SEATTLE — Joey Daccord made 32 saves as the Kraken fell behind by three goals Sunday night, then tried to fight their way back.
Two lengthy reviews dragged out the first period. The Kraken’s first goal was called back. Seattle winger Jaden Schwartz shoveled linemate Matty Beniers’ rebound backward over the goal line. In the process, Schwartz bumped Calgary goaltender Dan Vladar (29 saves) in the blue paint, and the goalie’s stick was in Schwartz’s skates. The Flames bench successfully challenged the power-play goal.
Seattle gave up the first official goal to Morgan Frost, then winger Jared McCann took issue with a legal hit on teammate Andre Burakovsky between the benches. McCann dived on top of Calgary defenseman Brayden Pachal, then went off to the penalty boxes to ice his knuckles. His double minor for roughing had convoluted consequences.
Pachal earned a single, minor penalty to McCann’s double, so Calgary was on the power play. Flames center Yegor Sharangovich went in alone and had the puck roll off his stick blade. Still, the puck slowly slid under Daccord’s outstretched stick, lifted just enough by Sharangovich, and kept going between the Kraken goalie’s legs. The goal light came on and the Seattle bench, emboldened by the earlier decision, readied for a challenge of its own.
Seattle defenseman Jamie Oleksiak had slashed Sharangovich as he crashed the net, yet somehow Oleksiak’s penalty wasn’t waved off. That’s because the Kraken were still killing McCann’s double minor and McCann’s penalty was the one that the Calgary goal canceled out.
So Seattle’s challenge for goaltender interference, for the lift on Daccord’s stick, was a risky one. If the call went against them, the bench would be hit with a minor penalty for delay of game to pair with Oleksiak’s slashing call and Calgary would have a two-minute five-on-three.
There was some uneven officiating throughout the game, but this time, it was outside Seattle’s jurisdiction. The league viewed Sharangovich’s and Schwartz’s goals differently. In the official explanation, Sharangovich’s stick-on-stick contact was described as a continuation, an attempt to play a loose puck, so it did not constitute interference. Calgary scored 1:13 into the two-man advantage and Seattle was down 3-0 before the end of the first period, which it never recovered from.
Seattle’s Kaapo Kakko got one back late in the second period, when defenseman Josh Mahura stretched out to tap the puck forward and create a 2-on-1 for his teammates. Schwartz fed Kakko, who made it 3-1.
Brandon Tanev scored six minutes into the third period to close Seattle’s deficit to one. He drifted toward the net after a faceoff and the puck bounced off him and in. McCann and Shane Wright picked up assists.
“Both of the refs told me that it was probably a goal. But it was out of their hands, and the people from Toronto called it. Not sure what they were watching. I think it was a bad call. He put his stick in my skates … just a tough break.” — Kraken winger Jaden Schwartz on his disallowed goal.
Goal of the game: Sharangovich’s first-period goal was hotly debated and therefore the most memorable. That goal wasn’t the game-winner, but it directly influenced it.
Player of the game: Sharangovich (one goal, one assist)
On tap: Seattle hosts the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. Three games remain until the break for the 4 Nations Face-off.
Kakko is set to represent Finland in the tournament, which begins Feb. 12. He’s the only Kraken player who was selected to attend.
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