Kraken 5, Maple Leafs 2
One could see this coming. The Maple Leafs are discombobulated. The Kraken are on top of their checking game. Their harassment of Toronto was predicted by Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube after the morning skate on Thursday, echoing similar words we heard from Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery on Tuesday.
“They don’t give you a lot of room to operate, they make it tough,” was the gist from both men when referring to Seattle’s defensive effectiveness.
Seattle lived up to the billing. Toronto saw some chances early, but they never seemed to establish a consistent flow. At the same time, the Kraken were opportunistic.
Matty Beniers opened the scoring just 1:21 into the 1st period when he was left alone in the slot and he wristed a shot that found its way through Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz.
Shane Wright scored his first goal in 13 games with a backhander off a rebound at 6:23 of the 2nd period. It gave the Kraken a one-goal lead again after Nick Robertson tied the game for Toronto late in the 1st.
The next Seattle goal came off the rush. Brandon Montour converted a pass from Freddie Gaudreau just 31-seconds after the Wright goal.
This season’s often dejected Maple Leafs team was downtrodden again with the Kraken up 3-1.
D-man Morgan Reilly gave the visitors some false hope at the 6:04 mark of the 3rd period with a power play goal. It took less than two-and-a-half minutes for the Climate Pledge Arena faithful to celebrate again. Wright scored, his ninth of the season before Jared McCann finished things off with an empty netter.
With the win Seattle moved to 25-19-and-9 on the season and slipped into 3rd place in the Pacific Division with 59 points. The Maple Leafs fell 10 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
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