The Seattle Kraken had a close call during the third period Friday when fresh off a slump-busting goal, winger Oliver Bjorkstrand caught a high puck and left the bench but later returned.
He didn’t register a point in Friday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights but was plus-one with two shots on goal. More importantly, he finished out the 4-2 win and can keep building on a breakthrough performance.
Early in the third period, Bjorkstrand braced himself for a shot block and the puck angled upward. He went down to the ice for a few seconds then headed straight down the tunnel but only missed a few shifts.
Bjorkstrand scored Wednesday off a quick-evolving play where Brandon Tanev urged the San Jose Sharks to turn the puck over and Yanni Gourde chipped it off the boards. Bjorkstrand, who arrived via trade this summer, deked out San Jose goalie Kaapo Kahkonen and sent the puck into the roof of the net. It was his first goal since the season opener and ended a career-high 17-game stretch without one.
“You’re probably going to see that they’re all going to start falling for him,” fellow forward Matty Beniers said.
There was a 15-game goal drought in 2017-18, Bjorkstrand’s first full season in the NHL. But in the years since, he’s found the net consistently while leading the Columbus Blue Jackets in that category three straight seasons.
“I was frustrated. I think it’s hard not to be,” Bjokstrand said Friday. “At the same time, I was telling myself not to be too mental about it. You can’t overthink things.
“Just try not to push the panic button.”
He did, however, question the equipment.
“When you’re not scoring, sometimes you find small little ways to maybe help you out a little bit,” Bjorkstrand said. “Sometimes maybe a different stick can give you a different feel.”
He also got a different feel from his cohorts, trading flash for grit. He joined Gourde and Tanev on the third line Nov. 13 and has been there ever since.
“I like how they keep it somewhat simple out there. They work really hard,” Bjorkstrand said.
“Just reading off plays like that and putting pressure on them, it simplifies things a little bit and sometimes makes it easier to play.”
Jones earns night off, Grubauer settles in
Goaltender Philipp Grubauer made his first start since Oct. 21 and just his fourth of the season because of injury. He entered in relief the last time the Kraken played the Vegas Golden Knights, a 5-2 loss at home on Oct. 15.
Martin Jones started eight consecutive games for the Kraken dating to Nov. 3 at Minnesota. With Joey Daccord subbing in once, Jones — the NHL’s third star of the week ending Nov. 20 — was a large part of the Kraken’s 7-1-1 start to November. Jones was due for a well-earned rest Friday.
“We always make our decisions as we get closer to game day. There’s nothing scripted,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said, referring to who starts on any given night.
“Jonesy, I don’t need to talk about his play. We all know what he’s done for us. And we all know we need everybody on our roster to help us win games over the long run.”
Grubauer said he was able to find his way quickly Friday.
“Once you make a couple saves, everything kind of settles in a little bit,” he said.
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