Kraken’s 5 more goals on Dallas’ Oettinger spark 7-2 win in Game 3, 2-1 series lead

As the Kraken like to say, Dallas is In the Deep now.

Seattle began this second-round Stanley Cup playoffs series hearing how Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger, the 24-year-old stud from Dallas’ postseason run last year, was far superior to Alexandar Georgiev. He’s the Colorado Avalanche goalie the Kraken had just beaten over seven games of the previous series to advance.

Three games into this playoff series, the upstart Kraken are rewriting that Oettinger narrative.

They chased him to Dallas bench after five relentless goals in the second period Sunday night at roaring Climate Pledge Arena. True to their blue-collar, collective strength, five different Kraken players scored those five goals. Then, a sixth, by Yanni Gourde off Oettinger’s replacement Scott Wedgewood early in the third period.

That’s how Seattle glided to a 7-2 win in Game 3, alarming favored Dallas and the rest of the NHL that the Kraken are for real.

Justin Schultz’s fourth of the playoffs, a tip-in on the power play with 2 1/2 minutes left. finished Seattle’s scoring breakout Sunday.

“Absolutely electric,” Matty Beniers, one of the Kraken’s seven goal-scorers, said of the crowd Sunday night.

“That is definitely playoffs for you...You get one in your own building the crowd starts going nuts. ...

“We definitely capitalized on the momentum tonight.”

Seattle, a wild-card playoff entrant, leads the Stars two games to one in these best-of-seven conference semifinals. Game 4 is Tuesday at 6:50 p.m. back at Climate Pledge Arena.

Game 5 is Thursday in Dallas. That’s where the Kraken won Game 1 — by putting five more goals past Oettinger and a Stars defense that is reputed to be among the sport’s best.

He’s allowed five 10 different times this regular season and postseason. Three times it’s the Kraken that have done that to him, including twice in the last three games.

Oettinger’s .706 save percentage Sunday (12 saves on 17 shots) was the lowest of his career, in the regular season or playoffs.

Oettinger, who signed a $12 million contract after his heroic playoff run for Dallas, spent the third period Sunday watching from the far left end of the Stars bench. He sat glumly, with his Stars team cap pulled low over his forehead.

The Kraken’s 17,000-plus fans roared on around him and lit him and everyone else with bracelets that had multicolored lighting programmed to synchronize with the national anthem and music during stoppages in play.

“We’re just trying to skate and play our game,” said Jordan Eberle, who began Seattle’s four-goal blitz in 8-plus minutes of the second period Sunday. “Obviously, they’ve got a great team over there. They are defensively minded. They’ve got a lot of leadership over there, a lot of veterans. You saw the way they took it to us in Game 2 (a 4-2 Seattle loss)

“For us, it’s a big win. But you’ve got to look at the push-back they are going to give us next game (in Game 4 Tuesday). That’s the mindset.”

The Kraken took advantage of their first two-day break between games since the end of the regular season last month to play their fastest, most physical and dominant game of their 10-game (and counting) postseason.

Eberle said he played at home with his kids and family Saturday.

Carson Soucy, another of Seattle’s seven goal scorers Sunday, said he went to the dog park.

“It’s big. Just the draining of a seven-game series (versus Colorado), playing every other day, it can wear on you, even though you don’t feel it it gets to you,” Soucy said, after the 28-year-old defenseman scored the first playoff goal of his 250 regular-season and 22-game postseason career.

“Yeah, it was huge. Obviously, the guys looked fresh tonight.”

Playing with the pup sure helped them play with pucks.

“We hoped it would kind of refuel us, recharge the batteries a little bit,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said.

“It was really important for us tonight to be able to respond and meet that level (of energy Dallas brought in its Game 2 win).”

Now Seattle’s task: “Make sure that energy is there for Game 4,” Hakstol said.

A more grinding approach

The Kraken had a more grinding style noticeable from the first shift, compared to the wide-open Game 2 they lost in Dallas Thursday.

The work paid off royally in the second period.

