Kraken do it again, series vs Stars will require Game 7
The Seattle Kraken came into Game 6 against the Dallas Stars facing elimination. In need of a win, the NHL’s youngest franchise came through with a big performance.
Seattle scored the first goal of the game, something that was important for them to do in Game 6. Unfortunately for the Kraken, that lead lasted all of 30 seconds before the Stars scored a goal of their own. A much-needed power play goal gave the home team a 2-1 lead after the first period.
Period two yielded another 2-1 Seattle advantage, so it took a 4-2 lead into the final frame. Once again, the two teams swapped quick goals, but Jordan Eberle‘s second goal of the game (via an empty net) gave the Kraken the cushion they needed.
The 6-3 victory secured a trip back to American Airlines Center in Dallas for Game 7. This will be the second time this postseason that the Kraken have gone the distance in a series.
The Kraken won in Game 6 to force a winner-take-all series finale.
Seattle checked two critically important boxes by scoring first and getting a goal on the power play. The only thing missing from its effort in Game 6 was a strong game from Philipp Grubauer. Through six games, he has only posted a save percentage of .900 or better once.
Grubauer may not have been great, but he was easily the better goaltender in this one. Stars netminder Jake Oettinger has also struggled in this series, and he was pulled in Game 6 after allowing four goals on 18 shots. It was the second time he has been pulled in the series.
Both goaltenders will be watched intently in Game 7, but the clear story in this series is the offense. Eberle and Eeli Tolvanen each had three points in Game 6, while Matty Beniers and Yanni Gourde each added two points.
Game 6 marked the fourth game in this series in which the Kraken and Stars combined to score nine goals. It’s probably safe to assume that either team will need at least four goals if they want to win Game 7 and advance to the Western Conference Final.
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The final game between Seattle and Dallas will be on Monday, May 15 at 8:00 PM. All of the action can be seen on ESPN.