This was a night to remember; the culmination of a lifetime of effort; a memory which will last a lifetime.
At least it will be for referee Stephen Hiff (above photo), making his NHL debut. For the Seattle Kraken and everyone else at Climate Pledge Arena on Fan Appreciation Night, a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks is best forgotten, and quickly.
With the caveat that the Sharks are make up of proud pro athletes, the franchise is midway through a massive rebuild. They're 31st in goals for, 32nd in goal allowed, 28th on the penalty kill.
Even with Sharks goalie Devin Cooley painting a Picasso - and he did, with 49 saves, many spectacular - Kraken fans deserved better tonight, and all season.
1st Period
San Jose serves notice they're not prepared to go quietly into that good night. Luke Kunin opens the scoring at 8:07, with a tip-in past Kraken goalie Joey Daccord. Kunin won the faceoff first, before heading to the net.
The Sharks' lead lasts 75 seconds. Brian Dumoulin ties the score 1-1. The Kraken defenseman, who set a personal best with his 6th goal, had to be surprised how little resistance he encountered on his path to the net.
A few games back, Daccord's goalie stick got lost, landing all the way against the near boards alongside the faceoff circle. So he's probably empathizing with Devin Cooley.
Once the Kraken realize Cooley is without his stick, resting comfortably at the far boards along the goal line, they go into a Globetrotter-style weave. The do everything short of a genuine scoring chance.
San Jose clears the zone, but Seattle enters again before Cooley can retrieve his weapon. When the Sharks clear again, the goalie makes a dash for the corner, and makes it back to the crease with his twig before Seattle can take advantage.
Cooley is the story of the period, and not just for the above sequence. He stops 19 of 20 Kraken shots. At the other end, Daccord handles 10 of 11.
2nd Period
Celebrity sighting.
Comments: (1) Kurt's still looking for the checkered flag (2) Busch isn't used to RIGHT turns around an oval (3) He's glad, though, to find a vehicle that gets worse gas mileage than his NASCAR ride.
Cooley loses his goalie stick again; this time, before he can retrieve it, Jaden Schwartz is hauled down. 17-on-17 crime, as Thomas Bordeleau's hook puts Seattle on the power play.
The penalty ends at 4:15; Seattle continues to hem San Jose in its own zone for a full 60 seconds more, including Dumoulin coming close to his 2nd goal.
28 minutes into the game, Cooley has 30 saves! Even the totality wasn't this lights-out. Shots so far this period are 11-1 Seattle.
Center ice looks like a rummage sale; a Matty Beniers lost glove on one side of the red line, a stray broken stick on the other side.
Shane Wright tries a Denis Savard-style spinarama. Four goals in four games can give a young man quite the confidence boost, eh?
Cooley's latest sparkling save denies Ryan Winterton his first NHL goal. This is actually the Sharks goalie's fourth NHL game, though it looks like he's played 400.
He's allowed the Sharks to hang around, despite the lopsided shot totals. When Kyle Burroughs fires high over Daccord's glove, the visitors take a 2-1 lead at 14:46.
Just as in the 1st period, there's a quick response goal - this time, though, San Jose gets this one, too. Fabian Zetterlund gets his 22nd at 15:37, as Daccord's glove betrays him. (Not as much as the Kraken defense, though.)
Shots at the end of two: 35-16 Seattle. Goals: 3-1 San Jose.
3rd Period
If you combined Ken Dryden, Martin Brodeur, and Vladislav Tretiak- well, first, you'd have some Frankenstein monstrosity weighing about 600 pounds. But my point is, Devin Cooley is playing tonight like the best of all three.
I won't detail all the great saves he's made tonight, because there aren't enough pixels. But I'm sure Max Miller at THN San Jose will take care of your needs.
On one of two Kraken power plays, Shane Wright hit the post, then blasted a shot off the outside of the net, then fired wide again. He slammed his stick upon his return to the bench, showing the frustration all his teammates were surely feeling.
Shots finished 50-23 Kraken. Seattle finishes the home portion of its season 17-18-6.
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