Seattle Kraken coach Dan Bylsma promised to give Jani Nyman a significant role in his NHL debut.
Both the coach and player delivered.
Nyman’s power-play goal sparked a third-period comeback and Brandon Montour set an NHL record with a goal four seconds into overtime as the Kraken defeated the visiting Montreal Canadiens 5-4 on Wednesday.
The Kraken will look for more of the same from Nyman when they play host to the Utah Hockey Club on Friday.
Nyman got Seattle within 4-3 at 10:53 of the third period, taking a pass from captain Jordan Eberle from behind the net and lifting the puck over Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes.
“I don’t know what I (should) say,” said Nyman, a 20-year-old whose parents made the trek from Finland for his debut. “It’s a very special night.”
Nyman, a second-round draft pick in 2022, was tied for third in the American Hockey League in scoring with 26 goals — tops among rookies — when he was recalled Monday from Coachella Valley.
Nyman, listed at 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, played 13:56 and had three shots on goal and three hits. He had three additional shots blocked and hit the crossbar with a tip attempt.
“You never want to have played a game and not showed what you can do, what kind of player you are,” Bylsma said. “Jani did a good job of that in a lot of regards.”
Bylsma got a first-hand look at Nyman last season when he was coaching Coachella Valley. Nyman joined the Firebirds late in the season and played in five games.
“Almost immediately you have to notice the shot,” Bylsma said. “That’s a big part of him being an effective player. But the feet, the skating, in order for him to be able to do that, you got to see him skating.
“You got to see him moving his feet. It can’t be a stationary game. And that’s really kind of (what) he’s developed this year, an all-around game and a skating game, moving his feet, getting to spots where you can see that shot over and over again.”
Montour, who had two goals and two assists, took the overtime faceoff won by Chandler Stephenson, skated in alone and beat Dobes high to the glove side. It also tied the NHL record for the fastest goal to start a period, shared by Montreal’s Claude Provost (Nov. 9, 1957), Chicago’s Denis Savard (Jan. 12, 1986) and Toronto’s James van Riemsdyk (March 28, 2014).
“You have to tip your cap if someone can beat that one,” Montour said.
Utah is coming off a 3-2 home victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday as Dylan Guenther had a goal and an assist, scoring the winner on the power play at 7:03 of the third period. Guenther concluded his junior career with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League, helping them reach the Memorial Cup.
“What I take from that game is really the way we played in the (third period on Wednesday),” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “When we’re protecting the lead and the sacrifice our guys did and the way that we’re engaging, the discipline, and resilience we had, that was great to see.”
Jack McBain and Alexander Kerfoot also scored and Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves as Utah improved to 2-0-2 over its past four games to pull within two points of Calgary and Vancouver for the Western Conference’s second and final wild-card playoff berth.
“Definitely a huge win, and a huge homestand,” Utah forward Barrett Hayden said after his team went 1-0-1 in Salt Lake City this week. “It would have been really nice to get all (four points), but the way we were able to fight back in that Toronto game (a 4-3 shootout loss Monday) and get a point is huge for us. Same thing (Wednesday). It was a grind.”
