<p><p>TORONTO — There was plenty visible in Jared McCann’s postgame face and tone to indicate the lone point secured in this latest Kraken loss was far different from prior ones.</p></p><p><p>His team had outplayed the hometown Maple Leafs much of Thursday night, then capped a third-period comeback from two goals down on McCann’s tying marker with just over six minutes left in regulation. So, despite an eventual 4-3 shootout loss, McCann’s team exited this one feeling they’d rightfully salvaged part of what they deserved rather than giving another point away.</p></p><p><p>“I thought we did a great job sticking with it,” McCann said.</p></p><p><p>Indeed, they’d nearly won the game late in overtime when Jordan Eberle was robbed at the goalmouth by Toronto netminder Joseph Woll after a nifty touch-pass by Matty Beniers.</p></p><p><p>About the only thing preventing the Kraken from securing an additional point in victory was Toronto forward Mitch Marner, who notched a three-goal “hat trick” in regulation. Marner also then scored the shootout clincher against Philipp Grubauer after Auston Matthews had already put Toronto up by one in that round.</p></p><p><p>Eeli Tolvanen got the Kraken’s third-period comeback started with some deft maneuvering deep in Toronto’s end before wristing the puck past Woll on the short side. Before that goal, Marner appeared to leave the Kraken buried for good by capping his hat trick late in the second period for a 3-1 lead in a game the Kraken had largely dominated to that point at even strength.</p></p><p><p>It was penalties that largely enabled the Leafs to keep pace, with Marner’s game-opening goal in the first period coming off a brilliant first-period, power-play feed by William Nylander. Marner then scored again a half-tick after Will Borgen’s penalty expired just 21 seconds into the middle frame.</p></p><p><p>“Obviously, we gave up that power-play goal early, and we took some penalties that put us back on our heels,” McCann said. “But I’m proud of the way we could fight back here.”</p></p><p><p>McCann got the Kraken back within a goal a few minutes after Marner’s second one, cutting Toronto’s lead to 2-1 with a blistering power-play shot of his own for his first of two goals on the night. The Kraken would go on to outshoot the Leafs by a 17-7 margin that period and nearly tied things up, only to be denied by Woll.</p></p><p><p>Down at his end, Kraken netminder Grubauer, looking sharper than against Chicago two nights prior, wasn’t giving the Maple Leafs anything at even strength. That is, until Adam Larsson attempted a pass up the ice that Jake McCabe intercepted before sending Marner in alone for his third goal, which got hats raining down from the stands in traditional celebration of the feat.</p></p><p><p>Still, the Kraken never let up. They came out of the second intermission flying and nearly scored in the opening minute when Woll denied an Oliver Bjorkstrand wrist shot from close range.</p></p><p><p>Larsson would then draw an assist, along with Tye Kartye, once Tolvanen finally got the second Kraken goal 6:15 into the period. The visitors really opened things up from there, outshooting the Maple Leafs 12-8 that period and 40-28 overall — including by a 33-15 margin from the start of the second through the five-minute overtime frame.</p></p><p><p>And with time winding down, it would be Alex Wennberg carrying the puck into the Leafs’ end along the right boards and then muscling his way into the corner to buy time for wingers to catch up. McCann did, and Wennberg fed him a cross-ice pass to the left faceoff circle dot that was followed by a laser-shot for the tying goal.</p></p><p><p>“He’s got great vision, so I just tried to get open for him,” McCann said of Wennberg. “He makes everybody look at the puck. He’s got that ability, and he opens up a lot of lanes for guys.”</p></p><p><p>Tolvanen said afterward that the Kraken, now 8-10-6 on the season, never lost faith after falling behind by two.</p></p><p><p>“I think it’s one of the best 60-minute games we’ve played — 65 minutes, actually — so far this season,” Tolvanen said. “I felt like everybody was on their game today. We were down two goals going into the third, and you saw everybody putting in the effort. They wanted to come back and, you know, we got those two goals.”</p></p><p><p>Kraken coach Dave Hakstol, not one for moral victories, nonetheless said his team played “a hell of a game” that ranked right up there with prior wins. It was quite a different tone from previous Kraken losses in shootouts and overtime, which usually occurred because of squandered leads rather than comebacks.</p></p><p><p>“We lost a point in a shootout, right?” Hakstol said. “I mean, we were the better team tonight. So, I call it as I see it. I mean, if we don’t play well, I’ll let you know, and I think I do that pretty honestly.</p></p><p><p>“We played really well tonight. We were the better team, and I thought we deserved a better outcome.”</p></p>
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