There’s been plenty of talk around the Kraken about these final few weeks being audition times for next season’s roster.
And fittingly for the Kraken in Monday night’s 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators, their first three goals came from guys that weren’t even with the team a month ago. The crowd at Climate Pledge Arena got another dose of electricity courtesy of top draft pick Matty Beniers scoring his second goal in as many home games, redirecting an Adam Larsson shot to tie things up midway through the second period.
Then, with just under four minutes to play in the frame, Victor Rask scored on a laser wrist shot from the left faceoff circle to put the Kraken ahead to stay. Rask was acquired by the Kraken from Minnesota just before last month’s trade deadline, as was Daniel Sprong, who came over from Washington and opened the scoring Monday with a power-play slap shot just 4:36 into the contest.
Karson Kuhlman appeared to score an insurance goal with 6:03 to play in regulation, but it was called back after Ottawa successfully challenged that a stoppage in play should have been called when Yanni Gourde knocked the puck down with a high stick to gain entry into Ottawa’s zone.
But Jared McCann closed it out with 1:11 to go, scoring on an empty net with Senators goalie Anton Forsberg pulled after a nice stretch pass from Larsson.
Kraken netminder Chris Driedger was relatively untested early — with Ottawa managing only three shots in the opening period — then gave up a pair of quick goals to Brady Tkachuk and Nick Holden to start the middle frame as the Senators grabbed a 2-1 lead. But Beniers soon drew the Kraken even, Rask put them ahead, and Driedger went on to stop 12 of 14 attempts to record his team’s second straight victory, this one in front of new team minority owners Marshawn Lynch and Macklemore cheering from the stands alongside the announced crowd of 17,151.
The 14 shots allowed by the Kraken were a season-low, surpassing the 18 given up to the New York Rangers on Oct. 31.
The Kraken held the Senators to just 10 shots the first two periods of play, much of that due to a plethora of Ottawa penalties owing to a physical style they tried to impose. Kraken defenseman Haydn Fleury, another player trying to impress these final weeks after being a healthy scratch for prolonged periods earlier this season, got into his first NHL fight in nearly five years after taking exception to Alex Formenton roughing up one of his teammates behind the net.
Fleury was out-punched by the more-experienced pugilist Formenton but held his own and proved a point that he could step up and protect teammates. Kraken coach Dave Hakstol has made a point in recent weeks that he doesn’t want opponents taking runs at vulnerable players without suffering consequences.
Fleury responded when he had to in that situation, no doubt earning some admiration from his coach.
And the goal scorers did as well, starting with last summer’s No. 2 overall draft pick Beniers, who now has three points in his first three games since joining the Kraken out of the University of Michigan last week. Hakstol has kept on warning that expectations on Beniers must be kept in-check, while the 19-year-old continues to raise the bar even higher with each game he plays.
Sprong delivered as well, using his booming slap shot to score a second power-play goal in as many games by the Kraken after Parker Kelly took a double-minor for high-sticking Vince Dunn in the face. After an early flourish with the Kraken, Sprong had been a non-factor in some recent games to a point where Hakstol had a quiet word with him last week.
Since then, Sprong responded with some better looks against New Jersey on Saturday and then converted Monday for his first goal — and point — since March 28 in Los Angeles.
Rask’s goal was a big one, coming as it did toward the end of the period to completely erase the earlier Senators gains in that frame and restore his team’s lead. It was the third point in as many games for Rask and his third goal since joining the Kraken at the deadline after he’d scored just four all season to that point.
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