Panthers Defeat Kraken in 2-1 Shootout Victory – Hockey Writers – Florida Panthers

On December 10, the Seattle Kraken host the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. While the two teams were in a fierce competition throughout the night, it was the Panthers who ended up going home with a 2-1 victory.

Recap of the game

The first step of the game went to the Panthers, but not in a good way. Tomas Nosek was sent to the penalty box with seven minutes to go for a tackle on Mitchell Stephens. The Panthers were able to kill the penalty and play resumed at full strength. Soon after, the Kraken got a penalty. This time, Shane Wright got a two-minute lead through Sam Bennett's trip 12 minutes into the first half. After two minutes of Florida with an extra attacker and no goal, Kraken successfully killed the penalty.

With just four minutes left in the period, the Kraken kicked it off with a goal. Aided by Yanni Gourde and Jared McCann, Chandler Stephenson had an impressive split. Taking out two Panthers who hit him on the sidelines, Stephenson was able to send the puck behind the net and put the Kraken up as the clock ticked down.

Everything that happened in the second half happened in the last three minutes. Anton Lundell earned a penalty for fouling Gourde. The penalty ended, the Panthers came back strong. With a minute and a second left on the clock, Aleksander Barkov scored a goal. Sam Reinhart had control of the puck. Seeing Barkov alone in the faceoff circle, Reinhart passed to him, leading to the tying goal. When the time was up, the score was 1-1 in the third, the pressure was there on both teams.

Four minutes into the final period, Jamie Oleksiak was sent to the penalty box after tripping Dmitry Kulikov. The Panthers couldn't capitalize on the extra man. Immediately after the power play, the Panthers were sent back to the box. And it was Nosek, this time interrupting Wright. The Panthers were able to successfully kill the power play as well.

Midway through the third period, Yanni Gourde left the game. It was announced that he would not be returning, due to a low health concern. At the end of the third period, the scores were tied at 1-1. Each team picked up a point, then went into overtime.

While Wright and Bjorkstrand had excellent chances in OT, the two teams remained scoreless leading to a shootout.

Eeli Tolvanen shot first at the Kraken, but his shot went too high. Barkov fired first for the Panthers. His shot landed in the net, leading to the first goal. Bjorkstrand was on the sidelines for the Kraken, his shot blocked by Sergei Bobrovsky. With the game resting on Sam Reinhart's shoulders, he slid over to Joey Daccord. By tricking the goalie, Reinhart was able to put the puck in the back of the net and win the game for the Panthers.

Next Games

The Panthers look to continue their winning streak when they face the Vancouver Canucks on December 12. The Kraken will continue their home game, hoping to pick up two points when they host the Boston Bruins on the same day.