Kraken go Duck hunting, magic number drops to 9 with win and Nashville loss
By Bel Garcia
Seattle, WA - Seattle Kraken were back in town after a four game road trip, looking to continue their playoff push at home. Tonight, they started they started the game with immediate offense and some Martin Jones saves to give them a quick two-goal lead. The first to score was Jaden Schwartz ,with a slap shot into the net, on the assist from Will Borgen and Jamie Oleksiak. The goal gave Schwartz, an alternate captain for the Kraken, his nineteenth on the season. Not long after, beloved All-Star rookie Matty Beniers snuck one in on the far side of the net past Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal, assisted by Jarred McCann to give Seattle a comfortable two goal lead in the first period. What worked for the Kraken early on? Much like Matty’s goal proved, they had some great passes near the net, a high danger area.
Just like the last time that these teams met in the last homestand, things got chippy between two divisional rivals (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Things got a bit quiet in the second period for the Kraken, aside from Jones in the net having to fend off Anaheim’s spicy attempt at a comeback. The Ducks scored late in the period to avoid a shutout, as Brock McGinn got on the board. As for the Seattle, they were getting good looks, but were well defended by Ducks’ Dostal between the pipes. The period felt like it went by quickly despite the cool down on offense, and Seattle would take a two-to-one lead into the third period.
Kraken forward Daniel Sprong chases a puck along the boards (Photo by Mathew Bermudez)
Things become a bit too close for comfort, as Kraken fans have seen their team play down to teams at times and sometimes lose those games. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case tonight. Kraken knew they had to close out the game, as Matty Beniers stated after the game, they are trying to make it into the playoffs and winning this one to secure more points was key down the stretch of the season. Seattle’s power play has scored on the season, but tonight, they got a couple of chances on the power play to increase their lead. They maximized on one of those opportunities late in the game, as Daniel Sprong let a wrist shot go and scored to greatly increase Seattle’s chance of winning the game with a three-to-one lead. They continued to keep their foot on the gas, and really sealed this game when Alex Wennberg took an open net, unassisted, wrist shot to increase the Kraken lead to four-to-one with just over two minutes left in the game.
Anaheim’s Ryan Strome and Seattle’s Matty Beniers get set for a faceoff (Photo by Mathew Bermudez)
Martin Jones was effective in the net early on with some close call saves. The Ducks took 20 less shots on goal than Seattle, but of those that might’ve been a score that Jones was able to deny. He did let McGinn’s shot slide by him into the net in the second period, but overall Jones had a good effort and contribution in tonight’s win. He had 18 saves on 19 attempts, and a .947% save percentage. If Jones can find a way to get into a groove late in the season, the Kraken would look great in the net to make a playoff push as Philipp Grubauer has looked solid since the 2023 calendar year began.
Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostal melts the puck down for a stoppage (Photo by Mathew Bermudez)
Seattle plays the next two games at home; their next one against the LA Kings on Saturday night with a puck drop of 7PM PST, and then a Monday, April 3rd matchup against the tricky Arizona Coyotes also with a puck drop of 7PM PST.