National Hockey League
Seattle 4, NY Islanders 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 1, 2023
Where: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Referees: Cody Beach, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Libor Suchanek
Attendance: 17151

Eeli Tolvanen scored in his Seattle debut as the host Kraken defeated the New York Islanders 4-1 Sunday night.

Adam Larsson, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Brandon Tanev also tallied for Seattle, which snapped a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) and moved into a tie with the Edmonton Oilers atop the NHL's Western Conference wild-card playoff race. Goaltender Martin Jones made 18 saves.

Mathew Barzal scored for the Islanders, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Ilya Sorokin stopped 31 of 34 shots in the opener of New York's four-game trip that will include stops in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.

The Kraken opened the scoring at 9:53 of the first period. Daniel Sprong lifted the puck deep into the Islanders' end and Ryan Donato gained control behind the net. Donato looked like he was going to attempt a wraparound shot, but instead passed to defenseman Larsson, who had joined the rush, for a one-timer from the slot that beat Sorokin.

The Islanders tied it at 17:30 on Barzal's 100th career goal. He skated the puck over the blue line before dropping a pass for Casey Cizikas along the left-wing boards. Barzal continued toward the net, took a return pass and slid the puck under Jones' left leg pad. It was a homecoming for Barzal, who played his junior days with the Western Hockey League's Seattle Thunderbirds.

Tolvanen, picked up off waivers from Nashville on Dec. 12, broke the tie with a power-play goal at 3:58 of the second. Tolvanen took a pass from Vince Dunn and blasted a one-timer past Sorokin from the top of the right faceoff circle.

The Kraken extended the lead at 13:04 of the second. Jamie Oleksiak's shot from the right point was stopped by Sorokin but Bjorkstrand pounced on the rebound and put it over the prone goalie.

Tanev added an empty-net goal at 19:25 of the third.

The Kraken will open a seven-game trip Tuesday at Edmonton before heading to the East Coast.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
NY Islanders   Seattle
Mathew Barzal 1 Points Vince Dunn 2
Mathew Barzal 1 Goals Oliver Bjorkstrand 1
Josh Bailey 1 Assists Vince Dunn 2
N/A Power Play Goals Eeli Tolvanen 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Ilya Sorokin .912 Save Percentage Martin Jones .947
Ilya Sorokin 31 Saves Martin Jones 18
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
NY Islanders 19 1 0-2 1-2 4 36
Seattle 35 4 1-2 2-2 4 19
Upcoming Games
  • Seattle will play their next game on the road against Edmonton. The Kraken have a W/L % of .611 after a win and .471 after a loss.
  • NY Islanders will play their next game on the road against Vancouver. The Islanders have a W/L % of .545 after a win and .562 after a loss.