Kraken rally to beat Ducks 5-4 for 5th straight win
Nov 27, 2022, 5:39 AM | Updated: 8:26 pm
Seattle Kraken's Vince Dunn (29) leaps to avoid a check from Anaheim Ducks' Sam Carrick (39) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Matty Beniers had a goal and two assists, Daniel Sprong scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and the Seattle Kraken tied a franchise record with their fifth consecutive victory, 5-4 over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night.
Jared McCann, Alex Wennberg and Vince Dunn scored in the first period for the streaking Kraken, who then blew a two-goal lead late in the second period before rallying for their 10th win in 12 games. Martin Jones made 25 saves in his 11th victory of the season for Seattle, which has lost in regulation just once over the past four weeks during a surge that began with the 2-year-old Kraken’s first five-game winning streak.
“You want to play a perfect 60 (minutes),” Sprong said. “Is it going to happen every game? Probably not, but good teams still find a way to win.”
Troy Terry scored on his bobblehead night and Derek Grant scored in his return from a 10-game injury absence for the last-place Ducks, who capitalized on the Kraken’s sloppiness to score a season-high three power play goals. Mason McTavish and Adam Henrique scored on man-advantages 1:19 apart late in the second to tie it in Anaheim’s highest-scoring performance in 10 games.
Trevor Zegras had three assists for the Ducks, and John Gibson stopped 14 shots before leaving early in the third period with an apparent injury. Anaheim has lost five of six.
“Through all of this adversity, challenges, they keep fighting for more,” Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. “That says a lot about the men in that room, that they don’t have much quit in them.”
The Kraken are not only winning, but scoring at a prolific pace: Seattle has 23 goals during its five-game surge. The Ducks are the NHL’s worst defensive team, and Seattle capitalized early and often while improving to 7-1-1 on the road this season despite giving up three power play goals for the first time this year.
“We want to be a little bit better on special teams, but this is a really tough team to play against,” Wennberg said of the Ducks, who are 31st in the NHL in power-play scoring percentage. “For us to finish and get the job done here is really good.”
McCann scored 33 seconds after the opening faceoff, and Seattle led 3-1 on Dunn’s fourth goal late in the first period despite Terry’s ninth goal of the season on the power play. The Kraken led 4-2 late in the third before careless penalties led to back-to-back power play goals by McTavish — who converted a sublime cross-ice pass from Zegras — and Henrique.
Sprong, the former Ducks forward, put the Kraken ahead 3:41 into the third after an Anaheim turnover. Anthony Stolarz replaced Gibson, who went to the dressing room immediately after the goal with an apparent injury incurred when Ducks defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk fell on him during the play.
“When you’re a rebuilding team, it’s every day there’s something to work on,” Eakins said. “We’re trying to fix every part of the game.”
INJURED
Seattle forward Morgan Geekie skated shakily off the ice in the second period after colliding headfirst with teammate Adam Larsson. He didn’t return.
Anaheim defenseman John Klingberg missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury.
Eakins provided no postgame update on Gibson’s condition because he hadn’t met with the goalie.
UP NEXT
Kraken: At Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
Ducks: At Nashville on Tuesday night to open a four-game trip.
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