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Three Takeaways – Fast start, new Beniers line help Kraken to 4-2 win over Hurricanes

Darren Brown

The vibes are great! This team is unstoppable! The Kraken may never lose again!

Forget about all the negative things I said on Saturday after the Seattle Kraken lost their third in a row and second in two days to the Sharks, because they bounced back Tuesday with a convincing 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in their barn.

“I think it takes a 60-minute effort to beat a Carolina team, something we haven’t done in this building [since] a long time ago,” head coach Dan Bylsma said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but just the battle and the compete all game long… Giving that team 16 shots in a game, five in the first, two in the second, that’s not something that happens very often.”

Here are Three Takeaways from the Kraken’s impressive win over the Hurricanes.

Takeaway #1: A rare early strike

As John Barr pointed out in Monday Musings, Seattle has been the worst team in the NHL this season at giving up the first goal, falling behind a staggering 68 percent of the time. But against the Hurricanes, Seattle came out firing and immediately got on the board on its first possession.

With speed through the neutral zone, Yanni Gourde made a simple pass to Jaden Schwartz as he crossed over the blue line. Schwartz executed a subtle yet brilliant one-touch pass to himself between defenders Jalen Chatfield and Dmitry Orlov, then used his speed to split through the two players. He chipped it past Pyotr Kochetkov, and just like that, the Kraken had liftoff.

“It was massive, I think,” said Bylsma. “We’ve talked a lot, we’re not happy with how we were playing, and we wanted to make it right. We wanted to make a difference, and when you step over the boards and you get a great play by one of your leaders to get off on a good note in the game, it was massive for the group.”

The Kraken gave up tying goals later in the first period and again in the third, but playing with the lead for a change was refreshing. Aside from fleeting moments when it appeared Seattle had fallen behind (more on that in Takeaway #2), the Kraken controlled the game throughout. The tone was set by Schwartz’s goal just 19 seconds in.

Takeaway #2: Goalie interference goes Seattle’s way

The hockey gods taketh away; the hockey gods giveth back. One game after the Kraken were denied a late Matty Beniers goal (which likely wouldn’t have changed the outcome of their 4-2 loss to the Sharks), they caught a break with a favorable goalie interference call against the Hurricanes.

Martin Necas had scored a power-play goal at 5:43 of the third to tie the game 2-2. A few minutes later, Jack Drury appeared to give the Hurricanes their first lead of the night with a goal from a bad angle.

To the naked eye, something seemed off, as Joey Daccord was way late moving to the correct post. Replay confirmed contact between Daccord and Eric Robinson, clearly impeding the goalie’s ability to make the save. Bylsma challenged and won, overturning the goal.

Initially, I worried the contact might have occurred just outside the crease, which could have led the Situation Room to uphold the goal. Fortunately, they made the right call, keeping the score tied and setting the stage for late-game heroics from the Kraken.

This was a pivotal moment, and Seattle seized the opportunity (more on that in Takeaway #3).

Takeaway #3: Is Schwartz/Beniers/Gourde a Thing?

One intriguing storyline entering the game was Bylsma’s decision to shake up his lines, even making Andre Burakovsky a healthy scratch for the first time since his arrival in Seattle in 2022.

The newly assembled trio of Jaden Schwartz, Matty Beniers, and Yanni Gourde turned heads, especially with Gourde moving from center to wing. But the experiment worked spectacularly, as the line dominated, controlling 96 percent of the shot quality during their 12:40 on ice together, per Natural Stat Trick.

Their most significant contribution came 46 seconds after the overturned Drury goal. On what looked like a broken zone entry, Beniers and Schwartz kept the play alive. Beniers poked the puck to Schwartz, who shoveled a pass toward the front of the net. Although Orlov deflected it, the puck landed perfectly for Gourde, who buried it at the far post.

It’s fascinating how line combinations can click unexpectedly. When I first saw this group, I didn’t think it made any sense. Now, I think Bylsma should stick with them forever and ever (or at least until Seattle’s next ugly three-game losing streak).

Bonus Takeaway: Impressive defense

Seattle’s defensive effort deserves recognition. Against a Carolina team known for high shot volume, the Kraken limited the Hurricanes to just 19 shots on goal. Bylsma noted 16 in his press conference, but the official count was 19—still an impressively low total.

Remarkably, the Hurricanes managed only two shots in the second period. With Seattle’s starting goalie having a few off nights recently, it’s encouraging to see the skaters step up and play suffocating defense in front of him. Even though Daccord again was not at his sharpest, the Kraken’s strong defensive performance made it a non-issue.

Darren Brown

Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.

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