It was a full-service shift for winger Andre Burakovsky. He drew a tripping call, brushed the slush off his knees, stayed on for the ensuing power play and scored to briefly get the Seattle Kraken back in the game Monday night.
Just 18 seconds later, however, the two-goal cushion was back and the Carolina Hurricanes cruised to a 5-1 victory at Climate Pledge Arena.
A quick pair of penalties to Seattle winger Jordan Eberle with 27 seconds of peace in between gave the Hurricanes a chance to grow their lead before Burakovsky briefly cut into it.
“Our PP gave us an opportunity again. There were stretches of this game where, under pressure, we were able to get through that pressure and generate some [offensive] zone time,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “Not enough of it, but there was some of it.”
Philipp Grubauer earned the start in goal for the Kraken (1-2-1) and faced 11 shots in the first period. He was pressed against the post but left enough room for former Portland Winterhawks (WHL) star Seth Jarvis to make it 1-0 Hurricanes.
Grubauer shut down a Carolina short-handed 2-on-1, the result of a blocked shot at the point. Still on the power play, Yanni Gourde found himself alone in front of Frederik Andersen at the other end but swung the puck directly into the Hurricanes goaltender’s pads.
After the period break, Brandon Tanev was knocked over the goal line and made himself useful there, registering one unofficial save while Grubauer was on the other side of the crease.
It was a well-executed only Kraken goal. Jared McCann tapped it to Eberle, who sent a pass across the ice and onto the waiting stick of Burakovsky, who tucked it between Andersen’s glove and leg pad. That gave the Kraken a man-advantage goal in all four games of the season, and Burakovsky sole possession of the team scoring lead (2 goals, 3 assists). Seattle center Matty Beniers failed to register a point for the second time in his 14-game NHL career.
“We’ve got to find a way to bounce back earlier,” Burakovsky said. “We’ve got to fight back and find a way to score more goals. Right now I think we’re not scoring nearly enough goals.”
On the next shift, the Hurricanes tapped the puck around the crease, making Grubauer (29 saves) dart from side to side until Andrei Svechnikov put it up and over the goalie. Svechnikov also made it 4-1 just 1:10 later.
“They got everything through our layers,” McCann said. “We’ve got to do a better job blocking shots as wingers, and helping our D out.”
Jordan Martinook scored the final Hurricanes goal and the only one of the third period.
There was an easy, no-look pass off the boards between Hurricanes players that was exactly the type of play that burns the Kraken when they attempt it.
“We throw a puck to the middle of the ice and it’s coming back down our throats,” Hakstol said. “That’s something we’ve got to clean up and that’s gotta be cleaned up now.”
The Hurricanes core has been playing together quite a while. The difference between that group and the Kraken’s, which has been playing together just over one season at most, was stark at points Monday.
“We’re four games in and this is still a new team, a lot of new guys,” Burakovsky said. “I think it’s up to every single individual to be at their best.”
In his second regular-season game, 18-year-old, 2022 first-rounder Shane Wright registered a team-low 6:50 of ice time. He saw an uptick in the third period but still hasn’t played seven minutes. He was scratched the past two games.
“That’s the way the flow of the game went,” Hakstol said. “That’s partly the special teams and partly the flow of the game.”