Jon-Randall Avon leads Seattle’s quick answer as Kraken beat Flames 4-2

A tie that lasted 93 seconds

Seattle gave this game its shape in the first period. Ty Nelson opened the scoring at 4:51 with a wrist shot, Jagger Firkus doubled the lead at 9:23, and Calgary spent the rest of the night trying to climb back to level terms. The Flames at least made sure the early hole did not become a runaway; Suniev cut it to 2-1 at 13:01 of the first, turning what could have been a lopsided start into a live game.

The middle period offered no change on the scoreboard, which mattered because it preserved Calgary’s chance to steal the night with one push. With the game still sitting at 2-1 entering the third, every bounce had more weight than it would have in a wider game. That is part of what made Seattle’s answer to Calgary’s equalizer so decisive.

Suniev supplied the equalizer at 10:26 of the third, his second goal of the night, with Ben Jones and Abram Wiebe on the play. For a moment, Calgary had reset everything. Then Morrison redirected momentum back to Seattle at 11:59 on a tip-in set up by Tyson Jugnauth and Avon. The level score lasted only 93 seconds. Avon’s goal at 19:44 closed the night and underlined the difference between pushing a favorite moment and owning the finish.

The special-teams gap told the real story

If the raw totals made this look even, the special teams made it anything but. Calgary actually finished with a slight edge in shots, 24-23, a clear edge in hits, 32-16, and a small faceoff advantage at 51.9 percent. Seattle still won by two because the Kraken were much sharper in the areas that swing a tight game fastest: they scored two power-play goals, added a short-handed goal, and killed all six Calgary power plays.

Our take: Calgary’s biggest improvement point is not mysterious. The Flames took six power-play opportunities and got nothing from them, while their own penalty trouble cost them twice on Seattle’s five chances. That is the most direct explanation in the numbers. The hit total shows Calgary brought plenty of edge, but edge without power-play finish can become empty labor in a one-goal game.

Our take: Seattle should enjoy the efficiency, but there is a warning inside the win. The Kraken took seven penalties for 17 minutes and gave Calgary six power plays. That worked this time because the penalty kill was perfect and the goaltending held, not because it is a sustainable amount of time to spend defending special teams. A cleaner night would ask less of the kill and leave less room for a two-goal lead to disappear.

Avon drove the finish, Suniev kept Calgary alive

Avon was the most influential skater on the scoresheet: one goal, two assists, and involvement in half of Seattle’s offense. He helped create Firkus’s first-period goal, set up Morrison’s winner, and then scored the late insurance himself. Morrison added a goal and an assist, while Nelson and Firkus gave Seattle the kind of spread scoring that can survive a pushback. The Kraken finished with six assists on four goals, and the offense never leaned on just one moment or one line of production.

There was support behind the scorers, too. Jugnauth and Jani Nyman each had an assist, and Oscar Fisker Molgaard added one while also going 11-for-19 on faceoffs. On the defensive side, Seattle’s 17 blocked shots were a meaningful part of the result. Kaden Hammell, Gustav Olofsson, Ville Ottavainen and Caden Price all blocked three shots, which helps explain how Calgary reached 24 shots but still could not find a third goal.

Calgary’s most dangerous player was Suniev, who accounted for both goals and put four shots up in the process. Honzek, Jones and Wiebe each assisted, and the Flames did win enough draws and deliver enough contact to keep the game within reach. Tyson Gross won 11 faceoffs, Jones won five of seven, and Rory Kerins threw six hits. But the Flames needed more than one finisher on a night when the power play went empty. Two goals from Suniev kept Calgary alive; the lack of a third source of offense sent it home short.

Two goalies, enough stops

Seattle’s crease usage stood out almost as much as the scoring line. Nikke Kokko handled the first 20 minutes and stopped seven of eight shots. Philipp Grubauer played the final 40 and turned aside 15 of 16. Combined, that gave Seattle 22 saves and a .917 team save percentage, more than enough support for a 23-shot offense that made its chances count.

Our take: the split in goal is notable, but the broader Seattle defensive picture matters more. The Kraken paired those saves with nine takeaways and 17 blocked shots, and that layered work gave Calgary very little margin for error. For the Flames, the improvement case starts with turning territorial effort into cleaner results. They had 24 shots, six power plays and 32 hits, but the score still tilted the other way. In a 4-2 game this close for this long, the missed opportunity was not a lack of activity. It was where that activity did and did not show up.

Scoring moments

1. 1st · 4:51

   Ty Nelson Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Logan Morrison (1), Jani Nyman (1)

2. 1st · 9:23

   Jagger Firkus Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Jon-Randall Avon (1), Oscar Fisker Molgaard (2)

3. 1st · 13:01

   Aydar Suniev Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Samuel Honzek (1)

4. 3rd · 10:26

   Aydar Suniev Goal (2) Snap Shot, assists: Ben Jones (1), Abram Wiebe (1)

5. 3rd · 11:59

   Logan Morrison Goal (2) Tip-In, assists: Tyson Jugnauth (1), Jon-Randall Avon (2)

6. 3rd · 19:44

   Jon-Randall Avon Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: none