SEATTLE — Among numerous changes to the gameday presentation at Climate Pledge Arena before Saturday night’s Seattle Kraken home opener was a team pledge that fans attending would be treated to a fresh array of off-ice giveaways.
Unfortunately, the Kraken players took that commitment a little too literally just 12 seconds in when Yanni Gourde coughed up a puck and one-time Seattle Thunderbirds junior prospect Keagan Kolesar buried it soon after behind goaltender Martin Jones. Three minutes later, a missed clearance on a penalty kill led to another odd-man rush and goal that put the Kraken on their heels the remainder of a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Having scored four goals in each of their first two contests to take three of four road points against Anaheim and Los Angeles, the Kraken struggled to generate quality chances in this one. They finally broke through with about six minutes to play in the game when defenseman Justin Schultz took a pass on-the-fly and beat goalie Aidn Hill with a close-range snapper at a time his team trailed by five.
