The Flames scored their first goal with 17 seconds remaining in the first period, on the power play, from Byron Froese.  Defenseman Michael Stone scored his second of the preseason (and second against Seattle) three minutes into the second period.  Five minutes later, Glenn Gawdin gave Calgary a three-goal lead just five minutes later, shorthanded.

For the Kraken, Vince Dunn scored his first for Seattle, on the power play, at the midway point of the second period.  That was all the offense that fans would get from the home team.

Connor Mackey scored the only goal of the third period, with under 10 minutes remaining in regulation, which ended up just being another insurance goal.  Calgary had only 13 total shots on net but made the most of those shots.  Kraken goalie Chris Driedger continued to struggle this preseason, making only nine saves (.652 sv%).

Anchor points

Without many bright points for the Kraken, Vince Dunn was as assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight)

Joonas Donskoi had an assist but was also minus three on the night

The Kraken will travel to Vancouver to face the Canucks for their final preseason game, on Tuesday. Vancouver will be looking for some revenge for their loss against Seattle to open the preseason.  The puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. PDT.

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Like it was written in a fairy tale, Giordano took just three minutes to get his revenge goal. He cut up the middle of the Flames’ zone and sent a backhand through the legs of goalie Dan Vladar to give the Kraken a 1–0 lead.

Three minutes later, Jaden Schwartz put the visitors up 2–0, with his first of two goals on the night. Schwartz picked up a juicy rebound following a long Adam Larsson point shot and put the puck into the back of the net.

Calgary got on the board with five minutes remaining in the opening period, as Matthew Tkachuk snuck through three Kraken defenders and flipped a pass from Elias Lindholm past a surprised Philipp Grubauer, which brought a close to the first period scoring at 2–1. Seattle led the Flames in shots on net 9–5.

The second period was a bit of a slog, as both teams went into their shells. They combined for only eight total shots on net, with the Kraken only mustering up two of those shots. Despite the low shot totals, Calgary defenseman Michael Stone scored the only goal, which tied the game at 2–2.

The third period saw Seattle goalie Joey Daccord take over for Grubauer, while Calgary stuck with Vladar for the entire contest. That change saw Daccord face as many shots in the final 25 minutes (11) as Grubauer saw in the previous 40 minutes.

With just over seven minutes remaining in regulation, Schwartz’s second goal of the game put the Kraken up 3–2. Jordan Eberle stole the puck from a lackadaisical Stone and fed Schwartz for an easy one-timer past Vladar. Schwartz and Eberle hooked up on a 2-on-0 chance with under four minutes remaining, but Vladar shut the door with a really nice toe save, keeping Calgary alive. The Seattle lead would not hold until the final horn, though.

Just a minute later, Mikael Backlund led a 2-on-1 against Kraken defenseman Will Borgen and Daccord, but kept the puck and beat the Kraken netminder to tie the game at 3–3, sending the game to extra time.

Both teams traded chances in the overtime, but the game was decided in a shootout. Jarad McCann and Eberle scored for Seattle, while only Tkachuk scored for Calgary, giving the Kraken their second preseason win.

Anchor points

Just prior to the game, the Kraken announced that they signed free agent left wing Max McCormick to a one-year deal worth $750,000. McCormick spent last season with the Carolina organization and previously spent five seasons with the Ottawa organization and a brief stint with the AHL Colorado Eagles.

Welcome to SEA-town!

The #SeaKraken have signed forward @mccomax17 to a one-year, two-way contract (750k AAV). pic.twitter.com/intSY03fab

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) September 30, 2021

Grubauer has looked good at times, but he is going to need to be more consistent if this team is going to contend. He has time to sort things out, but he needs to be one of their best players when he is in the net. Clearly, a .778 save percentage is not sufficient.

The Kraken penalty kill was perfect on the night, but their power play was kept off the board as well. Once they are closer to the full strength roster, the power play needs to be more effective. Since going 3 for 5 in the opener, they have been held scoreless.

Schwartz could have easily had four goals. He has been a great leader and example for this team. Eberle has been a force, as well. Those two will be go-to players for the team this season.

The Kraken head back to the states to face the Oilers again, in Everett, on Friday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. PDT.

The post RECAP: Kraken beat Calgary 4–3 in shootout, Giordano bites his former team appeared first on The Rink.

The Toronto Maple Leafs started their first extended road trip of the season in Calgary, facing the Flames twice. 

