Seattle Kraken 8, Ottawa Senators 4. The Kraken have won four games in a row and the first three on their seven-game road trip.
Wow. Fast! That’s how the Seattle Kraken have been playing and that’s how they started matters against the Ottawa Senators. Despite only having five shots on goal through the first fifteen minutes of the game, Seattle jumped out to a 3-1 lead.
They drove Senators starting netminder Anton Forsberg out of the net after Justin Schultz’s goal at 15:13 of the 1st period. Cam Talbot replaced Forsberg.
Trouble presented itself just fourteen seconds later when Jaden Schwartz went off for tripping, but the Kraken and their improving penalty kill fended off the Senators 3rd-ranked NHL power play.
Kraken Goal Scorers:
1st Period
1-0 Kraken – Even Strength – Oliver Bjorkstrand (6), from Justin Schultz, 9:19
Solo rush into the right wing circle, Bjorkstand snaps one off the far post-and-in. May have deflected off D-man.
2-1 Kraken – Even Strength – Jared McCann (19) from Jaden Schwartz and Alexander Wennberg, 12:53
McCann with a twister wrister, short side, glove hand, while standing in the right wing circle.
3-1 Kraken – Even Strength – Justin Schultz (4) from Jamie Oleksiak and Daniel Sprong, 15:13
Schultz deflected it from the slot through heavy traffic, the puck barely trickling over the line behind the diving goalie.
Oopsie Daisy
It’s called a fluke goal, and it came somewhat early in the second period. On the penalty kill from just in front of his own net, Seattle Kraken forward Brandon Tanev fired a clearing attempt that went off Senator Tim Stützle’s knee and straight in past Seattle goalie Martin Jones.
Tough break for Tanev, the PK, and the team, especially since Stützle would score again just two minutes later at even strength.
2nd Period
*4-3 Kraken – Even Strength – Daniel Sprong (12) from Will Borgen, 8:56
Sprong rushed into the right wing circle and fired the puck short-side on Talbot just 22-seconds after Ottawa had tied it.
*– For the tenth time this season the Kraken scored a goal within a minute of their opponent scoring.
3rd Period
5-3 Kraken – Even Strength – Matty Beniers (14) from Jordan Eberle, 14:13
Beniers took a pass in the slot and fired a wicked wrister stick side on Talbot.
6-3 Kraken – Even Strength – Vince Dunn (6) from Andre Burakovsky and Adam Larsson, 1:19
From the mid-point, Dunn ripped a slapper that goes top shelf, glove side.
7-3 Kraken – Even Strength – Jordan Eberle (9) from Andre Burakovsky and Matty Beniers, 4:55
A weird carom off a Ottawa D-man’s leg ends up on Eberle’s stick in the left circle with the net wide open.
8-3 Kraken – Even Strength – Andre Burakovsky (11) from Jordan Eberle, 9:59
Off a cross-crease feed from Eberle, Burakovsky tucks home his own carom after his first attempt hit the left post.
— Shots on goal: Seattle Kraken 24, Ottawa 23 — Power play: Ottawa Senators 1 for 3, Seattle Kraken 0 for 1.
Seattle Kraken 3 Stars:
1) Justin Schultz – Goal on a great tip, plus an assist in almost 18-minutes of ice time.
2) Daniel Sprong – Goal and an assist. One of the top-ten production-to-cost value players in the NHL.
3) Matty Beniers – Got smacked around all night, answered with a goal and an assist and endless tenaciousness.
