When the puck dropped at 7 p.m. PST in Seattle, it seemed like the Carolina Hurricanes were still in the Eastern time zone — playing slow and tired. By the time 60 minutes of gameplay had passed, the Kraken defeated the Canes 7-4.
Carolina (3-2-0) came into the matchup off a dominant showing against Los Angeles, defeating the Kings 6-3. While this momentum had the Canes riding high, Seattle (1-3-1) had yet to win a game since the 2023-24 regular season started on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
The two teams had an electric first period, with four goals being scored between the two. Seattle was on the board first with a goal from center Yanni Gourde, but less than 30 seconds later, Carolina tied the game up. Right wing Jesper Fast scored his first goal of the season off of a deflected shot from defenseman Jaccob Slavin and center Jordan Staal. With the game tied 1-1, it seemed like an open game for either team to win.
The Kraken struck two more times before the buzzer ended the first period. One of these goals came from a Seattle power play, which is rare when playing the Canes. Out of the four power plays the Kraken had, they scored on two of them.
The Canes were behind 3-1 entering the second period, and the Kraken’s lead soon increased. The second power play goal for the Kraken came in the second frame, with defenseman Vince Dunn scoring his first of the season while the Canes were down a man on the ice, which brought the score to 4-1.
After pulling goaltender Antti Raanta out during the second frame, goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov came in for the Canes. It was a tough night for the netminders; Raana and Kochetkov finished with .778 and .882 save percentages, respectively.
The third and final period was a real offensive show — the battling teams scored six goals between the two. Carolina struck first off of back-to-back goals from center teammates Seth Jarvis and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. By the time five minutes had passed in the third frame, the Canes closed the gap to 4-3, but this didn’t last long. Seattle scored back-to-back goals of their own, denying Carolina the chance for a comeback win.
Jarvis scored one more time throughout the frame, but the Kraken matched with a goal from their bench — bringing the final score to 7-4.
With two more games left in the West coast road trip, Carolina will look to finish its trip out strong. The team’s next game is against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, Oct. 21, and puck drop is set for 9 p.m. EST.
