In Vancouver, the Canucks took a 2-0 lead on the Seattle Kraken in the opening stanza on Tuesday, and then surrendered five unanswered goals in a 5-2 loss.
“That’s a character win down the stretch here when there’s not many games left and two points mean that much more,” said Kraken forward Brandon Tanev. “A lot of guys playing some tough minutes for us, especially on a back to back and everybody got going, and it’s a huge two points for our group.”
Martin Jones made 16 saves in the win.
The Kraken improved to 43-26-8.
“It doesn’t really matter,” Kraken forward Yanni Gourde said of falling behind. “Sixty-minute game. You play the right way, eventually things are going to turn. I didn’t think we had a very good start, but we weren’t that bad either, and then when we started playing a little bit faster on the forecheck, recovering pucks, those little plays, we look better and we look faster. And we’re a talented team and we can score.”
Seattle is five points clear of the Winnipeg Jets for the first wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Elias Pettersson and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Canucks to get them to the 2-0 lead in the first.
“Our last three or four games, we haven’t played a good 60 minutes of hockey the way we’ve been playing the previous 10 or 12 games,” Pettersson said, “It just feels disconnected. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve got to be better, everyone’s got to be better. We’ve just got to demand more of ourselves.”
Vancouver dropped to 34-36-7off their fourth straight loss.
Yanni Gourde scored in the first period to start the Kraken offense up, and trim the deficit to 2-1.
Tanev tied in the middle frame with a goal.
“You’re out there to do a job and block shots and get the kill, and when you have those opportunities to get a short-handed goal like that, you want to bear down and put it away,” Tanev said.
Jordan Eberle scored to give the Kraken a 3-2 midway through the second period.
Jaden Schwartz t extended the advantage to 4-2 off the power play.
“The 5-on-3 kill, we get it done, and then end up finding a shorty to tie the game up,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “Really kind of energized the bench.”
Matty Beniers scored a shorthanded goal in the third period for the 5-2 final.
“His 200-hundred-foot play is exceptional for such a young guy,” Eberle said. “I know he wants to be a 200-foot player and that’s not things you hear really too much from a 20-year-old centerman, so he’s wise beyond his years.”
Collin Delia made 23 saves in the loss.
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