Schwartz, Beniers lead Kraken to 4-1 win over Ducks

SEATTLE — Jaden Schwartz and Matty Beniers scored inside three minutes of one another within the first interval and the Seattle Kraken held on to beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Thursday night time.

Daniel Sprong added a power-play purpose with 4:18 left within the recreation and Alex Wennberg sealed it with an empty-netter. Martin Jones made 18 saves to assist the Kraken preserve their grip on the highest Western Conference wild-card playoff spot.

“We played a good hockey game,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol stated. “Could we now have some issues a bit of bit in a different way within the second interval? Absolutely. We would have favored to have the ability to prolong that lead. But we settled down within the third. We wanted a pair actual good saves from Martin Jones to try this, however the penalty kill did its job, the facility play did its job in extending the lead and that’s it.

“It closes out a good two points for us and it’s a real positive night.”

Brock McGinn scored the lone purpose for Anaheim. Lukas Dostal made 35 saves.

Schwartz put the Kraken forward at 7:57 of the primary interval. Will Borgen, enjoying on the precise facet behind his personal blue line, angled a cross-ice cross that Schwartz caught up with simply over Anaheim’s blue line. From the highest of the left circle, Schwartz fired it previous Dostal.

PHOTOS: Schwartz, Beniers lead Kraken to 4-1 win over Ducks

Beniers made it 2-0 at 10:37 when his shot went off the web, however got here however got here proper again to him and he poked it in off the sting of his stick.

Beniers had gone 13 straight video games with no purpose from Feb. 28 till getting his twentieth in final Saturday’s 7-2 win at Nashville and now his twenty first, tying him with Dallas’ Wyatt Johnson for many amongst rookies this season.

“I think I was playing good before and after (the 20th),” Beniers stated. “Sometimes, it simply doesn’t go in, and that’s how the sport works. You get one and it simply begins falling.

“Everyone goes through it. I think I was playing a good game before and I think I’m playing the same exact game now – they’re just going in.”

McGinn reduce Anaheim’s deficit to 2-1 with 1:16 left within the second interval. In a scramble behind the web, Derek Grant got here up with the puck and bought it out to McGinn in the course of the left circle. McGinn’s shot went off Jones’ proper pad and into the far facet.

Sprong bought his twentieth of the season to make it 3-1 when he skated round a defender and lifted a shot excessive over Dostal’s left glove. Wennberg’s thirteenth got here on a shot from behind the crimson line into the empty web with 2:15 to go.

NOTES

McCann’s help on Beniers’ first-period purpose gave him 29 factors (13 objectives, 16 assists) within the final 28 video games courting to Jan. 25. … Seattle gained its tenth sequence of the season, going 3-1-0 in opposition to the Ducks.

UP NEXT

Ducks: Visit Edmonton on Saturday night time.