SEATTLE — Somewhat of a pivotal Thursday night for the Kraken began much the same way their disastrous prior night ended earlier in the week.
A turnover deep in their own end, followed by a puck in the back of the net put the home side in an early hole. But unlike the prior encounter that quickly spiraled into a blowout, this 3-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets instead evolved into the type of goaltender’s duel one might have expected when this game was first circled on the calendar.
Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck stood tall in front of 17,151 fans at Climate Pledge Arena, stopping all 25 shots sent his way as the Kraken tried to break through and overcome the early deficit.
Kraken counterpart Philipp Grubauer wasn’t yielding much either, turning back 28 of 31 shots, but the Jets pounced on opportunities when left alone in high danger areas.
Dominic Toninato opened the scoring on a wristshot from the high slot between the faceoff circles just 5:24 in off a Carson Soucy turnover. And then Jets star Kyle Connor was left all alone in the same high slot in the third period and beat Grubauer with another wrister just 47 seconds into the frame.
Nicolaj Ehlers then stepped out of the penalty box midway through the third period and went in alone on Grubauer, who stopped him to keep things within reach. But Connor then picked up a turnover by Adam Larsson, sped in alone and beat Grubauer with 5:06 for his second goal of the night and team-high 17th of the season to put things out of reach.
The Kraken went 0-for-5 on the power play and couldn’t muster a shot until tallying two of the final of those man advantage chances well into the third. And on a night when Hellebuyck was at his best, that would be the difference in the game.
Prior to this season, Grubauer and Hellebuyck were widely viewed as two of the game’s finest. This season, their numbers have declined to more earthly levels and Grubauer at times has struggled mightily.
He’d been pulled barely five minutes into a loss Monday against Pittsburgh after allowing goals on three of the first four shots. So, as much as Thursday’s encounter was a chance for the Kraken, now 9-15-2, to redeem themselves somewhat, it was equally imperative that Grubauer do so as well.
The Jets looked as if they might follow the Penguins’ effort from Monday in pulling away. Jets veteran Paul Stastny had set up the opening goal by corralling the puck after Soucy’s turnover and hitting Toninato with a perfect pass that he wristed home before Grubauer could react.
Winnipeg nearly had a second goal on a puck that rattled off the post minutes later. But from there, the Jets had trouble getting anything past Grubauer, who made several strong kick saves in the latter part of the opening frame to keep it a 1-0 score.
Then, in the middle period, Grubauer stopped Blake Wheeler on a breakaway. The puck headed to the side boards where Wheeler picked it up in a crowd and fired to Logan Stanley — who one-timed a slap shot that Grubauer got in front of.
Later on that frame, Jaden Schwartz had an excellent opportunity from point-blank range, but Jets goalie Hellebuyck made the stop. A frustrated Schwartz slammed his stick over his leg in an attempt to break it but the wood shaft — just like Jets netminder Hellebuyck — held firm.
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