NEWARK, N.J. — By the time Oliver Bjorkstrand flipped the puck off the cross bar in the second period with an open net staring him in the face, it was easy to start believing his Kraken team might never score again.
Even when Adam Larsson finally did halt a Kraken scoring drought of nearly five periods with just under six minutes to go in Thursday’s middle frame, it was clear that defense and goaltending was again going to key any chance at victory. While the defense and Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer were at their even-strength finest throughout, they couldn’t prevent what became a 3-1 loss because of a pair of power-play goals by New Jersey Devils star defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
It was Hamilton’s second of the night, on a one-timed slapper from the point with Yanni Gourde in the box midway through the third period that proved the difference. Earlier on, Hamilton had tied the game just 24 seconds after Larsson’s goal had given the Kraken a 1-0 lead. The Devils scored the final goal on an empty net.
The Kraken (29-17-5) have scored just 20 goals their last nine contests after sweeping a seven-game road trip last month. They’ve gone 3-5-1 that stretch.
A Kraken squad that announced earlier in the day that team points leader Andre Burakovsky would be sidelined for at least a “week-to-week” basis and possibly longer, had its defensive abilities on display from the opening faceoff. The Devils have one of the league’s most explosive young offenses but managed only two shots through the first 15 minutes of play, a stark contrast to how the Kraken allowed the New York Islanders to freewheel on them throughout a loss two nights prior.
When the Devils finally did make a push at period’s end, Grubauer was sharp as ever — stopping Dougie Hamilton from the high slot and then getting in front of a point-blank rebound chance to keep things scoreless.
By the time Larsson floated home his 56-foot wrister from the right point to beat Mackenzie Blackwood through a screen, Grubauer was playing some of his best hockey this season and looking like a true No. 1 netminder once again. It was the latest in a string of top performances by Grubauer, who was injured early in the season and subsequently saw Martin Jones assume the bulk of netminding duties even after his return.
Will Borgen took a cross-checking penalty before the goal could even be announced over the Prudential Center public address system. Hamilton would move into the high slot right after the puck was dropped and one-timed a pass behind Grubauer to quickly even things once more.
Grubauer has allowed two goals or fewer his last four outings and three or fewer his last nine, but the wins haven’t been there due to a lack of offensive support. The Kraken had their chances to provide that for him throughout this contest, but either Blackwood or a lack of finish kept getting in the way.
