NHL Late Window: Kraken Hold On in a Shootout, Oilers Win in Overtime, Hurricanes Roll in Vancouver

SEATTLE

The late window on Tuesday night gave the NHL three finishes that had almost nothing in common except tension. In Seattle, the Kraken built a three-goal lead, gave all of it back in the third period, and still found a way to win. In Edmonton, the Oilers gave back a two-goal lead of their own before a birthday power-play goal in overtime settled it. And in Vancouver, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Canucks were tied deep into the night before Carolina's depth turned a close game into a 6-3 final. Reuters reported all three results in its overnight roundup, with additional detail from Sportsnet and NHL.com, and together they closed out a Tuesday that had already seen Tampa Bay beat Vegas 6-2 earlier in the evening. For the rest of Tuesday's slate, see Previously's Tuesday roundup and the Sports front.

Seattle 4, Detroit 3 (shootout): a three-goal lead that nearly got away

The Seattle Kraken beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in a shootout at Climate Pledge Arena, but the final score only tells half of it, Reuters reported. Seattle blew a three-goal third-period lead before recovering in the shootout, where Frederick Gaudreau and Bobby McMann both scored to give the Kraken the extra point. It was the kind of win that feels like relief as much as celebration — two points banked, and a long list of things to clean up before the next one.

Mackie Samoskevich, Ryker Evans and Brandon Montour scored in regulation for Seattle, according to Reuters, building the cushion that Detroit then spent the third period erasing. Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves for the Kraken and improved to 3-0-1 in his past four starts, Reuters reported. Seattle ended a two-game skid with the win and is now 4-1-1 in its past six games — a strong run on paper, even if Tuesday's third period showed how quickly a comfortable night can turn.

Detroit's comeback was led by a milestone. Alex DeBrincat scored his career 300th goal in the last minute of regulation, capping a two-point game that forced overtime and then the shootout, according to Sportsnet. Lucas Raymond scored his first goal of the season and also finished with two points, Viktor Arvidsson added a goal and a shootout goal, and Daniil Tarasov made 24 saves, Reuters reported. The Red Wings earned a point for the fifth straight game, going 2-0-3 over that stretch — no regulation losses, but a run of close games that keeps asking more of them late. On Tuesday, they very nearly stole the second point as well.

Edmonton 4, Minnesota 3 (OT): Bouchard's birthday winner

In Edmonton, Evan Bouchard scored the power-play winner at 3:32 of overtime on his 27th birthday, lifting the Oilers past the Minnesota Wild 4-3 at Rogers Place, Reuters reported. The winning sequence started with a Minnesota mistake: the Wild were penalized for too many men on the ice in overtime, and Edmonton — with one of the league's most dangerous power plays — made them pay. According to Sportsnet, Bouchard's goal finished a game Edmonton had controlled at 3-1 before Minnesota erased the deficit in the third period.

Connor McDavid had three assists for Edmonton, pushing his NHL-leading total to 26 points on six goals and 20 assists, and extending his season-opening point streak to nine games, Reuters reported. Leon Draisaitl scored twice, both on the power play, giving him five goals in his past four games, and Mathieu Joseph also scored for the Oilers. Devon Levi made 27 saves. Edmonton improved to 7-1-1, has won two straight, and has now won seven of its past eight games — the profile of a team that is finding ways to win even on nights when it lets a lead slip.

Minnesota's pushback was real. Kirill Kaprizov scored his league-leading 11th goal, Joel Eriksson Ek also scored, and Ryan Hartman scored his first goal of the season, Reuters reported. Kaprizov and Hartman scored in the third period as Minnesota erased that 3-1 deficit to force overtime. Jesper Wallstedt made 28 saves for the Wild, who are 6-2-2 — a record that reflects a team that has been in almost every game it has played. The too-many-men penalty in overtime will sting, because it handed Edmonton's power play exactly the opening it needed, and Bouchard, according to NHL.com's recap of the night, did not miss it.

Carolina 6, Vancouver 3: three two-goal scorers put it away late

The most decisive late finish came in Vancouver, where the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Canucks 6-3 at Rogers Arena behind a rare spread of scoring: Logan Stankoven, Nikolaj Ehlers and Nicolas Deslauriers each scored twice, Reuters reported. Ehlers and Stankoven each added an assist as well, Jackson Blake collected three assists, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 14 saves to improve to 6-0-0. Carolina, the reigning Stanley Cup champions according to Sportsnet, improved to 8-2-1 with the win.

For two periods, this was a game. The teams went into the third period tied 3-3, according to NHL.com's Hurricanes recap, before Carolina took control. Deslauriers scored his second goal of the night at 4:07 of the third period for the winner, Ehlers added a breakaway goal, and Stankoven closed the scoring with a late empty-netter, Reuters reported. Three goals in the third period turned a tight road game into a comfortable final — exactly the kind of closing kick that separates a champion-calibre team from a struggling one over 60 minutes.

Vancouver's scorers were Linus Karlsson, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Max Sasson, with Jake DeBrusk adding two assists, according to Sportsnet. Reuters reported that the Canucks are now winless in eight straight games, are 1-3-0 at home and sit at 2-8-1 overall — numbers that underline how difficult the start has been at Rogers Arena. A 3-3 game in the third period at home is a chance to change a story; instead, Tuesday became another night when the final period went the other way.

What the late window says about the early season

Three games, three lessons. Seattle's lesson is about finishing: a 4-1-1 run in six games is a good foundation, but blowing a three-goal third-period lead at home is the sort of habit that costs points over a long season, even when the shootout rescues the night. Edmonton's lesson runs the other way — championship contenders are supposed to win the games they almost lose, and with McDavid at 26 points through nine straight games with a point, Draisaitl scoring in bunches and Bouchard deciding overtime, the Oilers at 7-1-1 look every bit the team their record says they are. Carolina's lesson is depth: when three different forwards score twice in the same game and the third period belongs entirely to you on the road, that is not a hot streak, that is a roster.

Detroit and Minnesota can both take a point and a performance out of Tuesday. The Red Wings have points in five straight and got a 300th career goal from DeBrincat in the bargain; the Wild erased a two-goal deficit in Edmonton against one of the league's best starts. Vancouver is the one team in this window with no such consolation — winless in eight straight, the questions only get louder. The season is still young, but the late window tends to tell the truth early, and on Tuesday night it said plenty.