Kraken force OT, but surrender important point in loss to Red Wings

SEATTLE – The Seattle Kraken forced overtime but surrendered the extra point, falling to the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Monday afternoon at Climate Pledge Arena.

Prior to the game, the Kraken (23-21-11) were four points behind the second wild-card spot, which is looking like their only ticket to the 2024 postseason. They trailed Monday in the third period of a game they could ill afford to lose. Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord (28 saves) raced off for a delayed penalty while the Red Wings did their best to surround Seattle’s Will Borgen and Yanni Gourde, gain possession and draw the whistle to begin the penalty kill.

Gourde held on, however, moved to the middle and faked a shot, getting Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon to bite. With Lyon lying on his stomach, all Kraken winger Jaden Schwartz had to do was pop the puck over him to tie the game at 3-3.

Old friend Daniel Sprong had put the Red Wings ahead until Schwartz was in the right place at the right time. Detroit defenseman Ben Chiarot netted the overtime winner.

Seattle’s Jared McCann has at least a point in each of the first five games following the All-Star break and tacked on two goals Monday afternoon, tying the game each of the first two times the Red Wings went ahead.

McCann recently reunited with longtime linemates Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle, but he scored no matter who he was playing with. The first goal was in the final seconds of a power play, set up by Vince Dunn. Then during a partial, second-period line change, McCann was out with two-thirds of Gourde’s line and left in front of the crease. With Detroit’s Olli Maatta tugging at him from behind and goaltender Lyon fumbling for the puck, McCann kicked the rubber to himself and stuffed it past Lyon’s leg pads.

With less than two minutes remaining in the game, Maatta sent McCann face-first into the boards with a penalized and painful-looking cross-check. McCann returned for his last shift and closed out regulation.

Seattle put together an inspired start and owned the first 10 minutes. The Kraken were outshooting the Red Wings 11-4 when Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider, the defending NHL rookie of the year before Seattle’s Beniers took over duties last summer, fired a long shot from just inside the blue line. Daccord might have been partially screened by his own teammate and let it by.

Daccord didn’t have much of a chance on Lucas Raymond’s rebound deposit. He blocked a redirected shot and Raymond didn’t hesitate to chase down the remains. Kraken winger Tomas Tatar had the equalizer on his stick but hit the goalpost.

The Red Wings went ahead by a goal a third time late in the second period. On a 2-on-1, Christian Fischer hit none other than Sprong, who played 82 regular-season games for the Kraken the past two seasons and was thanked on the Jumbotron earlier in the game. Sprong made it 3-2 for his new team, who signed him as a free agent in July.

He was a 21-goal scorer on Seattle’s fourth line last season. That was his 15th for Detroit.

It was quick-moving matinee in front of a large Presidents Day crowd. Each team got one power play through two periods. McCann’s second goal was briefly reviewed, for the kicking motion, goaltender interference or both.

Elsewhere the St. Louis Blues, who hold the second wild -card spot, lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Minnesota Wild downed the Western Conference-best Vancouver Canucks to remain solidly in the mix and the Nashville Predators were idle.