game 7 here. I think obviously as a group, this is the first time we've been through this. You've got to obviously learn how to lose first and then find a way to win."

RELATED: [Complete Stars vs. Kraken series coverage]

The Kraken came together on this run. Their strength was their depth, and they showed it with 18 goal-scorers. After finishing 25th in blocked shots in the regular season, they blocked 261 shots, more than any other team in the first two rounds.

"I think the group got tighter and tighter together," Grubauer said. "I think [rookie Matty Beniers] said it: We play like a real team, and everybody's playing for each other, and that's what made it fun. We enjoyed those moments. … That's why we play.

"Unfortunately, we didn't win that game today, but we need to go through those moments in order to get strong as a team to feel that pain in the summer and get back at it for the next season."

The Kraken laid another brick on top of the one they laid in their inaugural season.

"You get a taste of the postseason here as a group, and you win a series and almost win another one," Eberle said. "I think you just grow. Obviously, you remember how this feels. This is a tough league to win in. It's a tough trophy to win. But I think we have a foundation as a group here, and you just want to keep building."

Yanni Gourde, who won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021, said, "I love this group. I think there's something here. It's the culture, and that's what wins in the playoffs, is culture. It's what you're willing to do to win, and I think this group, we have it."

Perhaps most important, the Kraken took huge steps toward establishing the NHL in Seattle. Their fans got to experience so many firsts -- first playoff game, first playoff win, first home playoff game, first overtime playoff win, first Game 7, first Game 7 win, first series win.

Climate Pledge Arena became a place to see and be seen, with Seattle celebrity sightings, and it rocked for the playoffs as if the Kraken had been in the NHL for many years, not just two.

"That's a perspective that I want our players also to have -- and it probably won't register home tonight -- but this group also changed the landscape of hockey in Seattle," Hakstol said. "This particular group had the guts to change the culture, the trajectory, the belief, of our franchise as well.

"That's something for later, but that hits home with me, that this group of guys did that, and at some point in time, they should look at that and take a lot of pride."