Golden Knights Defeat Kraken 6-2 – The Hockey Writers NHL News Latest News, Analysis & More

The Seattle Kraken faced the Vegas Golden Knights for the first game of their back-to-back hockey weekend. The home team showed no mercy, defeating the Kraken 6-2.

Game Recap

The action kicked off at the beginning of the first period. Nicholas Hague was sent to the penalty box three minutes into the first. With the Kraken on the power play, they scored the first goal of the night. The honor went to Vince Dunn eight seconds after they earned the extra man advantage. Chandler Stephenson passed the puck to Oliver Bjorkstrand from the blue line. While Bjorkstrand had two men on him, he saw Dunn open and passed it to him. Taking a shot, he was able to send it through traffic and into the back of the net.

Halfway into the first, Ryker Evans received a two-minute minor for holding Tomas Hertl’s stick. Stephenson had an excellent short-handed breakaway chance while Evans was in the box, but the puck rang off the goal post. Victor Olofsson was sent to the box directly after this chance for tripping Yanni Gourde, and we had some 4-on-4 hockey. No goals came from this, and with the penalties killed, the two teams were back to full strength. The Golden Knights were able to take advantage of the Kraken during a line change, and they tied the game 14 minutes into the first. Brayden McNabb got the puck by the Golden Knights’ goal and started skating it across the ice. He saw Olofsson and passed to him. Seeing Keegan Kolesar alone towards the middle of the ice, he passed to him. Kolesar skated the puck the rest of the way and sent it into the net for the first goal of the night for the home team.

Less than a minute later, the Golden Knights broke the tie. Winning the faceoff, Jack Eichel was able to get the puck in Phillipp Grubauer’s blindspot behind the net. He passed it to Brett Howden, who was able to score up in front of the net. With two minutes left in the first period, the Golden Knights scored their third goal of the night. Eichel passed the puck around the boards, where it found Mark Stone. He passed it to Nick Hague, who took a shot through a fair amount of Kraken traffic. The puck rang off the top goal post and into the back of the net for the third goal scored by the Golden Knights in the first period.

The second period was much quieter compared to all of the action in the first. The Kraken forced another penalty on the Golden Knights, this time Alex Pietrangelo received a two-minute minor for interference on Shane Wright. However, the Kraken were not able to score on this extra-man advantage. As the score still read 3-1 going into the third, the two teams both had some work to do.

Halfway into the third period, we were back in the action. Kolesar was able to take possession of the puck as a scrum was taking place in front of him. He saw William Karlsson alone in front of the net. Passing it to him, Karlsson let it fly into the back of the net to score the fourth of the night for the home team. Just three minutes later, Noah Hanafin was able to score their fifth of the night. Both Tanner Pearson and Stone had shot attempts that Grubauer was able to save. The Golden Knights recovered the puck and constantly passed it between players on the ice. Stone eventually got a hold of it, and passed it to Hanafin. He was able to knock the puck into the goal by ringing it off the top post, similar to Hague’s goal in the first.

Shea Theodore went to the box for a hooking penalty, and the Kraken were on the power play. They were able to score their second goal of the night, this time by Jaden Schwartz. Stephenson passed the puck to Wright who shot it from the faceoff circle. Samsinov was able to block it, but Schwartz got a hold of the rebound and scored the second power play goal of the night.

However, the Golden Knights were not done. While Grubauer was pulled from the goal, the home team took advantage of this chance. Howden passed the puck to Stone, who shot it from the opposite end of the ice. The puck hit its target, solidifying the Golden Knights’ win.

Next Steps

The Kraken look to break their four-game losing streak on Dec. 22 when they face off against the Colorado Avalanche. The Golden Knights look to keep their three-game winning streak alive when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 23.