Thankfully for the Seattle Kraken, history didn’t repeat itself. Even though the Kraken did blow a two-goal lead on Sunday evening in Anaheim, they didn’t suffer the same fate they experienced back on October 12th when they lost the season opener in overtime to the Ducks. Instead of losing 5-4, the Kraken were victorious in regulation by the same score.
This despite giving up three power play goals to the worst unit in the NHL. The Ducks came in dead last with the man advantage at 11.3-percent, but managed to go 3-for-4. As we stated in the pre-game prep, the best penalty kill is to stay out of the box in the first place.
The same keys carried the Kraken to victory: they worked hard throughout, they blocked plenty of shots, and they were creative offensively while getting balanced scoring.
— 4th-line center Morgan Geekie suffered an upper body injury when he collided with teammate Adam Larsson in the 3rd period and did not return.
Kraken Goals
1st Period
1-0 Seattle – Even Strength – Jared McCann (8) – from Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers, :33
Off a set play on a draw in the O-zone right wing circle, Eberle scrambled to the puck and whipped it to McCann in front.
2-0 Seattle – Even Strength – Alexander Wennberg (4) – from Andre Burakovsky and Adam Larsson, 6:53
Three-way passing play with a cross-seam, one-touch pass by Burakovsky to Wennberg who tucked it inside right post.
3-1 Seattle – Even Strength – Vince Dunn (4) – from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde, 19:33
Dunn had all day to walk in and smoke one from the slot.
2nd Period
4-2 Seattle – Power Play – Matty Beniers (7) – from Justin Schultz and Daniel Sprong, 9:30
Alone in the low left slot, Beniers cashed in on a rebound.
3rd Period
5-4 Seattle – Even Strength – Daniel Sprong (4) from Ryan Donato and Matty Beniers, 3:41
Sprong held the puck on a 2-on-1, cut around traffic in the slot and dished home a backhander from along the left post.
— The Kraken have won five in a row on the road, a franchise record, and are now 7-1-and-1 away from Climate Pledge Arena.
Kraken 3 Stars
1) Matty Beniers – A goal, two assists, two hits in sixteen+ minutes of ice time. Leads NHL rookie scorers with 18 points.
2) Daniel Sprong – A goal and an assist. 3 shots-on-goal, a hit, a blocked shot, in just over ten minutes of ice time.
3) Vince Dunn – A goal, plus-3, 2 hits, 3 shots-on-goal, and played a hefty 23:48 on the blueline.
