The NHL’s newest team stepped on the ice for the first time in its history on Tuesday night, and while the Kraken didn’t roll away the winners, they made history nonetheless.
In a battle between the league’s two newest franchises, the older kids – the Golden Knights – won 4-3. While Seattle came out with a jump and got an early chance from Jordan Eberle ringing the pipe and a power play opportunity, it was Vegas cashing in early. The Golden Knights scored two goals in the first seven minutes – one from Max Pacioretty and one from Jonathan Marchessault – before adding a third in under seven minutes in midfield.
But then the octopuses were unleashed (sorry, not sorry).
Ryan Donato scored the first goal from above in franchise history. Then 72 seconds later, it was Jared McCann with the mark. McCann was one of three players initially believed to be out of the game earlier in the day due to COVID logs but cleared before warming up. (Joonas Donskoi and Jamie Oleksiak, who was credited with the first penalty kick in the history of the franchise, were the other two).
MEET THE OCTOPUS: Compete with the squad, open games
Morgan Geekie caught it in the third third with an absolute snipe from the right circle. The proverbial “new game” was short-lived, however, as Colin Stephenson of Vegas deflected the puck 35 seconds later with his skate for the game winner.
While the Kraken’s first game is also the Kraken’s first defeat, the comeback has shown that this is a team that shouldn’t be taken lightly. They entered the game without much pressure to do too much this season, regardless of what the Golden Knights did in their inaugural 2017/18 season when the club won the Pacific Division and went all the way to the Stanley Cup final.
Sporting News had all the action when the Kraken hit the ice for the first time in the regular season (all times east).
Kraken vs. Golden Knights Results, Highlights
Final: Golden Knights 4, Kraken 3
12:52 pm – Game over.
12:38 pm – Fleury with a chance and at the whistle Stone is called to stumble. It’s a 4-on-3 as there were random minors for Larsson and Stephenson.
12:30 p.m. – GATE … may be. 35 seconds after Seattle lost the puck, Mark Stone fed the puck to Colin Stephenson, who let the puck go off his skate. He angles his skate, but does he kick? It’s checked and a good target. Vegas leads 4-3.
12:26 p.m. – FINISH. And we’re all tied up. Morgan Geekie with an absolute snipe from the right circle. 3-3 tied.
12:18 pm – Kraken approaches, but there is a rapid whistle even though the puck is loose.
12:15 pm – Third period is running. Can the Kraken end the comeback?
Second section: Golden Knights 3, Kraken 2
11:55 pm – The period is coming to an end.
11:45 p.m. – FINISH. Here comes the octopus. Jared McCann with the centering pass and he passes Lehner (this was originally attributed to Eberle). Seattle with two goals 72 seconds apart. Vegas leads 3-2.
11:40 p.m. – FINISH. RYAN DONATO HAS THE FIRST KRAKEN DESTINATION IN FRANCHISE HISTORY. The puck hits a body in front and jumps to Donato, who buries him with Lehner out of position. Vegas leads 3-1.
11:40 pm – Back to uniform strength.
11:36 pm – Zach Whitecloud gets two and the Kraken goes to power play.
11:31 p.m. – FINISH. Another pass to the Highman, this time defender Nicolas Hague, and he tears a wrist shot against the grain. Update: This was credited to Pacioretty. Vegas leads 3-0.
11:29 pm – Vegas’ power play problems continue into the 2021-22 season.
11:26 pm – Just 11 seconds after the Schwartz sentence has expired, Seattle is being called for too many men.
11:22 pm – Jaden Schwartz called out to stumble.
11:21 pm – The second period begins.
First period: Golden Knights 2, Kraken 0
11:05 pm – Kraken lost 2-0, but according to the Natural Stat Trick, it wasn’t that bad in the first third. They have a Corsi-For percentage of 62.16 compared to 37.84 for the Golden Knights and led 23-14 on shot attempts. Vegas led in the scoring Chances For (9-7) and High-Danger Chances For (2-1).
11:02 pm – The first period is coming to an end. Seattle overtook Vegas 9-6 but are 2-0 behind.
10:52 pm – Brandon Tanev gets a runaway chance while understaffed, but after watching the game 14 times it looks like Lehner’s punch will knock the puck away from him at the last second.
10:50 pm – Congratulations. Jamie Oleksiak: You are the first player in Kraken history to receive a penalty (two for tripping).
10:35 p.m. – FINISH. Gosh, Jonathan Marchessault. Remaining alone in the slot, he deket Grubauer and pushes the puck from the goal line into the goal. Vegas leads 2-0.
10:30 p.m. – FINISH. If the strength is even, Vegas enters the zone with a 3-on-2 and Mark Stone finds the high-nan Max Pacioretty. The Connecticut native easily beats a sliding Philipp Grubauer. Vegas leads 1-0.
10:29 pm – Mark Giordano with a chance when he falls off the right point.
10:26 pm – Well, my goodness; the octopuses are already cracking. When Jordan Eberle tries to jump, he hits the bar. And then the team gets its first power play.
10:26 pm – The puck fell. Welcome to the NHL, Seattle.
foreplay
10:24 pm – The Vegas pregame show is still up to date.
9:43 pm – Special night. Special pucks.
9:42 pm – Almost game time.
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Which channel is Kraken vs. Golden Knights on?
- Date: Tue., Oct. 12
- Time: 10 p.m. ET
- TV channel : ESPN (USA) | SN, TVAS (Canada)
- current : ESPN + (USA) | fuboTV | NOW SN (Canada)
MORE: How to Watch TNT and ESPN Games | Meet the ESPN crew
