The last time Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz notched 25 goals was while wearing the uniform of the team he scored against Saturday night to again claim the milestone.
Schwartz opening the scoring against a St. Louis Blues squad he won a Stanley Cup with six years ago made him the only Kraken player other than Jared McCann to ever manage 25 in a season. Both teams went back-and-forth from there ahead the Kraken prevailing 4-3 in a thrilling seven-round shootout decided by Chandler Stephenson putting one past goalie Jordan Binnington.
Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer then stopped Jimmy Snuggerud to preserve only the second shootout win all season by his team and its first since the season’s opening week in Minnesota.
Shane Wright set the stage for the extra-time finish by tying things for the Kraken midway through the third on a puck that went in off his skate from the lip of the crease for his 19th goal of the season. That followed a wild series of events in which the Kraken carried a 1-0 lead into the final frame only to see Radek Faska tie it just over a minute in by backhanding home rebound with goalie Philipp Grubauer down and out.
Michael Eyssimont then put the Kraken back in front five minutes later by potting a rebound past Jordan Binnington off a Tye Kartye shot. But that lead lasted only 37 seconds before Colton Paryko tied it up again, getting sent in alone and tucking a backhander through Grubauer’s pads. The crowd then watched, stunned, as Nick Leddy put the Blues ahead for the first time only 13 seconds after that with a slapper past Grubauer from the high slot.
For the Kraken, the win also guarantees no worse than a .500 home record for only the second time in franchise history, leaving them at 18-17-5 at Climate Pledge Arena with just the finale against the Los Angeles Kings to go. They are also just two victories shy of their home high set two years ago at 20-17-4 during the team’s only playoff season.
As for Schwartz, the Kraken’s leading goal scorer and Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy nominee for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, his goal total is his highest in a decade since potting a career-best 28 for the Blues.
The 25 ties him for his second-best output ever, equaling his total from a breakout season with St. Louis back in 2013-14. It helps that he’s stayed on the ice this season, appearing in 80 games thus far and with a shot Tuesday at setting a new career mark.
Prior to this season, the 32-year-old had never appeared in more than 71 games for the Kraken – missing 20 of them a year ago after a December injury. The only prior time he’d played in 80 was during that breakout season for the Blues, in which he scored 25 goals for the first time.
The goal this time was a byproduct of some luck as Schwartz carried the puck in on a 2-on-1 break and had a cross-ice pass attempt blocked, only to have the puck go right back to him. Schwartz didn’t miss, firing the puck into a right side left partially vacant when Blues goalie Jordan Binnington began sliding to his right in anticipation of the pass getting through.
From there, the Kraken and Grubauer made life difficult for St. Louis – held to only a dozen shots the first two periods. But Grubauer had to come up huge towards the end of the middle frame with a point-blank stop on Robert Thomas during a Blues power play.