Like many Saturday nights, this one inside Climate Pledge Arena started slow and got better and better as the evening went along. Chandler Stephenson scored in the 7th round of the shootout as the Seattle Kraken outlasted the St. Louis Blues, 4-3.
If this was Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer’s final start between the Seattle pipes, he gave fans a fabulous farewell performance – for two periods. He carried a shutout into the 3rd period, including one 10-bell stop on Zack Buldoc.
St. Louis scored three times in the 3rd period, including goals 13 seconds apart by defensemen Colton Parayko and Nick Leddy. Those were sandwiched by 3rd period Kraken tallies by Mikey Eyssimont and Shane Wright. In the middle period, Jaden Schwartz had scored his team-high 25th.
This was a talented and desperate team Seattle beat; the Blues recently reeled off a 12-game winning streak. That streak had vaulted St. Louis into playoff contention, so this game was vital to their chances.
Grubauer is completing the fourth season of a six-year, $35.4 contract – close enough to the end that many observers believe the Kraken will buy out those final two years and find a different understudy for Joey Daccord.
More than six minutes elapsed before Grubauer’s routine pad save on Cam Fowler became the evening’s first shot on goal. Brandon Montour, playing his 600th NHL game, recorded the first Seattle SOG eight minutes in, one of two stopped by Jordan Binnington on an unsuccessful power play.
13:28 played, and shots are Seattle 4, St. Louis 1. Games of solitaire have more action. On “Common Threads Green Night,” the teams are doing their part to conserve energy. (I got a million of ’em.)
The Blues’ Jordan Kyrou makes a left circle 360-degree spin move around Adam Larsson, but Grubauer makes the left pad save. Shots are 5-3 Kraken in a scoreless 1st.
Kraken leaders, in case you were wondering:
Hits: Tolvanen (236), Kartye (165), Evans (120)
Blocked shots: Oleksiak (156), Larsson (146), Evans (101)
Shots: Montour (223), McCann (198), Schwartz (190)
Within the first 48 seconds, Grubauer is called on to double his save total, one on Alexey Toropchenko and a pair on Brayden Schenn. Later, he’d take Colton Parayko’s rising drive off his mask.
At the other end, Binnington makes a cat-quick glove stop on Eeli Tolvanen at the lip of the crease – though Tolvanen appeared to chunk his redirection of a bouncing puck.
The disc was more obedient when Jaden Schwartz roared down right wing. Nick Leddy dove to take Schwartz’s first shot off the back of his thigh. But the puck deflected right back to Schwartz, who wasted no time depositing his team-leading 25th goal at 3:44.
Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz (17, 2nd from right) greets the welcoming committee after his 25th goal.
Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Schwartz burned the team he played for from 2011-21, and won a Cup with in 2019 (along with Vince Dunn).
Kraken rookie Ryan Winterton, playing his 21st career NHL game, is having a noticeable period; first with a sneaky snap shot while being checked, and then a Schwartz-like hard wrister on the rush.
Kraken forward Ryan Winterton (26).
Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Following two chances with the man advantage, Seattle goes shorthanded for the first time at 15:28 when Ryker Evans holds the stick (not his own). Grubauer makes his finest stop of the night, a pad save on Zack Bolduc from point-blank range between the circles.
Schwartz, burnishing a case for a postgame star, pickpockets Robert Thomas as the Blues center attempted to set up in the o-zone. 2nd period shots were 9-5 Blues, 12-10 for the visitors through 40 minutes.
1:06 in, a deflected puck squirts fortuitously for St. Louis to Radek Faksa at the right edge of the crease. From a bad angle, Faksa backhands a shot along the ice that eludes Grubauer’s pad and glove and sqeaks in the net for a 1-1 tie.
The teams trade second goals 37 seconds apart. The Kraken had a 3rd period SOG until Mikey Eyssimont fired a rebound home at 6:44. The announcement of the goal wasn’t done when Colton Parayko backhands the re-tier into a tight window above Grubauer’s shoulder; 2-2 at 7:21.
St. Louis takes its first lead 13 seconds later, a goal by Leddy at 7:44. But St. Louis only gets a couple of minutes to enjoy its advantage before Jamie Oleksiak centers off Shane Wright’s skate past Binnington. Wright’s 19th of the season survives a video review – the puck was determined not to have been deliberately kicked in – knotting the contest at 3-3.
Seattle had a grand total of two SOG through 12 minutes of the 3rd – and both went in. The Blues made two giant d-zone blocks and Binnington two timely saves on Larsson and Wright in the final minute to send the game to overtime.
Seattle’s Andre Burakovsky had the only shot for either team which required a save. Jared McCann did accidentally plow into his goalie, but it didn’t result in injury or a St. Louis scoring chance.
In the shootout, Eeli Tolvanen made one more move than Binnington could keep up with. Jake Neighbours went five-hole to tie the shootout for St. Louis.
After Jordan Eberle missed, Grubauer knocked Robert Thomas’ shot off his rear and over the goal line. Kaapo Kakko kept the Kraken alive, beating Binnington cleanly. Brayden Shenn hit the iron.
Matty Beniers had his backhand saved, and Grubauer did the same to Zack Bolduc. Shane Wright was stopped, then Zach Bolduc was, too. Jared McCann fired wide. Pavel Buchnevich did, too.
Chandler Stephenson scored to put the Kraken ahead in the 7th round. Grubauer outwaited Jimmy Snuggerud, and makes Seattle a winner.
Make that “Up Last.” The 82nd and final game of the Kraken season happens at home Tuesday against the L.A. Kings. Seattle has surprisingly won two of the first three meetings with the Pacific Division powerhouse. Note that the game begins at 7:30 pm Pacific, and will be televised by ESPN.
