*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
Sometimes we get glimpses of what the Seattle Kraken can truly be, and this game was one of them. Victor Rask scored, Daniel Sprong scored, and the Kraken routed the Los Angeles Kings with a 6-1 victory on Monday night in Los Angeles.
The game was the LA end of a home and home series between the two teams, with the Kings prevailing 4-2 over the Kraken on Saturday night. Seattle's Karson Kuhlman picked up his first point with the Kraken in 9 games since being claimed off waivers, and Vince Dunn had two assists to make it 8 assists in his last 7 games.
Kraken center Yanni Gourde said of the team win that "We didn't let them set up in their structure as much tonight. Last game, I felt like they were in their structure and where they wanted us. We went north, went up ice, and it kind of helped us. Everybody was on the same page and we looked much faster."
The first goal for the Kraken came from Alexander Wennberg, who scored just 14 seconds into the game for the fastest opening goal in Kraken history. Arthur Kaliyev scored on the power play 5:23 into the game, tying things up 1-1. Adam Larsson scored at the 8:24 mark of the first for the Kraken, putting them ahead 2-1 after one period.
The lone goal of the second period came from Rask, who scored his 6th goal of the season, with Kuhlman and Gourde assisting. Jordan Eberle scored 7:05 into the 3rd to open the game up, making it 4-1 on his 16th goal of the season. Jared McCann scored just 29 seconds later to make it a 5-1 lead, and Sprong scored 12:13 into the 3rd to finish off the 6-1 win for Seattle.
It was Chris Driedger who got the start for the Kraken, his first since March 10, and he seized his opportunity. In the win, Driedger saved 36 of 37 shots by the Kings, posting a strong .973 save percentage in what was easily his best performance of the year. Driedger's record improved to 6-9-1 in 16 starts this season.
Driedger said of the big win that "You know, we just looked like a complete hockey team out there tonight. It's great to see those guys come together. Tons of communication, tons of energy and seems like we were just sick of losing."
Across from Driedger, it was Cal Petersen who started for the Kings. Petersen saved only 32 of the 38 shots from the Kraken that he faced, posting a .842 save percentage in the loss. Petersen's record dropped to 18-11-1 on the season.
Kings captain Anze Kopitar said of what went wrong that "It was a lot of stuff that, obviously, didn't go right and we didn't do right. So this one definitely stings, especially the time and position we're in. It's a hard one to swallow, but at the same time, we're leaving for three very important games on the road, so we'll address this one, I'm sure, look at some stuff tomorrow and put it behind us and get ready for the next one."
Up next, the Kraken head back home for a Wednesday matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights, with Philipp Grubauer to get the start. Petersen is likely to start for the Kings again when they face the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.
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