Losing streak hits six for Seattle Kraken in 4-1 loss to Wild
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 08: Brandon Montour #62 of the Seattle Kraken reacts as Marcus Johansson #90 of the Minnesota Wild celebrates his goal with Matt Boldy #12 of the Minnesota Wild during the third period at Climate Pledge Arena on Decembe (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
Marcus Johansson scored the game-winning goal in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild tacked on two empty-net goals as the Seattle Kraken lost their sixth straight game, 4-1, on Monday night.
It's the sixth straight loss overall and fifth straight loss in regulation for the Kraken, who have fallen out of a playoff position through the losing streak.
Jordan Eberle scored on the power play in the second period for Seattle's lone goal, and Philipp Grubauer stopped 25 of 27 shots in a strong effort in goal for the Kraken. But the Kraken's inability to score continues to haunt the team. The 67 goals scored by Seattle this season is the lowest in the league, seven behind the 74 goals of the Nashville Predators.
The Kraken were on their heels from the drop of the puck as Minnesota dominated play early on. The Wild had the first seven shots on goal of the game as Grubauer made key stops to keep the game scoreless, including a breakaway chance for Ryan Hartman on an early Minnesota power play.
But Seattle pushed back, having an 8-3 edge in shots over the rest of the period to even the game out.
While the game went to the intermission scoreless, that doesn't mean there weren't any fireworks.
Vince Dunn delivered a thundering hit on Wild forward Mats Zuccarello in the neutral zone that sent him flying to the ice. Kirill Kaprizov and Danila Yurov immediately jumped Dunn in retaliation as everyone on the ice piled into the corner.
Zuccarello left for the locker room and did not return to the game. It left the Wild with just 10 forwards for the rest of the night as they went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen in the lineup to start the game over the more typical 12 forwards and six defensemen deployment.
Dunn was initially given a major penalty but was overturned on review as the hit on Zuccarello was legal. Dunn received a roughing minor while Yurov was given a double minor for roughing.
Hartman tried to get Dunn to fight him late in the period as the Wild remained miffed by the hit on Zuccarello, but Dunn chose not to engage.
The Wild again controlled play at the start of the second period before finally breaking through for the opening goal.
Matt Boldy circled behind Seattle's net as Joel Eriksson Ek beat Chandler Stephenson for position for a centering pass that he managed to get through Grubauer to give the Wild a 1-0 lead.
Boldy was then sent to the penalty box for a tripping penalty against Brandon Montour that gave Seattle the power play chance that would bring the game back level. A pass from Stephenson to the back door of the net gave Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson no chance as Eberle directed it home to tie the game at 1-1.
Johansson – and original member of the Kraken in 2021 – then managed to beat his former teammate on a deflection to give Minnesota the lead. Eriksson Ek floated a backhanded shovel pass off the right wall that Johansson manged to get his stick blade on to redirect over Grubauer for the go-ahead goal.
The Kraken looked to answer back just 11 seconds after Johansson's goal. A Ryan Winterton shot deflected off Gustavsson's shoulder with Tye Kartye swatting the puck out of the air and off Gustavsson's back and into the net. However, Kartye played the pick with a high-stick above the height of the crossbar, which negated the goal and kept Seattle chasing.
Shane Wright added a great look with just over nine minutes left to play that Gustavsson's also kept out of the net, but those were the best looks Seattle would get.
Kaprizov and Vladimir Tarasenko converted empty net goals 14 seconds apart to push the final margin to 4-1 for the Wild.
Seattle played the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night in the final game of their homestand.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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