NEWARK, N.J. — By the time Oliver Bjorkstrand flipped the puck off the cross bar in the second period with an open net staring him in the face, it was easy to start believing his Kraken team might never score again.
Even when Adam Larsson finally did halt a Kraken scoring drought of nearly five periods with just under six minutes to go in Thursday’s middle frame, it was clear that defense and goaltending was again going to key any chance at victory. While the defense and Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer were at their even-strength finest throughout, they couldn’t prevent what became a 3-1 loss because of a pair of power-play goals by New Jersey Devils star defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
It was Hamilton’s second of the night, on a one-timed slapper from the point with Yanni Gourde in the box midway through the third period that proved the difference. Earlier on, Hamilton had tied the game just 24 seconds after Larsson’s goal had given the Kraken a 1-0 lead. The Devils scored the final goal on an empty net.
