Kraken fall to lowly Sharks 3-1 in final home game of season

After one last night of anemic offense, the curtain went down on the Kraken’s third season at Climate Pledge Arena.

In the Kraken’s final home game of the 2023-24 campaign, players took turns saluting their fans on the jumbotrons while losing to the San Jose Sharks, who sport the worst record in the NHL. Seattle fell 3-1, unable to recover from two quick second-period goals on Thursday night.

As has happened many times since mid-October, Seattle’s chances refused to go. Their 2.63 goals per game is tied for fourth worst in the league. Not helping the cause was Sharks goaltender Devin Cooley, who stopped an eye-popping 49 shots.

“Obviously you want to end the season on a winning note at home. For the most part, it was a pretty good effort,” alternate captain Jaden Schwartz said. “We carried a lot of the play, just didn’t find ways to finish.”

Two of San Jose’s 19 wins through 79 games this season came against Seattle. Only one other team, the St. Louis Blues, has multiple losses at the hands of the Sharks this season.

There were a combined 31 shots on goal in the first period, 20 of which were from the Kraken, but just two goals. The teams traded them 90 seconds apart midway through. San Jose’s Luke Kunin tipped a blast from the point past goaltender Joey Daccord, then Seattle defenseman Brian Dumoulin leaned way into a wrist shot on the right faceoff dot.

Off-balance, Dumoulin went flying when his foot caught Sharks center Thomas Bordeleau’s, sliding across the slot before hopping up and accepting hugs from his teammates. That marked a career-high six goals for Dumoulin, an 11-year NHL veteran.

Kraken forwards Matty Beniers and Oliver Bjorkstrand whacked at the puck in the crease, but sliding Sharks goalie Cooley seemed to have sprouted a few more limbs. Those two forwards came close again midway through the second period, but still the game was tied at a goal apiece.

Until, that is, the Sharks had too much time and space to set up a cross-ice pass for a one-timer. The Kraken successfully defended the first wave of attack but were bunched up in front of Daccord when San Jose’s William Eklund fed teammate Kyle Burroughs.

Less than a minute later, they allowed San Jose’s Fabian Zetterlund to cut straight up the middle and knock another setup past Daccord (20 saves) to make it 3-1.

The Kraken threw 14 more second-period shots on Cooley while continuing to control play for long stretches. They couldn’t wiggle another one past the goal line.

“You’ve got Ebs in the second period with a wide-open net on a rebound,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “He’s done everything right, he just can’t corral [the puck]. It continues to roll on him.”

Top Kraken prospect Shane Wright got a step on his defender and went in on a short breakaway, drawing a penalty. The Kraken didn’t convert and 20-year-old Wright was held without a goal for just the second time during his five-game recall from the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds.

The Kraken pulled Daccord for an extra attacker with about three minutes to play, and there was an excruciating sequence during which two Sharks were hobbling around after painful shot blocks, doing the best they could to prevent a goal as play continued. The Kraken failed to score, and San Jose finally got a whistle so its wounded could head to the bench.

Hakstol was pleased with the power play and 6-on-5 chances. In the third period, however, the chances remained frequent but not as dangerous.

As the Kraken coach put it, you can always do more.

“There were pucks there. There were tips,” Schwartz agreed. “We made a couple mistakes there in the second and we’re down 3-1, chasing them a little bit.”

Seattle’s Jared McCann missed Tuesday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks with a lower-body injury, but he dropped back in for the home finale. He centered the fourth line with Ryan Winterton and Tye Kartye. Logan Morrison, elevated two weeks ago from Coachella Valley, was scratched to make room for him.

Morrison, Winterton and Wright, at least, will get to experience a playoff run this spring. They’ll soon be headed back to the Firebirds, the Kraken’s top affiliate, after a brief taste of NHL play and life.

“As a collective group, they’ve all shown significant progress,” Hakstol said. “Really good sense at this level, some poise. The experience of being here also allows them to assess, and us to assess, some of the areas we want them to grow in.”

The Kraken finished a stretch in which they feasted on the worst teams in the Western Conference — for the most part. They’ll close the season with a four-game road trip that begins Saturday in Dallas. It takes them through St. Louis, Winnipeg and Minnesota. Their long offseason begins the night of April 18.

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