CALGARY, AB - MARCH 4: Martin Pospisil #76 of the Calgary Flames screens Philipp Grubauer #31 the Seattle Kraken at Scotiabank Saddledome on March 4, 2024 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)
Jared McCann scored shorthanded for his 26th goal of the season, Oliver Bjorkstrand added his 16th and the Seattle Kraken survived an ugly third period that saw Vince Dunn injured in a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames.
Dunn was injured by Flames rookie Martin Pospisil with a dangerous check from behind into the boards that immediately sent Dunn retreating to the locker room. It was at least the third major hit laid by Pospisil in the game.
Yanni Gourde and Adam Larsson also scored for Seattle, and Philipp Grubauer's strong play in net continued with 36 saves on 38 shots in the Seattle victory. It was also the 100th win in franchise history for the Kraken.
The victory keeps Seattle on the fringes of the playoff race with the NHL trade deadline quickly approaching on Friday at noon. McCann played center on the second line in place of Alex Wennberg, who was a healthy scratch due to trade-related reasons ahead of a possible deal. McCann took Wennberg's place while André Burakovsky returned to the lineup after a two-game absence from injury.
The Kraken moved past the Minnesota Wild into a tie with Calgary for 10th place in the Western Conference, seven points behind the Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings for the final playoff spots.
Seattle is thrilled with the win, but they're also fuming over the hits from Pospisil.
"Garbage," head coach Dave Hakstol said. "Not a whole lot different than the first hit six, seven seconds into the game (on Larsson). If you're going to run around like that, you probably need to answer when somebody comes at you man-to-man. And that didn't happen either. From there, I'll leave it to the league."
Pospisil delivered a hit to Larsson on the opening shift of the game, which also came with Larsson in a vulnerable position near the boards. Pospisil hit Larsson from the side and it knocked Larsson clean off his feet and head first into the boards. Larsson was OK after the hit and didn't miss any time, but Tye Kartye took the chance to exact some revenge. Pospisil didn't engage ine fight, which is what Hakstol was referencing in his comment about not answering for the hit.
The hit on Dunn was even more egregious. Dunn had his back turned and was facing the boards when Pospisil just drove through his backside. Dunn went head first into the boards and immediately seemed to be favoring his left shoulder as he quickly retreated to the locker room.
Matty Beniers immediately jumped Pospisil in defense of Dunn. Pospisil was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for the hit on Dunn. A suspension would seem likely as well.
Brandon Tanev and Blake Coleman would engage in a fight in the closing minutes as well as tempers continued to flare.
Hakstol didn't have an update on Dunn's status after the game. Ryker Evans would likely draw into the lineup Tuesday night in Winnipeg if Dunn is going to miss some time.
The injury put a sour taste on a mostly solid performance for Seattle.
The Kraken jumped out front early as Dunn's shot from the point bounced off Tanev and directly to Gourde in the slot. Gourde quickly fired a shot by the glove of Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom for a 1-0 Seattle lead.
It took nearly 14 minutes for Calgary to get their first shot on net as Seattle held an 11-2 advantage in shots at the end of the frame.
The Flames got a power play chance off Kartye's scrap with Pospisil and took advantage.
Grubauer made a great shoulder save to deny Nazem Kadri on a chance from the slot. However, Andrei Kuzmenko was able to collect the deflected puck and tuck it inside the right post between Grubauer's skate to tie the game up at 1-1.
Seattle managed to respond to retake the lead less than five minutes later. Jaden Schwartz worked to get a puck in the offensive zone and flung it around the boards to McCann behind the Calgary net. McCann fed a pass by defenseman Oliver Kylington to a waiting Oliver Bjorkstrand, who beat Markstrom with a quick snap inside the far post for a 2-1 Kraken lead.
Larsson got his own revenge for the Pospisil hit just 21 seconds into the third period. Jordan Eberle absorbed another Pospisil hit against the boards to get the puck into the Calgary end. Matty Beniers corralled the puck off the boards and found Larsson, who snapped a shot into the top corner over Markstrom's glove to give Seattle a 3-1 advantage.
The Kraken then had to go into scramble mode to try and hold onto their lead. The Flames unleashed a barrage of shots on net and cashed in with Kuzmenko's second of the game to trim the lead to just one. A shot from distance by Kuzmenko slipped through traffic in front of the net and beat Grubauer to make it a 3-2 Seattle lead with 12:14 remaining.
The Calgary pressure continued and led to another power play chance. Dunn swatted the puck with his hand out of the air as he descended over the goal crease, but his clearance flew out of the play for delay of game. A Noah Hanifin shot bounced off bodies in front of the net and clanged off the right post before Grubauer managed to cover to preserve the lead.
Another power play soon followed as Jamie Oleksiak caught Kuzmenko with a high-stick for another chance on the man advantage.
But the Kraken turned the tables instead. McCann chipped a puck by Rasmus Andersson to spring himself on a shorthanded breakaway chance that he cashed in by the glove of Markstrom to give the Kraken a 4-2 lead with 7:31 remaining.
The game completely devolved from there with the hit on Dunn sparking the Kraken's rage.
Grubauer picked up his fifth win in six starts since returning to the lineup for the Kraken after a lengthy stint on the injured list. In seven games played, Grubauer has a .943 save percentage since coming back in mid-February.