Stripped of Hat Trick, Jared McCann Leads Kraken to Wild 5-1 Win vs. Capitals
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="6615"]
Seattle Kraken left wing Jared McCann (19) celebrates with center Matty Beniers (10) after scoring a goal against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash. - Long after the hats were picked up off the ice to celebrate Jared McCann’s third goal for the Seattle Kraken early in the third period at Climate Pledge Arena against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, the officials were still reviewing the play.
McCann appeared to score after slipping into a breakaway following a massive save along the goal line from Philipp Grubauer to extend Seattle’s lead to 4-0 at 1:27 of the third period, but almost an entire minute prior to the goal, Matty Beniers caught Capitals forward Justin Sourdif with a high stick.
After the lengthy review, the goal was taken off the board, and Seattle was hit with a four-minute penalty kill for Beniers’ double-minor. The linesman can signal the penalty but cannot blow the play dead, and since play continued on, there was a delay in the call, which was pushed even longer due to the time it took for officials to confirm that the penalty indeed transpired.
Despite the odd turn of events, McCann — who never received an explanation for why the goal was taken away until after the game — said the attitude on the bench never wavered.
“The mindset on the bench was positive,” McCann said. “We kept going. We kept pushing. That was the plan, just stay level-headed and keep going.”
Alex Ovechkin scored on the ensuing power play to cut the score to 3-1 at 2:30, his 918th career goal to extend his NHL record, but the Kraken killed off the other minor before scoring two more goals (and a third that was also wiped off the board due to goalie interference) to come away with a wild 5-1 victory when all was said and done.
“I didn’t know that was an option, (I’ve) never seen that,” Kraken captain Jordan Eberle said about the overturned McCann goal. “Obviously, massive momentum swing. You get the fourth (goal) and kind of put them away, and they take it away and give you a four-minute penalty.
“I like the way– even though they got one, the way that we stood in there. It was a bit of adversity in the match that I felt like we had our grasp on most of the night. And you face adversity, whether it’s momentum shifts in games or whatever it is, we’ve had a ton. This group, we’ve gone through a lot, so we got to keep going.”
While he did not get the hat trick, McCann finished with two goals and two assists, and his linemates Beniers and Eberle each finished with a goal and an assist.
Eberle’s goal was a rebound of McCann’s shot off the post at 17:54 of the second period, which would have given the latter a natural hat trick if the initial shot went in, and while Beniers’ high stick took away another hat trick opportunity, McCann held no hard feelings.
“Those guys are the reason I’ve had success this year,” McCann said. “So I just feel bad for people that threw their hats on the ice. Maybe they’ll refund or something, who knows?”
Before the barrage of goals, the Kraken outshot the Capitals 13-4 in a scoreless first period, setting the tone for what was to come.
“I thought (the start) was great,” Beniers said. (...) I thought we’ve really been on our toes. We’ve been skating really hard, working together as a five-man unit, and getting pucks in, getting on our forecheck. Just establishing play down in their zone. It’s huge for us.”
Brandon Montour drew a high-sticking penalty with 30 seconds left the first period, which set the Kraken up with a 90-second power-play opportunity to begin the second. It took 1:15 for them to cash in, with Eberle finding McCann for a one-timer through the slot.
“Those power plays at the start of periods are huge,” Eberle said. “They’re momentum-shifters, for sure. You’re not necessarily going to score all the time, but you try to create energy and momentum as much as you can.”
The Capitals threatened to level things on a power play opportunity of their own approaching the 10-minute mark of the second period, with Grubauer freezing the puck in the crease to keep Dylan Strome and Jakob Chychrun at bay at 8:52 before Jamie Oleksiak and Eeli Tolvanen blocked shots to help complete the kill.
Moments later at even strength, McCann positioned himself at the right post, where he slammed a rebound from a Beniers shot to score his second goal of the night at 10:09.
“I thought we were good (on the penalty kill,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. “I thought we stood up at the line. I thought our structure was good. We did a real good job of taking away seams, which is something that I think we’re doing– well I know we’re doing a better job of since the beginning of the year.”
After Eberle pushed it to 3-0 and Seattle’s potential 4-0 lead was quickly swung into a 3-1 scoreline following the double-minor, the Kraken penalty kill staved off two more penalties down the stretch.
Ryker Evans regained control for Seattle at 13:12 banking the puck off Tom Wilson’s skate and into the net to extend the lead to 4-1, and Beniers followed up to make it 5-1 at 16:27. Ryan Winterton appeared to push it to 6-1 at 16:54, but it was overturned for goalie interference.
In case that wasn’t enough, bruiser Jacob Melanson dropped the gloves with Brandon Duhaime at 18:43 after the two tangled up in a shoving match, sending an already-ramped up Climate Pledge Arena crowd into a bigger frenzy.
After a brutal showing in a 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, the Kraken have bounced back with two straight decisive wins against Eastern Conference opponents.
“I think our guys have done a real good job overall, throughout the whole year, of trying to play in order to win and stick to our identity,” Lambert said. “At times, we get a little bit away from it, maybe. But you know, give them all the credit after the Anaheim game to come back here with these two games, and we have to keep going.”
After Tuesday’s performance, the Kraken fans at Climate Pledge would tip their hats.
If they still had them.
