Seattle Kraken snap six-game losing streak with 5-2 win over Capitals
The announcer at Climate Pledge Arena was still reporting Jaden Schwartz’s second-period goal when Adam Larsson interrupted with a breakaway of his own.
Just like that, a ferry horn — the Kraken’s goal horn — sounded for the second time in 43 seconds. Schwartz’s score gave Seattle its first advantage since the game at Vegas on Nov. 9. That’s four games without a lead, if you’re keeping count at home.
The sequence, which featured Seattle’s fastest consecutive goals this season, shifted the momentum in the Kraken’s favor. And while they’ve had a tendency to quickly relinquish it in the past, that wasn’t the case on Sunday night. Instead, they snapped their six-game losing with a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals.
So, what changed on Sunday? Why were the Kraken able to (finally) put together a complete game?
“Maybe because we’re sick and tired of losing,” said forward Calle Jarnkrok.
Seems like as good a reason as any.
And the Kraken weren’t finished after the back-to-back goals in the second period. At the 13:51 mark, Jarnkrok scored his first goal in a Seattle uniform to push the advantage to 4-1.
With four straight losses in this home stand, it’s been a while since Kraken fans had something to cheer about. But they rewarded Seattle’s performance on Sunday with the loudest crowd in recent memory.
At first, though, it didn’t seem like they would have anything to celebrate.
When the Capitals scored less than 4 minutes into the first period, it appeared the game would follow a very familiar path. The Kraken would fall behind — 2-0, or maybe even 3-0 — sometime in the second period. They would make a push late, perhaps even get within a goal of tying the score, but ultimately fall short.
But Seattle changed the story on Sunday. Captain Mark Giordano said after Friday’s loss to Colorado that his team had a tendency to take too many chances when it fell behind, which only fueled the problem. But it didn’t seem like Seattle had that issue against Washington.
Instead, the Kraken played with an intensity in the opening period that had been missing in recent games. Jared McCann tied the score on a power-play goal with 4 minutes left in the first, and Seattle went into the first intermission tied with a 14-11 shot advantage.
“They scored the first one, but we didn’t give up,” Larsson said. “We kept fighting and we got one going into the break. I thought from there we felt good. We came in with a lot of good things in the first and kept it going into the second. It was overall a really strong effort.”
Three minutes into the third period, Alex Ovechkin scored an unassisted goal to trim Seattle’s lead to 4-2. But with 28.5 seconds left, Kraken forward Yanni Gourde scored an empty netter to produce the final score.
“It’s been tough,” head coach Dave Hakstol said of the losing streak. “It’s not a lot of fun. I believe for our players coming out two nights ago (and losing to Colorado 7-3), that stings. That stays with you.”
The Capitals made a strong push in the third period, firing off 23 shots to Seattle’s eight. It was a reversal of the position the Kraken have often found themselves in. Instead of trying to mount a comeback, they were holding it off.
“We knew there was going to be a push coming in the third period,” Hakstol said. “(Grubauer) did a tremendous job. The guys in front of him did a heck of a job, as well. … I don’t know how many shot blocks we had in the third period, but you know that push was coming and those are the kinds of things you have to do to be successful, to close out a game against a real good hockey team.”
The win was Seattle’s first during the current six-game home stand. The Kraken lost the first four. They will wrap up the stretch on Wednesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“We had a couple conversations in the locker room,” said goaltender Philipp Grubauer, who finished with 27 saves for a .949 save percentage. “Everybody wants (to win). Everybody was working hard. … Sometimes you’re working maybe hard but not smart enough. We had a couple conversations and it’s kind of embarrassing (to go 0-4 at home).”
This story was originally published November 21, 2021 at 9:41 PM.
