Ryan Donato scored the decisive goal in the shootout as the Seattle Kraken edged the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Saturday night. Phillip Grubauer made two crucial saves during the shootout, while the Devils missed all three of their attempts.
Rookie Matty Beniers notched his first NHL goal late in the second period, giving the Kraken a 3-2 lead. Will Borgen and Carson Soucy also found the net for Seattle, helping them snap a two-game losing streak.
“I felt Matty played a really solid game, and so did his linemates,” said Kraken coach Dave Hakstol, who showed confidence in Beniers by starting him, giving him ice time in overtime, and selecting him for the shootout. “He made some plays at critical times, which is exactly what you’re looking for.”
Jesper Bratt, Jesper Boqvist, and Damon Severson scored for the Devils, who dropped their second straight game after winning the first two on a five-game Western Conference road trip.
In the shootout, Donato was the first to go for Seattle. He deftly maneuvered around New Jersey goalie Nico Daws to tuck the puck into the net. Grubauer then denied Tomas Tatar’s attempt. Beniers hit the post on his shot, but Grubauer stopped Bratt’s try, giving Seattle the edge. Daws saved Daniel Sprong’s attempt, but Yegor Sharangovich’s shot hit the post, sealing the Kraken’s win.
Beniers, the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft, scored his first NHL goal on a power play at 16:57 of the second period. Defenseman Vince Dunn’s shot from the blue line hit the post and trickled across the crease, where Beniers swept it into the net.
“Someone had a nice tip, and I’m just crashing the net, and it popped out to me,” Beniers said. “It was kind of a lucky goal for me — you don’t get many of those that pop out and are just sitting there in the crease, and you just pop it in.”
Hakstol praised Beniers’ creativity, saying, “The creativity is there, and as he gets more confidence, we’ll see more of that.”
Making his home debut, Beniers added: “It was a lot of fun. Hopefully, we’ll put one in the back of the net next time before we get to a shootout. But we got the win, and that’s all that matters.”
Grubauer and Daws each made 23 saves through regulation and overtime.
Severson tied the game at 3 early in the third period with a shot from the right circle, marking his 11th goal of the season.
The Devils took a 2-1 lead in the first period with goals from Bratt and Boqvist, but Borgen scored for Seattle to tie the game at 1.
New Jersey struggled on the power play, going 0 for 3. The Devils are now 0 for 24 in their last nine games and 1 for 35 in their last 10 road games.
“Our power play wasn’t good enough,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “We had some opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on. We could have taken a two-goal lead, which was a letdown. That had the biggest impact on the game.”
Game notes: Beniers’ power-play goal snapped an 0-for-16 drought for the Kraken that spanned nine games. … Bratt’s opening goal was his 200th career point, all with the Devils, who drafted him in the sixth round in 2016.
UP NEXT
- Devils: Play at Vegas on Monday night.
- Kraken: Host the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.
