SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 01: Eeli Tolvanen #20 of the Seattle Kraken shoots the puck as Marcus Pettersson #29 of the Vancouver Canucks moves to block during the third period of a game at Climate Pledge Arena on March 1, 2025 in Seattle, Washington … (Christopher Mast / NHLI / Getty Images)
SEATTLE - Eeli Tolvanen scored a pair of goals, and Brandon Montour had a goal and an assist as the Seattle Kraken bounced back from an awful performance Tuesday against St. Louis with a 6-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
Shane Wright and Vince Dunn each had a pair of assists, and 11 different players had a point in the win for Seattle.
"They didn't need to hear it from me about the game in St Louis and the compete level," head coach Dan Bylsma said, referencing the 7-2 loss to the Blues. "… Just the evidence of how we got the goals were, you know, a good bounce back message for the guys as well, just getting to the net, net front, you know, going to the inside, fighting and battling to get there. And we got the result as a result."
The Kraken scored three separate goals on deflected shot chances that carried them to a second period lead they wouldn't relinquish. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Matty Beniers and Tolvanen scored goals in succession, all off deflected shots from the blue line to take a 4-3 lead.
"You know, it's easy for goalies to see it when guys aren't there," Montour said. "We've struggled to get to the net. So I think that's one thing that we try to harp on, get forwards to the net, and obviously, it's tough when goalies can't see it or get good tips, and we had a few goals like that, so I think that's one that we can kind of grow and hopefully continue doing that."
The Kraken weathered some early pressure from the Canucks before taking the lead.
An errant pass from Quinn Hughes sparked a rush chance for Seattle as Wright picked up the puck in the neutral zone. A perfect backhand pass set up an André Burakovsky shot past Kevin Lankinen for a 1-0 Kraken lead.
"I'm just trying to make the right play out there, you know," Wright said. "Anytime I see a guy open or think it's the right play, I want to make it, you know. So it's always nice to chip in, whether it's goals or assists. So, yeah, it was nice to get a score sheet."
Since a three-game reset as a healthy scratch in mid-November, Wright has been the Kraken's leading scorer. With two more points on Saturday night, Wright now has 34 points on 12 goals and 22 assists in his last 40 games played for the Kraken. It's also coming while still averaging less than 15 minutes a game of ice time.
The Canucks then capitalized on a Kraken miscue to tie the game at 1-1. Dunn was pressured into a giveaway behind Seattle's own net that fell directly to Pius Suter in the left circle. Suter's quick shot beat the glove of Joey Daccord to bring the game back level.
Vancouver then jumped out front before the end of the first period. A Tyler Myers shot from the blue line snapped the stick of Bjorkstrand as the puck landed right on the stick of Filip Chytil at the side of goal. Daccord was down-and-out reaching for the puck and Chytil buried the shot for a 2-1 advantage.
Seattle then began putting their hand-and-eye coordination to good use.
Burakovsky outworked Hughes in the corner as Wright moved the puck to Montour atop the Canucks' zone. Bjorkstrand then found space in front of the net to tip Montour's shot by Lankinen to tie the game at 2-2 just four minutes into the second period.
With Filip Hronek in the box for a high-sticking penalty against Bjorkstrand, the Canucks pound on another Seattle mistake for a short-handed goal. Jared McCann gave the puck away along the boards under pressure from Drew O'Conner and former Kraken Carson Soucy. The turnover led to a 2-on-1 rush for Vancouver with Dakota Joshua beating Daccord to tie the game at 3-3.
It's just the third short-handed goal allowed by Seattle this season as they entered the game tied with Carolina, Ottawa and Winnipeg for fewest allowed this year with two.
Another tipped puck then gave the Kraken the lead once again.
Beniers cleanly won a face-off back to Dunn and got into position to deflect Dunn's shot by Lankinen for a 4-3 lead. Then Tolvanen got involved in the tipping party as he deflected a Ryker Evans shot into the back of the net exactly a minute after Beniers' goal for a 5-3 Seattle lead.
"It's not something that happens very often in the game, but when you get those results, when you get the instance of getting the puck to the net, when you have the courage to go to the inside and get there, you know, tonight, it's how we produced most of our goals, is getting to the inside and having that tip."
A terrific play from Dunn to block a Nils Höglander shot in the goal crease kept the Kraken lead at two before Tolvanen added an empty net tally for a 6-3 Seattle victory.
"You always need a save from your goaltender, but you also need to build a wall and block shots in and around him. And Joey definitely needed the shot block from Dunner there in the third," Bylsma said.
Daccord stopped the final 15 shots he faced to finish with 28 saves on the night for Seattle.
What's next:
The Kraken wrap a quick two-game home stand on Tuesday night as Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi and the Minnesota Wild come to town for a 7:00 p.m. game. It's also the last game in Seattle for future Hall of Fame goaltender Marc-André Fleury.
The Source: Original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
MORE KRAKEN NEWS
Zack Bolduc scores twice as the Blues beat the Kraken 7-2
Shane Wright scores as Seattle Kraken fall 4-1 to Lightning
What to know about the trade deadline for the Seattle Kraken
Seattle Kraken first-round pick Berkly Catton shining in WHL for Spokane Chiefs
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 streaming coverage from across the nation.