Jack Campbell started in net for Toronto. Having a consistent backup goalie is something the team desperately needed last season and allows them to give Frederik Andersen a break. This is especially important with this year’s condensed game schedule. As well, Auston Matthews returned to the lineup after missing the previous 4–2 win. When asked about why he sat during the last game, he explained that it was an ongoing issue.

“Obviously take care of it here the next couple of weeks, but it feels a lot better, feel more than good enough to play and good enough to go out there and contribute to the team,” Matthews said in an interview.

Speaking of Matthews, his goal in this game was his first against the Flames. He has now scored against all 30 NHL teams. Wayne Simmonds also scored in this game, his first goal with the Maple Leafs.

Campbell was the Leafs’ best player in this game and stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced. Near the end of the game, however, he went down and appeared to be in serious pain. Although Campbell finished the game, he will be out for “weeks” with an unspecified leg injury. This is massively unfortunate for the team, as they lost Aaron Dell to waivers just last week.

Game two

Going into the second game against the Flames, Toronto Head Coach Sheldon Keefe made a couple of small lineup changes. In addition to Michael Hutchinson replacing Campbell in the blue paint, Jason Spezza and Alexander Barabanov sat. Travis Boyd and Joey Anderson (both acquired over the summer—Boyd in free agency and Anderson in the Andreas Johnsson trade) drew into the lineup.

The Flames got off to a slow start, and the Leafs picked up a two-goal lead in the first period. In the second, however, the Leafs lost all their momentum and let the Flames back into the game. This team clearly still struggles with consistency. Johnny Gaudreau tied the game at 3–3 in the third period.

In the middle of the third, Matthews scored to regain the lead and the Leafs held on for the two points.

Game three

Barabanov and Spezza replaced Boyd and Anderson, and Travis Dermott filled in for rookie defender Mikko Lehtonen.

The game was back and forth for the full 60 minutes, at first the Leafs leading 2–0 and then 3–2 before finally winning 4–3. 

Through the beginning portion of this season, the Leafs have not been able to stay out of the penalty box, and it continues to cost them. In this game, they took seven penalties. Three of the penalties were back to back late in the second period—while they were holding on to a one-goal lead. The Oilers’ tying goal in the third period was also the result of a Maple Leafs penalty. Andersen was a huge reason why the Leafs pulled off the win in this game. 

Game four

In this game (and for the remaining games where the team is wearing Reverse Retro or St. Pats jerseys), Jake Muzzin and Zach Hyman served as the alternate captains.

Veterans Jake Muzzin and Zach Hyman will serve as alternate captains tonight in Edmonton.

Muzzin and Hyman will wear an ‘A’ in each of the @MapleLeafs upcoming Reverse Retro and St. Pats games this season. #LeafsForever

— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) January 30, 2021

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Early in the game, the puck slipped by Andersen, and Lehtonen barely stopped the puck from crossing the line. 

Lehtonen covering the puck with his hand gives the Oilers a penalty shot

It was going in pic.twitter.com/gTNq3609SH

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) January 31, 2021

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This gave the Oilers a penalty shot, which Tyler Ennis took and missed the net on.

Dominik Kahun scored to take the lead later in the first. Although William Nylander tied it up not long after, the Oilers scored again to take the lead heading into the second. Early in the second period, Connor McDavid went end to end, evaded Jake Muzzin and beat Andersen to put Edmonton up 3–1.

McDavid went full end-to-end video game pic.twitter.com/rdSymdoWqM

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) January 31, 2021

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Matthews scored his sixth goal of the season and Hyman picked up a power play marker to tie the game up at 3–3.

In the third, Andersen was forced to make some big saves.

HIS NAME IS FREDERIK ANDERSEN pic.twitter.com/5eJc6rnvzW

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) January 31, 2021

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However, McDavid got the last laugh, winning the game for the Oilers in overtime.

After the game, Keefe had a lot to say about Lehtonen’s performance, and it was not all good. Keefe pointed out that Lehtonen did not look comfortable when he was not on the power play, and that Lehtonen has a long way to go in terms of being a regular in the lineup. The Leafs’ defense situation has been interesting this year. Dermott and Lehtonen have been trading off every other game or so, and Rasmus Sandin has yet to play a game.

The Leafs are now 7–2–1 on the season and sit first in their division, though they have played two more games than the second-place Montreal Canadiens. Toronto starts this week on a three-day break before facing the Vancouver Canucks at home.

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