Ottawa Senators left wing Tim Stutzle (18) watches his shot go in the net behind Seattle Kraken goaltender Martin Jones (30) during second period NHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
OTTAWA – The Seattle Kraken picked up their fourth consecutive win as they went into Ottawa and defeated the Senators 8-4 Saturday night.
Jordan Eberle and Andre Burakovsky led the way with a goal and two assists each for the Kraken (22-12-4), who got goals from eight different players and 13 had at least one point.
Justin Schultz, Matty Beniers, Vince Dunn and Daniel Sprong had a goal and an assist each. Jared McCann and Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored for Seattle.
Martin Jones made 19 saves for his 18th win of the NHL season.
The Senators (18-18-3) got three goals from Tim Stutzle and another from Brady Tkachuk as they had their modest two-game winning streak halted.
Anton Forsberg started in goal for the Senators but was pulled in favour of Cam Talbot 15 minutes into the game after allowing three goals on just five shots. Talbot turned aside 14 of 19 shots.
The Kraken led 5-3 to start the third but quickly made that a 7-3 lead on goals by Dunn and Eberle in the opening five minutes. Stutzle completed his hat trick at 5:20 of the period to pull the Senators to within three goals, but Burakovsky scored midway through the period for an 8-4 lead.
The was no lack of scoring in the opening two periods as Seattle took a 3-1 lead into the second period and 5-3 lead into the third. The eight goals came on a combined 30 shots, 15 apiece.
The Kraken opened the scoring at 9:19 of the opening period when Bjorkstrand beat Forsberg over the stick-side shoulder. Just 62 seconds later though the Senators tied the game as Tkachuk split the defence and fired a shot over the glove of Jones.
The Kraken scored twice more in the opening 20 minutes as McCann scored at 12:53 and Schultz tipped a point shot past Forsberg at 15:13. That spelled the end of the night for Forsberg.
The Senators came out strong in the second period and got a pair of goals from Stutzle to tie the game 3-3. Stutzle scored a power-play goal at 6:35 and then chopped a rebound past Jones while falling at 8:34.
Just 22 seconds later Sprong gave the Kraken a 4-3 lead and Beniers increased that lead to 5-3 at 14:13. Beniers leads all rookies with 14 goals and 30 points this season.
NOTES
Saturday’s game was the first of the season between the Senators and Kraken. They will meet again at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on March 9. “¦ The lone scratches in the game Saturday were Kraken defenceman Cale Fleury and forward Ryan Donato. “¦ Stutzle extended his point streak to seven games. “¦ The Senators finished 1-for-3 on the power play while the Kraken went 0-for-1.
UP NEXT
The Senators will conclude a four-game homestand when they host the Nashville Predators on Monday. They will then head out for three straight on the road against the Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues.
The Kraken will play the fourth of seven consecutive on the road against the Canadiens in Montreal on Monday. They will finish the trip against the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2023.
