*Photo from Yahoo Sports*
Series tied 3-3
This series is going the whole distance. Eeli Tolvanen had a goal and two assists, Jordan Eberle scored twice and had an assist, and the Seattle Kraken beat the Dallas Stars with a 6-3 victory on Saturday night in Seattle.
Needing to win to keep their season alive, the Kraken did just that, forcing the decisive game 7 in the series. Tolvanen and Eberle each had 3 point games, while Yanni Gourde and Matty Beniers each had a goal and an assist.
Gourde said after the game that "It's a Game 7, who knows what's going to happen? But we're giving ourselves a chance and we're excited about the challenge. We've got to think about the first few shifts and don't look too far ahead. So, you've just got to focus on the moment, be present and do the right things over and over, and eventually good things will happen."
It was Gourde who started the scoring, making it 1-0 Kraken with his 4th goal of the playoffs. 31 seconds later, Mason Marchment scored the tying goal, making it 1-1 and getting the Stars on the board. Eberle scored a power play goal at the 16:46 mark of the first, assisted by Tolvanen and Jared McCann to make it 2-1 Kraken after one period.
Tolvanen scored just 1:34 into the second period, pushing the Kraken lead to 3-1 with Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand assisting. Tye Kartye then provided his 3rd goal of the playoffs, giving the Kraken a 4-1 lead. Joe Pavelski then scored on the power play for the Stars, making it a 4-2 game after two periods.
Beniers broke the ice in the 3rd period, making the Kraken lead 5-2 with assists from Eberle and Jaden Schwartz. Joel Kiviranta scored 15 seconds later for the Stars, cutting the deficit to 5-3 with his first goal of the playoffs. Eberle then scored his second goal of the night to seal the win, scoring on an empty net.
Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol said of the win that "We knew what was on the line. Those guys, as a staff, we didn't have to say a whole lot. We went through some specific preparation but very simple preparation. We just felt like right from the get-go this morning, our guys had a good focus. They were relaxed overall, and that formula has led to pretty intense starts for us and it did tonight."
It was once again Philipp Grubauer getting the start for the Kraken, improving to 7-6 this postseason with a win. Grubauer stopped 20 of the 23 shots the Stars sent at him, giving him a .870 save percentage on the day.
Getting the start for the Stars was Jake Oettinger, who got hit early and often by the Kraken. Oettinger made 14 saves on 18 Seattle shots, being lifted in the second period after Kartye's goal. Scott Wedgewood came on in relief and made 9 saves on 10 shots.
Stars head coach Pete Deboer said that "We knew they were going to come out fast. Just didn't help ourselves, turned pucks over. When the other team's hungry like that in an elimination game and you're on the road, you've got to at least be the smarter team with the puck. I thought we compounded our mistakes and fed their energy in the first period. Having said that, tough time of year to beat any team three games in a row."
Up next, the deciding game 7 of the series is on Monday night in Dallas. Both teams will try to punch their ticket to the western conference final, with the loser seeing their season end.
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