The Seattle Kraken took control of the 2024 Winter Classic just minutes into the game and never relinquished that stranglehold. Paced by a balanced scoring effort and a spectacular performance from goaltender Joey Daccord, the Kraken topped the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-0, on Monday.
With the victory, the Kraken extended their point streak to nine consecutive games and extended their winning streak to five games.
Daccord was the story throughout this installment of the Winter Classic as he stopped all 35 shots he faced. It marked the second career shutout for the veteran netminder, who recorded his first career shutout on Dec. 12 in a 4-0 win against the Florida Panthers.
The Kraken opened the scoring just 4:50 into the opening period. Star defenseman Vince Dunn ripped a shot from the point, and forward Eeli Tolvanen beautifully redirected the puck past Golden Knights net minder Logan Thompson.
It marked the sixth point in the last four games for Dunn, who also leads Seattle with 31 points.
Just 2:19 into the second period, Kraken defenseman Will Borgen absolutely uncorked a shot to give the Kraken a 2-0 lead. Thompson made an initial save, but the puck ricocheted all the way out to the top of the face-off circle. Borgen was in the right place at the right time and didn't miss on a scorching slap shot.
Borgen's goal was his first of the season.
The Golden Knights had a huge blunder early in the third period that put the contest out of reach. Kraken forward Yanni Gourde was able to lift the stick of Paul Cotter in the Golden Knights zone and took the puck away from Cotter. Gourde's initial shot was stopped by Thompson, but he was able to score on his own rebound.
Joey Daccord shines in net
Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord absolutely thrived throughout the 2024 Winter Classic. Daccord turned aside 35 shots to help lead the Kraken to victory. It marked the second shutout of his career. Daccord's shutout was the first in the history of the Winter Classic, which began in 2004.
Daccord appeared in just 19 games during his previous four seasons, but he has already played 22 games (19 starts) during the 2023-24 campaign. Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer is currently dealing with a lower-body injury and has missed the last two weeks. As a result, Daccord has rose to the occasion and been victorious in each of his last four starts. In his last 11 games, Daccord has tallied a 6-2-3 record, a 1.55 goals-against-average and a .946 save percentage. Daccord's stellar play has been a big reason why the Kraken are one of the hottest teams across the NHL right now.
Vince Dunn's elite play continues to pace Kraken
Obviously, Joey Daccord has one of the biggest reasons the Kraken came away with a win in Monday's Winter Classic. However, defenseman Vince Dunn was also a large part of the team's success.
Dunn recorded an assist and logged 22:44 of ice time in the 3-0 win. The veteran defenseman did a great job throwing the puck at the net, which resulted in Eeli Tolvanen's deflection goal in the opening period. Still, it may not have been his most important contribution of the afternoon. In the first period, the Golden Knights looked like they were about to produce their best scoring chance of the game up to that point. Golden Knights forward Chandler Stephenson had a two-on-one opportunity with Jonathan Marchessault, and he attempted to slide the puck across to Marchessault. However, Dunn deflected the puck aside with his stick, and the Golden Knights weren't able to manufacture a scoring chance as a result.
Dunn is currently on a four-game point streak and has racked up two goals and four assists during that stretch. The star blue-liner now has 31 points (six goals and 25 assists) on the season, which ranks sixth among all NHL defensemen. Dunn continues to be a defensive anchor for the Kraken, as well as being a force on the offensive end of the ice.
Golden Knights' struggles continue
These are two teams that are heading in very opposite directions. The Kraken are now riding a five-game winning streak following Monday's win. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights have now dropped six of their last eight games, and they really have had their fair share of struggles.
The Golden Knights certainly had plenty of opportunities against Joey Daccord throughout the Winter Classic, but just couldn't put the puck in the net. Star center Jack Eichel registered five shots on the afternoon, yet none could get past Daccord. The most egregious shot may have came late in the third period when Chandler Stephenson teed up a cross-ice pass to a wide-open Eichel, but Daccord was able to make a jaw-dropping glove save. A few of Eichel's shots had the potential to go in if it wasn't for a few spectacular stops from Daccord.
The Golden Knights are averaging 2.75 goals-per-game over their last eight games. If you take out a six-goal performance against the Ottawa Senators and a four-goal outing against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas is averaging just 2.0 goals-per-game across those other six games. Now there's probably no reason to panic for the Golden Knights since they're tied for the third-most points (49) in the entire NHL. Still, the rough stretch is a bit alarming, and Vegas will need to ramp up its goal-scoring efforts to be one of the top seeds when the postseason rolls around.
