Rookie Berkly Catton sparked a rally from a two-goal deficit in the third period and scored the winner in the fifth round of a shootout as the Seattle Kraken kept their slim postseason hopes alive with a 4-3 victory against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
Jared McCann and Bobby McMann also scored in regulation and Vince Dunn had two assists for the Kraken (33-34-11, 77 points), who snapped a six-game skid (0-5-1). Goaltender Joey Daccord made 31 saves and stopped four of five shootout attempts.
Mark Stone scored twice, Brett Howden also tallied and Adin Hill stopped 30 of 33 shots for the Golden Knights (36-26-17, 89 points), who lost for the first time in five games under new coach John Tortorella. Vegas is tied with the Anaheim Ducks for second in the Pacific Division, both teams one point behind the Edmonton Oilers.
With Seattle trailing 3-1, Catton scored a fluke goal at 6:11 of the third. Adam Larsson dumped the puck into the offensive zone and it took a strange bounce off a stanchion, ricocheting in front of the crease after Hill had skated behind the net. Catton tapped the puck into the yawning cage.
The Kraken tied it on McMann’s wrist shot from the right faceoff dot into the far upper corner of the net at 9:16.
The Golden Knights opened the scoring at 10:04 of the first period. Stone scored on a wrist shot from the slot after taking a pass from Rasmus Andersson.
Seattle’s Brandon Montour was whistled for hooking Jack Eichel just before the buzzer ending the period, giving Vegas a power play to start the second. The Golden Knights tallied 55 seconds into the middle frame as Eichel sent a pass from the left faceoff circle to the far post, where Stone tapped it in while battling Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak for positioning.
The Kraken pulled within 2-1 on McCann’s slap shot past a screened Hill from the top of the right faceoff circle while on the man advantage at 17:54 of the second.
The Golden Knights restored their two-goal advantage on a 4-on-2 rush at 1:11 of the third. Mitch Marner’s centering pass went off Pavel Dorofeyev’s stick and then Howden’s skate on its way into the net.
