Matty Beniers scored in his second consecutive game, becoming the third NHL rookie this season to record a point in his first three games, as the Seattle Kraken defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-2 on Monday night.
Beniers, the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft from Michigan, had an assist in his NHL debut last Tuesday in a 5-3 loss at Calgary. He scored his first goal on Saturday in the Kraken’s 4-3 shootout win over New Jersey.
Daniel Sprong, Victor Rask, and Jordan Eberle also scored for Seattle, with Eberle’s empty-netter sealing the victory with 1:11 left. This win marks Seattle’s second straight victory.
Brady Tkachuk and Nick Holden scored for Ottawa, with their goals coming two minutes apart early in the second period.
Beniers tied the game at 2-2 at 9:52 of the second period. Adam Larsson took a shot from the right point, and Beniers, positioned in the high slot, redirected the puck into the net.
Beniers joined rookies Sean Durzi of Los Angeles and William Eklund of San Jose as players to log a point in their first three games.
“We made a couple mistakes with the puck early in the second period, and that leads to opportunities in a hurry when you give them those types of chances,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “That’s what happened to give them momentum. We did a good job pushing back on it, and Beniers’ goal was important. It made us feel good again and got us going in the right direction.”
Sprong gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead during a four-minute power play in the first period. His shot from the left circle beat Senators goalie Anton Forsberg at the 4:36 mark, his 12th goal of the year and fourth for Seattle since being acquired from the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline.
“When you get four minutes, you can create a lot of momentum, and we did that,” Sprong said. “We haven’t gotten many power-play goals lately. We got a four-minute power play early in the game and we wanted to get off to a good start there.”
Tkachuk tied it at 1-1 at 1:12 of the second period with his team-leading 28th goal. His shot from the left point was stopped by Kraken goalie Chris Driedger, but the loose puck slid under him into the net.
Holden gave Ottawa a 2-1 lead at 3:15 when he took a cross-ice pass from Nikita Zaitsev and fired a slap shot from the left circle into the right side of the net.
After Beniers’ equalizer, Rask put Seattle back in front 3-2 late in the second period with a slap shot from the left circle at 16:45.
Ottawa managed 14 shots, with Driedger saving 12. Forsberg made 25 saves for the Senators.
“We had pretty good puck pressure everywhere,” Hakstol said. “It seemed like we were a step quicker than they were most of the night. When you’re playing without the puck, that’s important, and with the puck, it’s even more important.”
Ottawa coach D.J. Smith was unhappy with his team’s performance.
“All the things we’ve done of late to have success, we didn’t do today,” Smith said. “Off the rush, turnovers, staying on pucks, just a lot of bad penalties — it wasn’t a very good game. Sometimes, you take penalties, but just bad ones, that prevent us from having any rhythm. Offensively, we had very little zone time.”
Game Notes
The teams split their two-game season series. The Senators won overtime on March 10 at home, 4-3. Monday’s contest was originally scheduled for Jan. 6 but was postponed due to COVID-19 issues. It was the last of 10 such makeup games for Seattle and the 11th of 12 makeups for Ottawa, with No. 12 scheduled for Tuesday at Vancouver. Former Seattle Seahawks star and Super Bowl champion Marshawn Lynch, along with Grammy winner and Seattle native Macklemore, were announced on Monday as the newest members of the Kraken’s investor group. They were introduced to the crowd before the opening faceoff.
UP NEXT
- Senators: At Vancouver on Tuesday night.
- Kraken: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.
