CALGARY: Vince Dunn had a goal and two assists and the Seattle Kraken spoiled the Calgary Flames’ last home opener at Scotiabank Saddledome with a 6-1 win on Thursday night, according to NHL.com.
It was the season opener for both clubs, and the final one in the Saddledome before the Flames move to Scotia Place next season.
Seattle took control early. Jordan Eberle scored on the power play at 9:10 of the first period and Dunn added another 32 seconds later. Frederick Gaudreau made it 3-0 with 30 seconds left in the opening frame, NHL.com reported.
The Kraken put it away early in the third. Chandler Stephenson scored at 3:13 and Matty Beniers followed 51 seconds later for a 5-0 lead. Ryan Strome broke up the shutout at 16:35, but Kaapo Kakko answered 26 seconds later to restore the five-goal margin.
Final: Kraken 6, Flames 1. Joey Daccord made 24 saves for Seattle. Dustin Wolf stopped 26 shots for Calgary. Jared McCann had three assists, and Beniers and Kakko each had a goal and an assist.
“I’ve never really been at the Saddledome when it’s been that loud, to be honest, right from the start,” Dunn said, as quoted by NHL.com.
Strome was blunt about the Flames’ performance. “Obviously super disappointing,” he told reporters, according to NHL.com. “We had a decent first few minutes and then kind of just unraveled.”
The two teams meet again quickly. Calgary visits Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena on Monday, Oct. 5, according to theScore’s schedule.
Around the league Thursday
In the night’s other all-Canadian matchup, Connor McDavid had five points as the Edmonton Oilers outlasted the Vancouver Canucks 9-7. Read our full Oilers recap here.
Elsewhere, Jack Hughes scored with 1:37 left in overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, with Luke Hughes and Dougie Hamilton also scoring and Jake Allen making 23 saves, according to NHL.com. Luca Cagnoni scored at 3:41 of overtime as the San Jose Sharks edged the Florida Panthers 4-3, TSN reported.
The Utah Mammoth blanked the Chicago Blackhawks 6-0 in Salt Lake City. The New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1, the Columbus Blue Jackets topped the Buffalo Sabres 6-3, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Nashville Predators 3-1, according to The Associated Press scoreboard via DRG News.
Thursday’s results: Kraken 6, Flames 1; Oilers 9, Canucks 7; Devils 3, Flyers 2 (OT); Rangers 5, Lightning 1; Blue Jackets 6, Sabres 3; Wild 3, Predators 1; Mammoth 6, Blackhawks 0; Sharks 4, Panthers 3 (OT).
If you find reporting like this useful, consider supporting Canada News Media, an independent Canadian newsroom with no corporate parent.
Sources: via NHL.com, ESPN, NHL.com (Devils-Flyers), TSN, DRG News (AP scoreboard). Photo: Scotiabank Saddledome, September 2019 file photo, not from Thursday’s game. Daniel Richardson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
