Penalties Sink Kraken in Finnish Finale as Hurricanes Beat Seattle 5-1

The Story

The penalties and a pair of late first-period turning points helped the Carolina Hurricanes seal a 5-1 win over the Seattle Kraken in Saturday’s NHL Global Series finale at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki, Finland.

Seattle struggled from the start against the defending Stanley Cup champions, allowing three power play goals and falling behind after Mackie Samoskevich hit the crossbar with what could have been a tying shot late in the opening period. The Hurricanes outshot the Kraken 35-14 in the game and the Kraken never found their rhythm in the two Veikkaus Arena matchups.

Carolina opened the scoring about 11 minutes into the first period on the power play as Jackson Blake scored the first of its three man-advantage goals. The Kraken were limited to one shot on goal in the opening 15 minutes, including a 160-foot clearance by defenseman Adam Larsson during a 5-on-3.

After a brief Kraken surge on the power play later in the period, Samoskevich fired one off the crossbar with the netminder beaten. Mark Jankowski then made it 2-0 right before the end of the first.

In the second period, Andrei Svechnikov scored a pair of power play goals to put the game out of reach. Between those markers, Matty Beniers gave Kraken fans a moment of relief by scoring the only Kraken goal from 33 feet out in the left circle on a play started by a Bobby McMann backhand pass to Jordan Eberle behind the net.

Svechnikov’s second power play goal not long after ended Joey Daccord’s night and Seattle’s chances. Jankowski added his second goal of the night in the final period to close out the scoring.

Carolina finished 3-for-5 on the power play, scoring with Berkly Catton in the box and again with Brandon Montour off.

Kraken captain Jordan Eberle said the team’s focus now has to be on elevating its play against top opponents. “I wouldn’t say we necessarily played our best,” Eberle said. “I mean, they kind of picked us apart in the D-zone. And the way they’re connected and the way they play as a team, it’s something we need to strive to get to. I think that’s the bar for me … that’s how we have to get to and play.”

Seattle head coach Lane Lambert said the team didn’t adjust to Carolina’s pressure and pace. “There’s some value in facing adversity and coming through adversity together,” Lambert said, adding, “Let’s be clear … we’ve got to be better.” He also addressed how the Hurricanes’ style demands more execution under pressure.

For this game, Lambert inserted Jagger Firkus, a recent AHL callup, for Seattle’s NHL debut alongside Chandler Stephenson and Freddy Gaudreau, after switching up the lines pregame. Lambert also got defenseman Ryan Lindgren back in the lineup after he had missed time since early October with a lower body injury.

Despite the changes, the Kraken were outshot and outscored after falling behind early, and Carolina extended its advantage through special teams. Across both Veikkaus Arena games in the series, Carolina outshot Seattle 65-27 and outscored the Kraken 9-2.

The Kraken, now done with Carolina for the season, head home early Sunday morning with a 9-8-1 record and a three-game losing streak. Kakko said the trip brought the team closer off the ice, while emphasizing the need to be better on it.

Kaapo Kakko said, “We came here to play hockey and we lost both games … But yeah, off the ice I think we got closer. It was a fun trip.”