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Stanley Cup playoffs Day 26: Kraken force Game 7 vs. Stars

Kraken players celebrate a goal by Jordan Eberle Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

Stanley Cup playoffs Day 26: Eberle, Talvanen help force Game 7 vs. Stars

Originally posted on Daily Faceoff | By Mike Gould | Last updated 5/14/23

We all had only one Stanley Cup playoff game to tide us over on Saturday night. Lucky for us, it was a good one — and we’ll get a winner-take-all rematch in Dallas on Monday.

So … the Seattle Kraken really might just do this after all

No, you did not see this coming.

After finishing near the bottom of the league and picking fourth overall following their inaugural NHL season, the Seattle Kraken are now just one win away from reaching the Western Conference Final.

There’s a chance we might just see the NHL’s two newest teams -- the Kraken and the Vegas Golden Knights -- square off against each other in the Final Four. Imagine cheering for a playoff-starved club like Buffalo or Arizona and seeing those two teams find that much success basically right away.

The Kraken fed off the energy at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Saturday night, scoring twice (and conceding once) in each period en route to a commanding 6–3 win over the heavily-favored Dallas Stars in Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series.

Jordan Eberle continued his strong playoff performance with a pair of goals and an assist. He and Eeli Tolvanen became the first players in Kraken history to score three points in a single playoff game.

GIVE IT UP FOR OUR LEADERS! pic.twitter.com/Z7IpsBWyru
— x – Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) May 13, 2023

The Kraken limited the Stars to just 23 shots in the game while generating 29 of their own. Philipp Grubauer made 20 saves over a full 60 minutes of action to propel Seattle into its second winner-take-all Game 7 in as many playoff series.

If you’ll recall, the Kraken took the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche to seven games in the first round of the playoffs. Seattle ended up winning a 2–1 decision on the road to steal that series and advance to face Dallas. Now, the Kraken are set to enter hostile territory once more.

Yanni Gourde, Tye Kartye, and Matty Beniers also scored for the Kraken on Saturday. Mason Marchment, Joe Pavelski, and Joe Pavelski responded in turn for Dallas. Through six games in this series, the Kraken have outscored the Stars by an incredibly narrow margin: 25–24.

With the Eastern Conference Final matchup set, the only two semifinal series remaining are in the Western Conference. After the Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers play their own Game 6 in Edmonton on Sunday, the Kraken and Stars will go head-to-head in a critical elimination contest on Monday at 7:00 p.m. CT.

This article first appeared on Daily Faceoff and was syndicated with permission.

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