Final Buzzer: Kraken Stymied by Vasilevskiy, Lightning

Quick Hits

The game details

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 17 shots he saw Friday as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Kraken 3-0 at Amalie Arena. It was the first time the Kraken have been shut out and for Vasilevskiy it was career shutout 28 for the 27-year-old and second this year.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Ross Colton and Steven Stamkos scored for the Lightning, who won for the third time in a row.
Philipp Grubauer continued his strong play, only allowing three goals and turning away 23 Lightning shots.

How it played out

Morgan Geekie had the best look of the first period for Seattle when Jared McCann set him up for a shot on Vasilevskiy from in close. The Lightning goalie handled the shot and moments later Tampa Bay had a rush going the other way.
Bellemare scored off the rush, which came at 2:52 of the first period, with a quick snapshot from Grubauer's right that found the net on the glove side to make it 1-0.
"We were a half-step behind tonight," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "Their puck speed got us. We never got them stopped in our zone and likewise in the offensive zone. We didn't create enough possession…we weren't able to create consistent tine in the offensive zone."
Tampa Bay had the early jump in the second and extended their lead to 2-0 just 31 seconds into the period when Colton found a loose puck in the high slot and fired it past Grubauer. It was the first shot of the period after the Lightning had scored on the first shot of the first period.
The Kraken outshot Tampa Bay in the second period and had their best chances, but the Lightning mitigated a lot of Seattle's looks by keeping the play mostly to the outside. When shots did get through, Vasilevskiy was there.
"They defended well, they skated well, and pushed us to the outside whenever we did have some offensive opportunities," Hakstol said. "In our own D-Zone we didn't get them stopped quick enough in order to have any energy left to go back offensively. When you spend that much time on the first half of your shift, you don't have a whole lot of gas left to go the other way."
Stamkos scored at 11:32 of the third period to make it 3-0 when he buried a one-time shot on a two-on-one chance down low.
Seattle will be back in action on Saturday when they visit the Florida Panthers at 6 PM PST.
"We get back at it tomorrow," Seattle's Jaden Schwartz said. "Get some rest and get back at it. We know there's another level, another level of intensity and digging in for each other."

Kraken power play flickers

Coming into the contest Friday, the Kraken had been on fire with the man advantage. Over the previous five games, the Kraken were 6-for-17 on the power play with McCann and Marcus Johansson providing a spark.
Friday's game was tight checking but played clean with each team only earning two power plays.
Seattle's power play got its first look at 8:32 of the second period. Tampa Bay did a good job of holding the puck along the boards as Kraken players dug away at it. The Kraken had one decent look when Fleury's shot from the high slot required a good Vasilevskiy save to keep it out.
The Kraken got a second chance in the third period at 6:24 when Jordan Eberle was hooked by Bellemare. The chance was short-lived when Alex Wennberg was called for tripping on Boris Katchouk.
The Lightning entered the game with the league's sixth best penalty kill and Seattle ended the night 0-for-2 on the power play with one shot.

Gourde picks up some jewelry

After Friday's morning skate, Gourde was presented with his Stanley Cup Championship ring by the Lightning. Gourde was a key member of the Tampa Bay team that won two Cups in a row.
Gourde was undrafted but worked his way through the minor leagues and made his debut with Tampa Bay in 2015. His time with the Lightning was memorialized with a video tribute in the first period. Gourde skated out on the ice and acknowledged the fans.
He ended the night with just over 17 minutes of ice time but did not record any shots.