Three Takeaways – Schwartz, Dunn lead shocking Kraken comeback win over Canucks

Well, that was fun! The Seattle Kraken did the unthinkable Saturday, rallying back from a 4-1 deficit with under five minutes left in the third period to win 5-4 in overtime against the Vancouver Canucks.

The unlikely victory marked the first time in franchise history that Seattle has come back from three goals down in the third period. It also snapped a five-game skid, avoiding a tie with the franchise’s worst-ever losing streak (two six-game streaks in its inaugural season). This was only the third time in NHL history that a team has rallied from three goals down with under five minutes left in regulation to win.

Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz each scored two goals for Seattle, with Dunn’s second marker serving as the overtime winner. Meanwhile, Matty Beniers got the proverbial monkey off his back with a lucky goal early in the second period.

“You saw it, it was not the cleanest game,” coach Dan Bylsma said. “The turning point for me was our power play having opportunities and not capitalizing [in the second period], and then [Conor Garland] getting the goal right out of the box… We had to respond.”

Respond, they did.

Here are Three Takeaways from a shocking 5-4 Kraken overtime win against the Canucks.

Takeaway #1: What a comeback!

A personal anecdote, due to family obligations, I didn’t get to watch this game live. When that happens, I always try to avoid learning the outcome because it’s just more fun to watch later without spoilers. Avoiding the final score in today’s world is a challenge, but on this night, I successfully stayed in the dark.

Lying in bed late Saturday night, I watched the Canucks snag a 4-1 lead at 3:09 of the third period. At that point, I strongly considered shutting it down and hitting the hay. I could fast-forward to the end or just check the final score—because this game was over.

Seattle caught a lucky break, though—one of many in the contest—just 20 seconds after Jake DeBrusk scored to make it 4-1. It appeared Dakota Joshua had scored again to extend the lead to 5-1, but video review overturned it, showing Joshua had played the puck with his hand. That kept the climb at three goals.

Even so, it still felt like Seattle was headed home with a whimper. For the next 12 minutes of the game, that feeling didn’t change.

The Kraken caught another lucky break at 15:15 of the third period when Jaden Schwartz banked a shot from below the goal line in off Thatcher Demko, cutting Vancouver’s lead to two goals.

For more than two minutes after Schwartz’s goal, though, Seattle struggled to establish anything offensively. With Philipp Grubauer pulled for an extra attacker, Kaapo Kakko and Daniel Sprong pressured Noah Juulsen and Carson Soucy into a horrendous turnover right onto Dunn’s stick. Suddenly, it was a one-goal game.

Surely, the comeback would end there, right?

Just 22 seconds later, Dunn followed a dump-in from the red line, and Brandon Montour attacked hard from the other side. With both Seattle defensemen below the offensive goal line, Oliver Bjorkstrand forced Pius Suter to cough the puck up to Schwartz. Schwartz drove to the net and got his own rebound to tie the game with 50 seconds left, marking his 500th NHL point.

“I think they definitely felt the pressure when we just kept coming after them, wave after wave, line after line,” Dunn said. “There wasn’t really any systematic things that we changed at all. It’s just finally committing to each other and playing the right way.”

“There was no quit in the guys,” Bylsma said. “We were looking pretty dismal at 5-1 and get the no-goal on the glove-in. And I thought we used that as a little bit of a wake-up call to put our best forward for the last bit of the game there.”

I’m so glad I didn’t know the outcome beforehand or give up and look up the final score. This comeback was something special.

Takeaway #2: Tyler Myers hands over the win

Kraken fans aren’t shy about their disdain for the 6-foot-8, 229-pound Tyler Myers, who infamously concussed Beniers with a needless cheap shot during the 2022-23 season.

So, it was extra sweet to see Myers essentially hand the game to Seattle in overtime Saturday.

Leading a clear-cut 3-on-1 with forward Shane Wright as the only player back for the Kraken, Myers inexplicably attempted a spin move in the left circle. He blindly passed the puck between Brock Boeser and JT Miller, straight to Dunn, who was trailing behind the play.

Dunn scooped it up, turned, and raced up the ice on a breakaway. He didn’t do too much with it, making a simple juke and then tucking the puck under Demko’s arm for the unthinkable game-winning goal.

“Honestly, it was kind of a blackout. I don’t think I’ve ever had a breakaway in my life,” Dunn said. “I saw Chandler [Stephenson] behind me, and I’m like, ‘Oh, maybe this is going to be a little easier if I just drop it to him.’ And then he said, ‘It’s all you!,’ so then the pressure was on me. And I beat the goalie in the spot as earlier.”

Seattle deserves credit for not quitting despite trailing by three so late in the game. Still, the Kraken benefitted from plenty of breaks, including the overturned 5-1 goal, costly turnovers by Vancouver, missed empty-net chances, and Myers’ overtime gaffe.

Regardless of how it unfolded, the Kraken and their fans were happy to have the last laugh at Myers’ expense in this one.

Takeaway #3: Finally, some good feelings

Whether this leads to any positive momentum remains to be seen. The stretch before the holiday break was dreadful for the Kraken and may have already sealed their playoff fate.

Still, this unthinkable comeback against the Canucks offers at least a glimmer of hope.

“The way we came back, the way time was dwindling down, the effort should build a lot of confidence in the guys for being able to come back and being able to win a hockey game,” Bylsma said.

The group desperately needed some positivity, and they found it with this shocking 5-4 overtime win over a close rival. Now, the question is: Can the Kraken build off this performance?