Final Buzzer: VAN-quished

OK, Kraken fans, go ahead and make an emphatic check mark next to "Vancouver" on the Yet to Beat list for the Seattle franchise. Looking to finally get a win against the nearest Pacific Division rival Canucks in the seventh try, the Kraken outshot Vancouver 18-7 in the first period to stake a two-goal lead. The home squad scored thrice more in the second 20 minutes to ride the offensive wave to a 6-1 win. Martin Jones finished with 20 saves and now has 23 wins for Seattle. He is 15-2-1 in his last 18 games.
"I said before the game the results from last year [losing four times to Vancouver] means nothing to this group," said Hakstol to a crowded post-game scrum. "You know, maybe I overstated that a little bit. I mean, they're the nearest team. But the most important thing is this is game three this year and all we had to show for it was a point up in Vancouver [Dec. 22 shootout loss]. They're coming in here on a back-to-back. It was two points we had to have, and our guys played that way."
The Kraken improved to 28-14-5 to return to first place in the division, tied in points (61) with Vegas and ahead in points percentage at .649 to .622. Seattle has two games in hand on Vegas and four in hand on second-place Los Angeles (59 points). The Kraken have earned five of six possible points on the five-game homestand before the upcoming All-Star break.

The game's First Star was Make-a-Wish goaltender, Jackson Boboth. Buoy picked up young Jackson in a celebration shown on the twin video boards to raucous post-game cheers and of course, Jackson had the honor of yeeting a fish into the crowd.
Another divisional matchup is up next, Friday against Calgary, then a back-to-back game with Columbus Saturday. The Blue Jackets, btw, are one of three teams left on the Yet to Beat list. The others are Philadelphia (two games in five nights during mid-February) and Tampa Bay (SEA finished the regular season 0-1-1 against the Lightning).

First-Period Report Card

The Kraken came out with a Grade-A effort in the first 20 minutes, generating six high-danger chances with four coming in the opening nine minutes. On their first shift of the night, the reunited fourth line of Morgan Geekie centering Brandon Tanev and Daniel Sprong (he moved up the first line Saturday) maintained extended pressure on the Canucks and goaltender Spencer Martin. Tanev nearly scored on a gorgeous feed from defenseman Vince Dunn, but couldn't quite redirect the pass.
Nearly eight minutes into the game, Eeli Tolvanen couldn't get a mini-break attempt past VAN goalie Martin but the Gourde line kept the puck in the offensive with help from top-pair defensemen Dunn and Adam Larsson. After Martin kicked out a Larsson shot from the point, Oliver Bjorkstrand gathered the rebound and quick-released his elite shot for his eighth goal of the season. While all that was happening, Vancouver defenseman Luke Schenn sent Yanni Gourde flying at the other side of the net. Good things happen when pucks are sent net-front.

The Kraken deserved the 1-0 lead, pressuring in the Vancouver end in the early going. Seattle doubled their lead on a power play goal 9:46 into the game and just eight seconds after Vancouver's 21-goal rookie Andrei Kuzmenko was whistled for hooking Jared McCann.
Off the faceoff in the Vancouver zone, power play quarterback Vince Dunn worked the puck to McCann, who put the puck on net, where Jordan Eberle tipped it to Alex Wennberg near the left goal post. Wennberg tapped it in for his ninth goal of the season and first scored at home.

New Canucks coach Rick Tocchet, who last week was still in studio for Turner Sports, called his allotted one timeout after the quick power-play strike. It didn't quite work. The period finished with a two-goal lead for the home squad and an 18-7 shot advantage.

Wrong Turn of Events for Tocchet

Tuesday night, in Tocchet's first game behind the bench up in Vancouver, the Canucks dispensed of Chicago, 5-2, allowing only 14 shots on goal. There was no such power outage for the Kraken here Wednesday before a raucous and delightfully loud home crowd. Seattle fired 15 more shots in period two, converting on three of those shots to make it 5-0 before Vancouver snuck one past Kraken starter Martin Jones to make it 5-1.
McCann scored on SEA power play nearly six minutes into the frame with assists from Jordan Eberle and Andre Burakovsky. McCann sniped his elite-level shot from a deep angle left of the goal. Just under two minutes later, waiver-pickup Eeli Tolvanen scored his sixth goal on what is becoming the young Finn's Seattle-signature one-timer. He's appeared in 13 games since joining the Kraken lineup.

Bjorkstrand tallied his second score of the game and ninth of the season, whipping another quick-release shot past the beleaguered Spencer Martin. Adam Larsson and Yanni Gourde both notched their second assists in the win, joining Eberle and McCann as Kraken with a pair of assists. Dunn set a career-high with 36 points with his assist on Eeli Tolvanen's goal. That's three goals for the Gourde line to fuel the offense, but their coach says the third line brings even more than scoring, even if Bjorkstrand looks on the brink of a highly productive second half in terms of points.
"They buzz around, doing it with pace and with tenacity," said Hakstol. "There's chemistry there. It was good to see Ollie get a couple tonight ... He's such an important piece of the puzzle for us. He's played really, really well, especially with that group over the last couple of weeks."
Adam Larsson and Vince Dunn were on the ice for all three of the Gourde line goals and Bjorkstrand was appreciative: "They open things up for us and we move the puck quick. They control the puck well at the blue line ... they're fun to play with."
Watch: Youtube Video
The middle period also featured a heavyweight scrap between 6-foot-7, 257-pound defenseman Jamie Oleksiak and Vancouver veteran D-man Luke Schenn after the Kraken's third goal.
Early third period, Ryan Donato bagged his 12th goal of the year. The Kraken depth-scoring continues. Linemate Jared McCann notched the primary assist for his third point of the night. By mid-third period, Kraken and/or Canucks fans did drop in one "Bruce there it is" chant to mimic Canucks fans doing the same in tribute to fired coach Bruce Boudreau last weekend and maybe a bit of a dig toward Tocchet.

There is one worry point from the decisive victory. After a big hit on Matty Beniers by VAN defenseman Tyler Myers (who was penalized for interference on the play), the Kraken rookie NHL All-Star did not return for the third period. When queried after the game, all Dave Hakstol would offer is "he was not available for the third period." Check back on the Kraken app and website for updates before Friday's home matchup with Calgary.