Tye Kartye, recently called up from the minor leagues after Colorado’s Cale Makar injured Jared McCann with a late hit in Seattle’s previous series, fired a shot into the face of Miro Heiskenan, the Stars’ best defender, right in front of goalie Jake Oettinger. That left Jordan Eberle the time and space to collect the rebound and aim his rebound shot past Oettinger for the game’s first goal.

It was the third consecutive game with a goal for Eberle.

Heiskenan did not return to Sunday’s game after he took Kartye’s shot to his face.

McCann remains out indefinitely with an undisclosed injury presumed to be of his head. Seattle’s leading scorer in the regular season did skate some this weekend at a practice, his first such time on the ice with the Kraken since his injury two weeks ago.

The fans barely got done roaring from Eberle’s goal and their home-arena goal anthem, hometown Nirvana’s “Lithium,” when Alex Wennberg converted a 2-on-1 pass across Jaden Schwartz into another Kraken goal. Seattle led 2-0.

Then less than three minutes later, Soucy took a pass from Ryan Donato behind Dallas’ net. Soucy moved with the puck from the top of the faceoff circle past Mason Marchment as if the Stars winger was a lamppost. Soucy glided directly in on Oettinger and flipped the puck between Oettinger’s legs. It was 3-0.

The arena was crazed.

The onslaught continued.

Less than 2 minutes after all that, NHL rookie of the year favorite Beniers scored his second goal of the playoffs, on the short side past Oettinger. The hero of Dallas’ playoff run last season looked stunned as the horn from the former Washington state ferry MV Hyak blew, Beniers and his Kraken teammates celebrated in the corner to his left — and the arena went bonkers.

Seattle’s 4-0 lead happened in just over six minutes.

Marchment got one back for the Stars; he did owe them one. His one-timer smashed past Seattle goaltender Phillip Grubauer to make it 4-1 at the 12:40 mark of the second period.

After that goal, Dallas had a chance to get back in it with the game’s first power play, after Seattle’s Soucy went to the penalty box for tripping. But Grubauer came up huge twice. Dallas’ Jamie Benn was alone in the slot in from of Seattle’s goal. But Grubauer deflected Benn’s wrist shot away off his blocking arm pad. Then Max Domi was open at top of the right faceoff circle. His low shot met Grubauer’s quick-reaction and leg pad to keep it 4-1 Seattle.

The roars were now “GRUUUUU!!!!”

Grubauer stopped 18 of 20 shots Sunday.

Seattle’s house party resumed in the final minute of the frantic second period. Ryan Donato continued his brilliant night of hustling and hitting by starting a play that Eeli Tolvanen finished, off a rebound Oettinger poked right to him in the slot.

It was 5-1.

And it was off the hook.

Beniers said those saves by Grubauer after Seattle’s fourth goal were key to preventing the Kraken from letting up when it was 4-1.

Their coach said Grubauer was key covering defensive lapses that could have turned Game 3 into a shootout.

“Gruby was key at those times for us,” Hakstol said.

“There’s another level there of maturity to take care of the rest of that period.”

There is the coach’s points he will use to keep Seattle from coasting into Game 4.

Gritty, tough Kraken start

The Kraken were much tighter-checking and locked-down in Game 3 than they were in Game 2 in Dallas. Seattle delivered nine of the game’s first 10 hits, and 15 of the first 17. Yanni Gourde crunched two different Stars in the first 5 minutes.

The Kraken’s dirty work continued throughout the opening period. Ten minutes in, Dallas broke out on a 2 on 1 in on Grubauer. Seattle defenseman Will Borgen dived onto his chest to block Max Domi’s centering attempt in close. That kept the game scoreless.

Donato, a fourth-line forward, created multiple Dallas turnovers and offensive chances for Seattle with consistent forechecking in the Stars’ end.

Oliver Bjorkstrand created another turnover by the Stars in their own end in the final minute of the opening period. He shot high over the net, but it led to Tolvanen’s uncontested shot on Oettinger from the deep left slot. Oettinger grabbed that for his ninth save. And the score remained scoreless into the second period.

Seattle out-shot Dallas 9-4 in the period.