*Photo from the Norman Transcript*
One of the most exciting players in hockey is currently in Seattle. Victor Rask scored, Matty Beniers scored, and the Seattle Kraken defeated the Ottawa Senators with a 4-2 victory on Monday night in Seattle.
The Kraken won their second straight game, holding the Senators to a season low 14 shots in the victory. The rookie Beniers, who is playing in just his 3rd career NHL game after signing an entry level contract out of Michigan, scored in his second straight game, and has two goals and an assist since signing his entry level deal on April 10.
Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol said of Beniers's game that "We didn't have any hard matchups tonight for him and his linemates. We had a couple of matchups we were looking more for the Gourde line. Matt and his linemates played pretty much against everybody. Gave him a little bit extra towards the end of the game and the D-zone, an extra half shift. Just a continuation of what he's done each night. He looks comfortable."
Despite holding the Senators to only 14 shots, Kraken starting goalie Chris Driedger still had a good performance. Driedger saved 12 out of the 14 shots he faced, recording an .857 save percentage. Driedger's record improved to 8-12-1 on the season, making 21 starts.
The lone goal of the first period came from Seattle's Daniel Sprong, who scored a power play goal 4:36 into the game, putting the Kraken ahead 1-0. In the second period, Brady Tkachuk scored just 1:11 into the second period, tying the game 1-1 with his 28th goal of the season. At the 3:15 mark of the second, Nick Holden put the Senators ahead 2-1 with his 5th goal of the season.
Later in the second, Beniers tied the game for the Kraken, scoring his second goal 9:52 into the second period. Later in the second, Rask put Seattle back in front, making it a 3-2 Kraken lead at the 16:15 mark of the period, assisted by Alex Wennberg and Joonas Donskoi. The only goal of the 3rd period came on an empty net, with Jared McCann sealing the 4-2 Kraken win.
Hakstol said of the win that "It almost seemed like we were a step quicker than they were most of the night, and that's when playing without the puck, That's important, and with the puck even more important. We made a couple of mistakes in the second period, and they took advantage of it. We made a couple of mistakes with the puck and that leads to pretty good opportunities for them."
Getting the start in goal was Anton Forsberg, who played well, but the team around him didn't. Forsberg turned aside 25 out of the 28 Seattle shots on goal, posting a .893 save percentage while getting the loss. Forsberg's record dropped to 19-17-4 on the season.
Ottawa forward Dylan Gambrell said of the loss that "They played well. It's tough when you start out on the kill. It's tough to get the momentum early, and I think we just got a little behind with that, and then pushing in the second and third I thought just wasn't quite enough."
Up next, the Senators finish up a back to back with a Tuesday night matchup against the Vancouver Canucks, with Filip Gustavsson to get the start. Phillipp Grubauer is expected to start for the Kraken when they take on the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.
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