SEATTLE -- Needing a response to keep their season alive, the Seattle Kraken found just that with a 6-3 series-tying victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals at Climate Play Arena.
Several items allowed the Kraken to break for six goals, prompting the Stars to pull star goaltender Jake Oettinger and ultimately forcing a Game 7 scheduled for Monday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
For the Stars, a Game 7 victory would see them advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in four seasons. For the Kraken, a Game 7 win would see the franchise reach the conference finals in the second year for the first time in team history.
"We were ready tonight. I think like the last few games, they were a ready team at the start," said Kraken winger Ili Tolvanen, who finished with a goal and three points. "I think that was the big key today. All four lines were ready to play and showed up."
Gaining some sense of control was a challenge for the Kraken during losses in Games 4 and 5. The Kraken struggled in 5-on-5 play, as they failed to meet their averages in certain offensive categories such as scoring per 60 shots. Chances of scoring 60 per chance and 60 per high-risk.
It wasn't a problem on Saturday. How the Kraken held their own in this control was at one point a three-goal lead. They have possessed like a flurry with a shot-share percentage of 63.3% and owned at least a 10-shot differential in the late stages of the first period.
Yanni Gourde gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead when he took a drop pass from Tolvanen and skated in for a point-blank chance that was initially stopped by Oettinger before Gourde recovered his rebound and scored with 11:01 remaining.
While Marchment's game-tying goal was jarring, an argument could be made the power-play goal that allowed the Kraken to regain the lead was just as counterintuitive.