Seattle Kraken bothered by goalie interference rulings in 3-2 loss to Flames

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - FEBRUARY 02: Yegor Sharangovich #17 of the Calgary Flames looks to shoot as Jamie Oleksiak #24 of the Seattle Kraken defends during the first period at Climate Pledge Arena on February 02, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE - The Seattle Kraken were clearly miffed by officiating decisions on a pair of goaltender interference calls that helped aid the Calgary Flames in a 3-2 Kraken loss on Sunday night.
Jaden Schwartz had a goal taken off the board due to a successful Calgary challenge, and Seattle had a challenge on a goal by Yegor Sharangovich upheld in the first period. The aftermath was that, instead of a possible 1-0 Kraken lead, the Flames took an eventual 3-0 edge at the end of the first period.
"I don't know what's the difference, but that's not my job," said forward Kaapo Kakko.
Kakko scored his fifth goal in 21 games since joining the Kraken, and Brandon Tanev added his ninth of the season in the third period as Seattle rallied to make it a one-score game. However, the Flames held on behind 28 saves from Dan Vladar for the victory.
Yeah, "I think from, you know, going up 1-0 to down 3-0. The goalie interference calls, the power play, the 5-on-3 that ensued for two minutes. I think a lot of events in that period are not how we wanted them to go, from the calls to the goals," head coach Dan Bylsma said.
The Kraken seemingly grabbed an early lead on the power play only for the goal to be erased on a challenge. Schwartz backhanded the puck through Calgary goaltender Dan Vladar off a rebound off a Matty Beniers chance. Schwartz's left skate was in the crease and impeded Vladar's stick from being able to defend the goal.
"I mean, you never know what these calls, right?" Schwartz said. "I don't know if it's people from Toronto (site of the NHL league situation room). You know, both of the refs told me that it was probably a goal, but it was out of their hands and people from Toronto called. So, not sure what they're watching. I think it was a bad call. He put his stick in my skates. Then I went out of the crease. And just a tough break."
Minutes later, the Flames grabbed the lead instead. Morgan Frost snapped a shot from the slot over the shoulder of Joey Daccord for a 1-0 Calgary lead.
A pair of power play goals amid curious circumstances allowed the Flames to further extend their advantage.
With Jared McCann in the box for a double minor roughing penalty, Yegor Sharangovich get a free look in front of Daccord's net. Sharangovich whiffed on the shot - while being slashed by Jamie Oleksiak - but the puck slipped underneath Daccord's stick and into the net for a 2-0 lead.
Seattle challenged the goal for goaltender interference as Sharangovich had contact with Daccord. Sharangovich's stick levered the blade of Daccord's stick, which lifted the blade off the ice for the puck to slide underneath. However, that good stood after the challenge as the NHL said the contact was incidental to Sharangovich's attempt to play the puck.
"They judged that it was a continuation play by the guy reaching back for the puck and him hitting our goalie's stick was a result of that continuation play," Bylsma said.
Bylsma admitted that the success of the Calgary challenge on a somewhat similar circumstance did influence their decision to challenge themselves.
"It was my judgment that the stick, you know, hitting our goalie's stick in the blue paint, was a factor for our goalie being able to make the save. And that was really the deciding factor for me," Bylsma said.
The failed challenge then set up a 5-on-3 power play for the Flames. McCann's penalty ended with the Sharangovich goal, but Oleksiak's slash and the penalty for the failed challenge put Seattle down two men. Jonathan Huberdeau scored on the two-man advantage for a 3-0 Flames advantage at the end of the first period.
"That was a weird, weird start, like I said," Kakko said. "I mean, you just gotta keep playing. That was a hard first 20 (minutes). … so get back to the locker room and kind of start a game again, but just down by three. So yeah that was pretty weird, not easy, but I thought we did a good job after that."
Kakko got Seattle on the board in the second period. After absorbing a check from Jake Bean that wasn't penalized, the Kraken managed to start a rush into Calgary's zone. Kakko buried a 2-on-1 pass from Jaden Schwartz by Vladar to trim the lead to 3-1.
While the interference reviews were the focus, the officiating crew missed several calls both ways through the game. Calgary should have been called for too many men on the ice at least once, multiple interference calls and cross-checks were also missed. Kakko was annoyed he didn't have the penalty called before his goal.
"I was not happy that was not a penalty," he said. "but, I mean, you got to keep playing. And then that was 2-on-1, a nice pass by Schwartzy."
The Kraken tamped up the pressure late in the period. Seattle got six shots away with four on goal in a 40-second span, but Vladar kept the puck out of the Calgary net.
A fortunate bounce allowed Seattle to cut the lead to just one six minutes into the third period. A McCann shot deflected up and off Brandon Tanev and by Vladar to make it a 3-2 game with 14:19 remaining.
However, the tying goal never came.
Joey Daccord had 32 saves on 35 shots faced in goal for the Kraken with two goals allowed coming on the power play.
What's next:
The Detroit Red Wings come to town on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for their only game in Seattle this season. The Red Wings beat Seattle 6-2 in Detroit on January 12. The Red Wings have won their last six games.
The Source: Original FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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