The Seattle Kraken and Minnesota Wild closed out their disappointing seasons with a thrilling 4-3 Kraken victory in St. Paul on Thursday night. Despite missing the playoffs, both teams showcased their resilience and determination in a hard-fought contest.
The Wild struck first when Kirill Kaprizov netted his 46th goal of the season on a power play in the opening period. However, the Kraken responded in the second period with a power play goal from Matty Beniers, who tipped in a shot from Oliver Bjorkstrand.
The third period was a rollercoaster of emotions. Yanni Gourde gave the Kraken a short-handed lead with a breakaway goal, but Mats Zuccarello tied the game for the Wild midway through the period. With just over two minutes remaining, Tye Kartye tipped in another Bjorkstrand shot to give the Kraken the lead.
The Wild pulled goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with over a minute left, but Ryan Hartman’s 6-on-4 goal came too late. Kraken goalie Joey Daccord made 21 saves, including a crucial block in the final seconds, to secure the victory.
Despite the loss, Kaprizov finished the season with 96 points, the second-most in Wild history. Fleury, who signed a contract extension to return next season, also had a strong campaign, passing Patrick Roy for second place on the all-time wins list.
For both the Kraken and Wild, the season was a step backward after promising starts. The Kraken upset the defending champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs last year, but they failed to build on that success. The Wild, who have made the playoffs in 10 of the past 12 years, were eliminated from contention five games ago.
Despite the disappointment of missing the playoffs, both teams showed signs of improvement and have a solid foundation to build on for next season.
