Lightning hand Kraken 5-1 loss, snapping Seattle's three-game point streak

Kate Shefte, The Seattle Times on Dec 15, 2024

Published in Hockey

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SEATTLE — Lightning 5, Kraken 1 at Climate Pledge Arena

Notable: Defenseman Brandon Montour scored a power-play goal 4:24 into the game, making this one seem like it would go differently for the Kraken. A three-game point streak ended for the home team on Saturday night.

The Lightning built a 3-1 lead on two dexterous deflections that eluded Philipp Grubauer (26 saves). First Brandon Hagel deflected one in just inside the goalpost to tie the game. On a third-period Tampa Bay power play, Jake Guentzel batted a puck into the net from short range, safely below the crossbar. In between, Brayden Point just beat an attempted clear from Matty Beniers, chipping the puck backward instead. It surprised Grubauer and beat him five-hole.

The Kraken almost capitalized on a lucky bounce off the glass, the puck barely still in play, that landed right beside oblivious Lightning goaltender Jonas Johansson. Winger Eeli Tolvanen got three whacks at it into Johansson’s pads, then sent the last one wide. Tolvanen’s body language told the story as he climbed back over the bench.

Grubauer was summoned for the extra attacker with about four minutes to go in regulation and Hagel added an empty-netter. The Lightning scored a garbage-time goal with 22 seconds left.

Player of the game: Guentzel (one goal, one assist)

Goal of the game: Hagel’s first, and the Lightning’s first, would have required pure, dumb luck to stop. It tied a game that had been controlled by the Kraken to that point.

On tap: A four-game homestand ends Tuesday with a game against the Ottawa Senators (15-13-2). The Kraken will finish out their slate before the Christmas break on the road.