‘Nothing better’ than Game 7 hockey as Kraken face off against Stars

DALLAS — Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz and defenseman Vince Dunn headed into Monday night’s biggest playoff contest in Kraken history sporting a combined record of 8-0 in previous Game 7 matchups.

Both played for the St. Louis Blues when they won the 2019 Stanley Cup, prevailing over Boston in a 4-1 road triumph. Dunn, who is now 3-0 in decisive matchups after beating Colorado in the opening round at Denver, also defeated Dallas in double overtime at home in Game 7 to win that year’s second round.

“This is my third one in an opponent’s building so I think I’m pretty familiar with how the atmosphere is,” Dunn said after Monday’s morning skate before facing the Stars in yet another second-round Game 7, this one on the road at American Airlines Center. “It’s usually not in your favor so the noise is going to be brought for them tonight. And we need to try to take that away from them as much as we can.”

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Dunn said he tries not to let opposing fan noise get to him. Rather, he’ll use it to get fired up and hope to counter what the opposition is doing in order to silence the crowd.

“I just try to use it to my advantage,” he said. “There’s nothing better than playoff hockey and the atmosphere that Game 7 brings.”

A Kraken win would leave Schwartz at 6-0 in Game 7s, joining a short list of five other active players to have prevailed in each of their first half dozen such games. That includes Anton Stralman, Ryan McDonagh, Carl Hagelin, Derek Stepan and Eric Staal. 

After a Game 5 loss, Dunn had called for the Kraken to play more aggressively and less “safe” in Game 6. He felt the Kraken did that for the most part.

“I thought we were pretty aggressive in the areas that we want to be,” he said. “We talk about it all the time, how we’re not the biggest team and the most physical team, so we try to use our legs and our sticks to counteract that.”

Dunn said his teammates are well aware of the opportunity at hand, but aren’t allowing the pressure of it to get to them.

“We’ve never really had any pressure on us all season,” he said. “We just go out and play. We play for each other. And I think that’s kind of a special thing to have and something we want to use to our advantage. Just go out there and play when we have everyone betting against us.”

Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said Monday, “Today is more of a day of just making sure we’re ready to be who we are. And be at our very best. That’s the challenge today and you can’t do that at 10 or 11 in the morning. You’ve got to be ready to do that tonight at the drop of the puck.”

Kartye on igniting crowd and himself

Kraken rookie Tye Kartye was even more fired up than the frenzied Climate Pledge Arena crowd after his Game 6 wrist shot goal put his team ahead 4-1. It also turned out to be the winning goal of the Kraken’s 6-3 triumph, with Kartye pumping his fist multiple times, then leaping and hurling his body against the glass in celebration. 

“Obviously, there was a lot of time left, but I think that was a huge goal because it was obvious that they were going to push back hard,” Kartye said Monday.

He added that the crowd reaction really energized him as well.

“That was cool,” he said. “That was the first goal I’d scored in Seattle and obviously it was super loud and it was pretty cool to experience that — scoring a goal there and the fans going crazy.”

Kartye now has three goals since making his NHL debut in Game 5 of the opening round. The former undrafted Ontario Hockey League junior player, signed as a free agent by the Kraken last summer and sent to the AHL, said he hasn’t had time to dwell on the amazing twist his career has taken.

“I’ll probably have that after the season’s over when I’m reflecting on it,” he said. “There hasn’t been too much time here to reflect. We’re always on the go with all the games.”

Many happy returns 

Game 7 against Colorado fell on Kartye’s 22nd birthday, and now Game 7 against Dallas is linemate Jordan Eberle’s 33rd. The Kraken formed a circle at center ice toward the end of Monday’s morning skate and as is tradition, Eberle went to the middle of it to mark the occasion. 

If they get past Dallas, perhaps the next Game 7 can be on Jared McCann’s 27th birthday May 31. 

Hakstol said the team had a short meeting Monday morning. Everyone spread out after a quick skate to do their own pregame routines — whatever keeps them fresh and ready after cramming the maximum number of playoff games into the last 28 days with only one set of consecutive days off. 

“Pretty typical short morning skate, even a little bit shorter,” Hakstol said. “I think energy is really important as you get to this point in the series, and the amount of hockey we’ve played over the last month.” 

Eberle, who has contributed five goals and eight points this series, and Yanni Gourde, who leads the Kraken in playoff scoring, are among the veterans who have provided crucial offense. Hakstol also singled out Schwartz and Justin Schultz. 

“We do have a lot of experience in this locker room. We’ve been in these situations before,” Gourde said. “I think we trust everyone in this locker room, and that’s the key. It’s been that way since Day 1 and it’s going to be that way tonight too.”

Last Game 7 in Denver, it was Oliver Bjorkstrand providing the offensive spark, scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory. Whoever wants to step up, from rookies to veterans, is highly encouraged to do so. 

“Who else is it going to be?” Hakstol said. “We’re going to have to have everybody going. We’re going to have to do it by committee again.”

Sprong sighting 

Forward Daniel Sprong joined the Kraken for Monday’s morning skate with a rosier view.

Sprong debuted a pink-tinted visor, similar to the one Morgan Geekie uses as a workaround for an eye condition. Sprong went to the side of the ice during the line rushes, however, a strong indication he won’t play in Game 7.  

Before Game 6, Hakstol said he didn’t expect that Sprong would appear in the series again. He had been skating but not with the team. 

The visor is another sign that Sprong suffered a concussion nine shifts into Game 3. He made contact with the boards and made his way slowly back to the bench. 

He then tried out Geekie’s favored technology, which the latter has been using since December. 

“I tried the smoky tint (visor) in Anaheim and Lars hit me,” Geekie said after he adopted the pink visor, referring to Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson and a collision that caused him to miss three games. 

“It’s supposed to be the same thing; it’s just instead of it being so dark, it’s pink, and there’s no glare from the lights. It works really well and definitely helps my eye.”