SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 18: Chris Driedger #60 of the Seattle Kraken makes a save against Warren Foegele #37 of the Edmonton Oilers during the first period at Climate Pledge Arena on December 18, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images
With a tie game after 40 minutes and refusing to buckle despite allowing 30 shots, the Seattle Kraken were so close to pulling off another stunner over the high-octane Edmonton Oilers.
But as Warren Foegele had other ideas, a stunning turn of events led the way for an Oilers third period rally, sending the Kraken to a 5-3 defeat in the series finale at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday before a sellout crowd.
Foegele crashed the net and deflected a point shot from Evan Bouchard toward Chris Driedger, in net to handle the battle. But Driedger, wiped out in a collision with Foegele, saw the puck slip by after Foegele was pushed from behind by Mark Giordano.
Originally goaltender interference immediately cancelled a potential Edmonton lead, but the Oilers called for a coach's challenge and further review overturned the original call, leading to a 4-3 lead.
The Kraken, who lost Brandon Tanev for the remainder of the game after a collision into the end boards with less than four minutes left in the game, pulled Driedger for an extra skater but surrendered an empty net goal to Connor McDavid with 52 seconds left.
The game appeared to be a mirror image of the last battle on Dec. 3 when the Kraken stunned the Oilers and roared out to a quick first period lead. This time, Ryan Donato snuck a seemingly harmless right wing shot through the armpit of Stuart Skinner at 4:18 and Jordan Eberle gifted a fancy saucer pass from near the net to the tape of Jared McCann for a 2-0 lead at 9:07 of the first period.
Edmonton then rallied back on an Evan Bouchard point shot off Driedger's glove with 6:55 left and Foegele's first of two goals in the game, a rebound power play goal at 17:08.
Colton Sceviour, crashing the net for a 3-2 lead, was answered from a Carson Soucy rebound blast at the left circle for a 3-3 tie with 3:27 left in the second period.
The Kraken, who had their Sunday game with Toronto postponed due to COVID-19 protocol leaving several Canucks and Maple Leafs unavailable to play today in Vancouver, are scheduled to host the Arizona Coyotes next on Dec. 21 at 7pm.