Kraken unleash the offense, score 7 goals in 1st win of season

Defenseman Vince Dunn and forward Oliver Bjorkstrand each had a goal and two assists as the Kraken won their first game of the season on their fifth try, 7-4 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night at Climate Pledge Arena.

Fourth-line center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored his first in a Kraken jersey, set up on a shorthanded 2-on-1 by Dunn. Dunn chased Carolina starting goaltender Antti Ranta with his power-play goal to make it 4-1 Kraken less than three minutes into the second period.

Ten days in, the goals started falling for the Kraken (1-3-1), who more than doubled their output from the previous four games.

Seattle nearly let Carolina erase a three-goal lead. The Hurricanes scored twice in the first six minutes of the third period to close it to 4-3. Then the Kraken’s Jared McCann and Tye Kartye scored 39 seconds apart to restore the gap.

Kartye registered his first regular-season goal and his first NHL fight in quick succession, scrapping with Carolina’s Brendan Lemieux between the benches. There were just under five minutes left in the game, so he and Lemieux headed down the tunnels early.

Winger Jaden Schwartz was the one to secure his team’s first multigoal outing of the young season. He scored six seconds into the Kraken’s first man advantage when Carolina left him alone in front of Raanta, and Kailer Yamamoto deflected the puck into Schwartz’s skates. Schwartz kicked it to himself and had time to deke the goalie and tuck it past his foot.

Both of Schwartz’s goals have come on the power play (2 of 4 on Thursday) with the former second PP unit quarterbacked by Dunn. It has been sent out first the past two games.

Schwartz’s first shift of the third period was his last. He left the game and didn’t return.

Yamamoto came close to his second goal in two games, picking up a rebound of Yanni Gourde’s, but Raanta kept it in his sights.

The teams traded goals 19 seconds apart in the game’s first eight minutes. Gourde redirected an Andre Burakovsky shot headed wide past Raanta. The Kraken let the Hurricanes’ Jesper Fast crash the net and redirect a Jaccob Slavin shot.

Another Burakovsky milestone came at home against the Hurricanes. He recorded his 300th NHL point against the Hurricanes on Oct. 17, 2022, then reached 200 assists with his second of the night Thursday.

The passes were shaky and the action centralized until the game opened up about five minutes in. It was some 24-on-24 jersey number excitement as Carolina’s Seth Jarvis took Jamie Oleksiak on a ride during a wraparound attempt and a home-run pass to Schwartz didn’t connect.

Daccord hit the splits to deny Carolina’s Martin Necas twice in the final five seconds of the period. He finished with 32 saves.

Jarvis scored Carolina’s second goal 1:08 into the third period. Jesperi Kotkaniemi closed it to a one-goal game near the midway point with Daccord facing the wrong way, expecting the puck to spit out to his right. Jarvis struck again late.

Seattle hopped to it after that, pelting Pyotr Kochetkov, who entered the Carolina net in relief.

The Kraken penalty kill finally allowed a goal after a 14-for-14 run to start the season.