The Kraken quench the Sharks

McMann strikes early and late, the champions burn on

Champions on a tiebreak

The Seattle Kraken came into qualification night as the team that had won the last Gauntlet. They nearly lost the title on a technicality. The San Jose Sharks carried their own history: three Gauntlets, and out on qualification night all three times. This was a virtual match. Each club played its own game against a team from the other conference, and whichever scored more went through. Both finished with three. That sent it to the tiebreaker, who scored first, goal by goal, and the answer came in the opening period.

San Jose's three

In San Jose, defenseman Jacob Trouba fired a slap shot past the Boston Bruins at 15:29 of the first. Ivar Stenberg answered on a power-play wrister in the second, and Macklin Celebrini snapped home another power-play goal at 5:04 of the third. Jeremy Swayman stopped 35 of 38. Boston scored six, but in the Gauntlet only the Sharks' own goals counted.

Seattle's long night

In Philadelphia, Bobby McMann had already struck on a power-play wrister at 7:57 of the first, earlier than Trouba's 15:29. Defenseman Ville Ottavainen added a snap shot in the second. Then the Philadelphia Flyers hit back twice: Christian Dvorak, and Trevor Zegras 1:13 later. Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 of 26, and nobody scored in overtime.

In the shootout Matty Beniers scored, Matvei Michkov answered, and the next six shooters all missed. In round five McMann scored again. That made three for Seattle, his early goal won the tiebreak, and the Sharks' flame went cold. Twenty-six still burn, and the Kraken are one of them.