Matty Beniers scored a goal and provided two assists as the Seattle Kraken wrapped up a five-game road trip with a 4-1 win over the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
Jordan Eberle, Eeli Tolvanen, and Jared McCann also found the net for Seattle. Joey Daccord made 36 saves, snapping his three-game losing streak.
“Unreal. He’s made huge saves every night he’s been between the pipes,” Beniers said.
Daccord, who grew up in Boston, found the game particularly special.
“Real special night,” he said. “Trying to put everything into perspective. I grew up a Boston sports fan. It was pretty emotional for me.”
Boston has now lost three straight and four of five at home. David Pastrnak scored for the Bruins, and Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves.
The struggling Bruins are now tied with Florida atop the Atlantic Division, with the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers trailing by just one point for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Bruins took an early lead five minutes into the game when Pastrnak fired a shot on Daccord and then scored on the rebound for his 34th goal of the season.
A high-sticking penalty on Boston allowed Seattle to equalize at 10:49 of the first period, as Eberle’s persistence paid off after Swayman made the initial save.
Boston hit two posts, and James van Riemsdyk missed an open net in the second period. The Kraken capitalized on a 3-on-1 break late in the period when Tolvanen fired in a one-timer, with Beniers credited with his second assist of the night.
“We’re not getting the results right now, but sometimes you go through this during the season. We hit some posts. Those things happen,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “We’re going to stick together and keep grinding and working.”
Bruins forward Charlie Coyle had a good chance to tie it, but his backhand shot hit the post two minutes into the third period. The deficit grew to two goals when Beniers — a Massachusetts native — beat Swayman on a rush from the left side.
“Boston kids love coming home to Boston,” Beniers said with a smile. “I know (Daccord) was pumped up. I was pumped up. It was fun to get the win.”
The Bruins had to kill off a penalty before getting an extra skater for a 6-on-5 advantage with 1:30 remaining, but Seattle found the empty net as McCann scored, bringing the total to four goals for the Kraken’s top line.
Boston went 0 for 2 on the power play and is 0 for 15 in a four-game drought.
“I think we do a good job of looking at the game as a whole. (Montgomery) and the coaches do a good job of being encouraging in these moments,” Coyle said. “It hasn’t gone our way as much as we would have liked since returning from the (All-Star) break. Overall, we’re still building our game and what our mission is. There’s no reason to get discouraged by any means.”
Upcoming Games
- Kraken: Open a six-game homestand Monday against Detroit.
- Bruins: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
