<p><h3>Game 2: Kraken 5, Wild 4, SO</h3></p><p><p><strong>Notable:</strong> Seattle (1-1) surrendered a two-goal advantage in its season opener. This time the Kraken were the ones trailing throughout, but each time the Minnesota Wild took another lead, Seattle managed a quick strike to keep the game close into the third period. Those response goals eluded them many times last season.</p></p><p><p>Winger Jared McCann’s goal to tie the game at 4 might have been too late to be considered a response goal, but it ensured the Kraken would earn their first standings point of the young season.</p></p><p><p>Then Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jordan Eberle scored in the shootout to seal Seattle’s first victory.</p></p><p><p><strong>Quotable:</strong> “They got the lead three times — we came back all three times. That’s a character win. Those are the kinds of wins that build and propel seasons.</p></p><p><p>“I know it’s the first one, but that’s a big one.” — Kraken captain Eberle</p></p><p><p><strong>Goal of the game:</strong> The Kraken were being outplayed by the Wild, pure and simple, in the first period. After they went down 2-0, Eberle’s first of two goals triggered a more evenly matched game. Wearing the captain’s “C” for just the second time at the NHL level, Eberle located a loose puck in a tangle of legs and poked it over the goal line.</p></p><p><p><strong>Star of the game:</strong> Eberle (two goals, winning shootout goal).</p></p><p><p><strong>On tap:</strong> The Kraken close out a back-to-back with a Sunday night road game against the Dallas Stars. This is the building where the Stars booted the Kraken from the 2023 playoffs in a 2-1, Game 7 loss.</p></p>
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