It took less than six minutes for Daniel Sprong and company to serve notice Tuesday night that the Kraken’s lack of a home-ice advantage would soon be a thing of the past.
By that point, the Kraken had already notched goals by Jamie Oleksiak and Morgan Geekie after coming out flying with probably the best early energy displayed this season. And once Sprong showed off his deke moves on a third Kraken goal in the second period of this 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres, it was evident their first Climate Pledge Arena victory of the season was assured.
Sprong also drew an assist on the early Oleksiak goal, hustling after a loose puck and getting it back out to the high slot. From there, a towering Oleksiak wristed it past the glove of Sabres goalie Eric Comrie.
Buffalo finally got on the board midway through the second, but then Jared McCann – on fire lately – added a huge power-play goal with a laser wrist shot in the final minutes of the frame to erase any doubt. Matty Beniers would add a second Kraken power play strike midway through the final period, his third goal of the season and second in as many games.
Kraken goalie Martin Jones, subbing in for the injured Philipp Grubauer, wasn’t overly tested but still turned away all but one of the 16 shots he faced. The Sabres also had a third-period goal called back in a 4-1 game at the time after video review determined the play had been offside.
For Sprong, his first goal of the season and first assist of any kind with the Kraken since arriving at the trade deadline last March was a welcome contribution from one of the team’s semi-regulars. Same with Geekie, who’s been fighting for playing time with Shane Wright and others and made the most of it when given some the past two games.
Wright and Ryan Donato were the designated forward line sitters in this game, opening opportunities for Sprong and Geekie.
As for the Kraken, now back to .500 at 3-3-2 after dropping their first three home games — garnering just one point of a possible six — the victory against a Sabres team that entered a surprising 4-1-0 represented yet another sign they’re poised to move up a level. It appeared that way after an early victory in Los Angeles against the Kings and last Friday in Denver when they beat the Colorado Avalanche, only to lose their ensuing contests.
The Kraken’s loss in Chicago on Sunday had been particularly frustrating given they led by two goals early and were dominating much the same way they did the opening frame of Tuesday’s contest. One difference this time was the power play, which the Kraken had a rare chance to work on in Tuesday’s morning skate.
That work paid off on McCann’s scoring effort, which saw the Kraken throw the puck around well before he finally wristed it home for his third goal in the past three games.
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