The Kraken faced the NHL’s last undefeated team Thursday night, striking first in the first period on Matty Beniers’ first goal of the year. But Winnipeg answered with a pair of second-period scores and another early third-period tally to build a 3-1 lead. But this Kraken squad didn’t fold, answering with a pair of later third-period scores to force overtime with a dramatic flair. The Jets scored in OT, but no one will argue about the standings point being earned and impressive, considering they scored with less than a half-period left in the game.

First, captain Jordan Eberle scored his sixth goal of the year with nine minutes remaining to close it to a one-goal game. The no-quit Kraken cranked up the crowd decibels on Eberle’s goal. The Kraken captain was wide-open at the goal crease, which linemate Jared McCann noticed, getting the puck to Eberle in a hurry. Eberle flashed his signature backhand shot to get the puck past elite WPG goalie Connor Helllebuyck. Beniers earned the secondary assist. With three-and-a-half minutes left, McCann (now with 11 points in eight games) found newcomer and change-agent Brandon Montour, who swiftly put the puck on net. Beniers, overdue on the score sheet, tipped the shot to score his second goal of the night. The crowd noise was as loudest of the season.

The Kraken are now 4-3-1 for the season. They face Carolina Saturday with an opportunity to stamp a winning five-game homestand before heading East for a five-game road trip.

Even Play in First 40 Minutes

The Kraken matchup with the NHL’s last undefeated team was projected to be a tight game per alternate captain Yanni Gourde and head coach Dan Bylsma in pre-game comments. That’s exactly how this game sized up after the first two periods. Both teams had bagged 22 shots on goal, with momentum swings each way each period. Joey Daccord was battling all-star Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck pretty much save for save

There was just one difference: The visiting Jets scored twice in the middle frame after Matty Beniers opened the scoring in Period 1. It appeared Seattle had jumped out to a 2-1 lead mid-second on a highlight-reel drop-and-go between Oliver Bjorkstrand and Adam Larsson, with Bjorkstrand finishing the play when Larsson deftly returned the puck to the Danish forward. D-man Josh Mahura’s long dish to Bjorkstrand to ignite the play would have been the reserve defenseman’s first assist in his fourth game filling in for the injured Vince Dunn.

Instead, Winnipeg took a 2-1 lead late second period when the Kraken couldn’t quite exit the defensive zone. Kyle Connor, who had scored goals in the last four games, starred on defense in this instance. He stole the puck maybe 12 inches from leaving the zone, sending the puck to Mark Scheifele, who whisked the puck over to the ex-LA King Gabriel Vilardi for the score.

On an early third-period power play for Winnipeg with Tye Kartye whistled off for high-sticking, the Kraken starter made an outstanding save on Jets star Scheifele, and the Kraken penaltykillers achieved a couple of clears. But late in the man-advantage situation, Jets forward Nino Niederreider scored his second goal of the night, taking a feed at the right faceoff circle from young Jets forward Cole Perfetti and beating Daccord through net-front traffic.

Beniers Breaks the Ice, Scores His First, Game’s First

You knew it was coming. Sooner or later, Matty Beniers was just playing too well on this homestand to not ring up his first goal. Kraken analyst Eddie Olczyk has been pointing out the young alternate captain’s good deeds in all zones during recent games. Thursday, mid-first period, everyone was clear about Beniers’ work at the offensive end.

The scoring play started all the way back behind the Kraken net, with D-man Adam Larsson surveying his choices to move up the ice. He skated several sides up the right board, then sent a stretch pass toward Kraken leading scorer Jared McCann. Jets defenders attempted to reverse the puck, but McCann corralled it and had a choice of linemate Jordan Eberle skating in the prime high-slot area or Beniers on the left wing. McCann went to Beniers and the third-year center went short-side top-left corner on Hellebuyck, who looked to be leaning left.

Tight First Period

The Kraken were awarded the game’s first power play less than a minute after Beniers’ goal. The two units kept the puck in the Jets end for the most part but generated just two shots on goal, both from Kraken D-man Ryker Evans in his duties as second-unit power play quarterback. The scoreless result still felt like the units were clicking and showed promise if any other man-advantage situations materialized.

The visiting Jets arrived in town with a spotless 6-0-0 record and plenty of hot scorers. After the morning skate, Seattle’s head coach said these two squads play similar styles.

Throughout their lineup, including their back end, their success has come through their team-play, five-on-five for sure,” said Bylsma. “They have two really good lines, but it’s pretty evenly throughout the rest of the lineup. They have team offense [scoring depth] and play a team game. That’s going to butt heads with exactly how we want to play, which is a team game.”

The opening 20 minutes mirrored Bylsma’s projections, though the Kraken outshot Winnipeg by a 12-7 margin and had the majority of the quality scoring chances. Later period, the Jets began to look more like the offensive machine (+17 goal differential) anticipated with a couple of late rushes.

The middle period featured 10 Winnipeg shots on goal compared to just two from the home squad in the first seven minutes. Kraken starter Joey Daccord made a huge close-in save on WPG defenseman Neal Pionk, who was all alone right side with a diving Daccord making the stop to keep the potent Winnipeg group off the scoreboard.