SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 13: Ryan Donato #9 of the Seattle Kraken shoots against Laurent Brossoit #39 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period at Climate Pledge Arena on April 13, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images
Jaden Schwartz scored the only Kraken goal in the first period while Laurent Brossoit stopped 30 shots, anchored by goals from Reilly Smith, Alec Martinez, and an empty netter from Chandler Stephenson in a 3-1 Vegas Golden Knights victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night before a sellout crowd at Climate Pledge Arena.
The result, though devoid of Kraken desires to finish the regular season victory, at least provides clarity with the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Kraken, firmly set in the first wild card position, will either face the Dallas Stars or Colorado Avalanche in the opening round, with the results pending for Friday night. Colorado trails Dallas by one point for the Central Division crown, and Colorado can pass Dallas with a win on Friday.
COMPLETE RADIO GAME HIGHLIGHTS
If the Kraken face Dallas, game one will open in Dallas on Monday. If it's Colorado, game one opens on Tuesday.
The Kraken, finishing with 100 points as the second fastest team in NHL history to accomplish the feat since the start of the expansion six era, finished the season with six different 20 goal scorers while spelling a lineup that has relied on depth all season long.
Vegas finished the regular season winning nine of their final 13 games and captured the Pacific Division title.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
1. 100 points in an 82 game season – incredible. You could look at this game through the lens of just one game and leave disappointed. The Kraken, for all of their control in puck possession (72 percent in shot quality), managed just one goal – not a lot of run support for Philipp Grubauer. However, by the third period, the game turned into one of little consequence, as the Kraken had their spot in the first wild card slot all locked up. As game 82 turned into a dress rehearsal for the postseason, much of the lineup that was iced is likely back out for Game 1 next week.
They’re a unit that has gone mostly unchanged (save for one scorer below) and battled through the last two months of the season without said scorer. To get to 100 points and become the second fastest team in NHL history to do it, since the expansion six opened up, is nothing short of phenomenal – indicating tangible growth and a Stanley Cup Playoff berth checkpoint that’s arguably ahead of schedule.
2. Now the battle begins – doing this without Andre Burakovsky. To say the news arriving on late Thursday night, moments after the final horn, that Andre Burakovsky would miss the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs – and likely – the first two rounds wasn’t surprising, but still jarring. The Kraken thrived on Burakovsky’s playmaking ability and prolific shot in the top six group and on the power play, delivering a ton of promise fulfilled on the first year of a five-year contract.
March and April told us a lot how the Kraken have to play without Burakovsky, when they went 13-7-2 to close the regular season and relied on a rejuvenated Matty Beniers, Jaden Schwartz (four goals in the final eight games), Jordan Eberle’s recent four-game goal streak, a penalty kill that turned the corner for good since the middle of February, and Philipp Grubauer’s 9-3-1 run in his final 13 decisions – all wins allowing two goals or less. It’s likely Burakovsky’s out until the Conference Final, if the Kraken can get that far, and now have 3-4 days remaining to get their house in order, done and final, without him.
3. Vince Dunn – worthy MVP. The second year Kraken defenseman took the team’s annual Pete Muldoon Award for his stellar play on the back end, elevating his game when the Kraken needed it after moving on last season from Mark Giordano.
The results delivered reality above and beyond expectations. Dunn was one of nine players on the Kraken who reached career highs in points, ran the team’s first power play unit, buried 14 goals, and was second (overall!) in scoring. For a team that led the NHL in five-on-five goals (which has to be a strength in the playoffs in the “stay out of the box” category), he was on ice for a ton of the chances, leading the Kraken with 54.9% percent rate in shot attempts at full strength. Dunn is a sparkplug, and the Kraken found the engine revved up the most when he was able to move the attack into full speed mode.
KRAKEN LINEUP VS VEGAS, 4/13:
McCann-Beniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Wennberg-Geekie
Tolvanen-Gourde-Bjorkstrand
Tanev-Donato-Sprong
Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Borgen
Soucy-Schultz
Grubauer
Daccord