The Seattle Kraken kicked off the NHL Global Series in Helsinki, Finland, with a stinging 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. What a bummer for our boys in blue. The craziest part? Every single one of Carolina’s goals came from a European player. Talk about playing on home turf for them, right? This wasn’t the start we wanted across the pond, and frankly, Kraken fans have got to be feeling the sting after watching our squad get outplayed so clearly.
First Period Foul-Up as Canes Take Control
Right from the opening face-off, the Hurricanes looked like they meant business. They absolutely peppered Joey Daccord and the Kraken net, outshooting us a brutal 15-6 in just the first twenty minutes. And yeah, they outscored us too, jumping to a 2-0 lead. First up was Nikolaj Ehlers, who found the back of the net right in front of his family who came all the way from Denmark. Seattle’s challenge for goalie interference didn’t go through, which only made things worse because it led to a Hurricanes power play. Ehlers himself said it’s “always nice when you score a goal,” and that his nephew would be “pretty psyched.” Yeah, well, our nephews aren’t psyched, Nikolaj. To make matters truly rotten, a mere 1:06 later, Sebastian Aho scored on that very man advantage, and the Finnish crowd went absolutely bonkers. You could hear the wild cheers when his name was announced. This was not the start we needed to silence an away crowd.
Carolina Piles On, Seattle Scratches for Answers
The second period wasn’t much better for our Kraken, with only one goal scored, and it wasn’t ours. Defenseman Juuso Valimaki, a Tampere native, was back in the Hurricanes’ lineup and he put one past Daccord to extend their lead to 3-0. He was just two hours from his hometown, so you know that felt good for him. Meanwhile, our boys were still looking for answers. The third period saw Aho score his second of the night, making it a crushing 4-0. The Hurricanes were even trying to set him up for a hat trick! Thankfully, the Kraken did finally manage to get one on the board, avoiding the shutout, but it was too little, too late. Carolina’s goalie, Brandon Bussi, ended the night stopping 12 of 13 shots. Ouch.
Time to Regroup for Game 2
Losing 4-1 in the Global Series opener is a tough pill to swallow, especially with how lopsided that shot count was early on. The Hurricanes came out firing, and our Kraken just didn’t have a solid response for most of the game. Our boys need to seriously regroup before Game 2. We have another shot at them in Helsinki, and we HAVE to come out with more fire, more puck possession, and tighter defense. We cannot let another European takeover happen like that. Let’s get it done in the rematch and bring a win back to the Emerald City!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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