Kraken defeat Sabres for 7th win in row, run point streak to 11

BUFFALO -- The Seattle Kraken won their seventh straight game and extended their point streak to 11 by defeating the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

Jaden Schwartz had a goal and an assist in his first game since Nov. 28, and Joey Daccord made 36 saves to win his sixth straight start for the Kraken (17-14-9), who are 9-0-2 during the longest point streak in their three-season history. Eeli Tolvanen and Will Borgen each had two assists.

“It’s been a lot of fun for our group to see how well we’ve been playing,” Daccord said. “I think in the beginning of the year it was tough for us. We were just finding ways to lose games … but now we’ve kind of found our groove, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch.”

Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch each had a goal and an assist, and Devon Levi made 21 saves for the Sabres (17-20-4), who had won two in a row.

Buffalo outshot Seattle 19-15 in the first period.

“[We] shouldn’t be able to just dominate like that and then one play doesn’t go our way and boo hoo, sit back on our heels and reel it in,” Tuch said. “We’ve got to keep pushing forward, and I thought we did that at times but nowhere near as consistent enough as we should have. I thought we lost our composure a little bit with how we wanted to play the game and how we wanted to play on our terms.”

Skinner gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 4:57 of the first, receiving a cross-ice pass from Casey Mittelstadt low in the right face-off circle and waiting out Daccord before scoring through the five-hole.

Yanni Gourde tied it 1-1 at 13:55 by sweeping in a rebound in the crease.

Vince Dunn put the Kraken ahead 2-1 on the power play at 18:50 with a snap shot from the slot.

Tuch tied it 2-2 at 50 seconds of the second period, redirecting a pass from Skinner past Daccord’s glove.

“I thought we had all the faith in the world that we could win this game tonight,” Tuch said. “I thought we had a really good shot in the second and then obviously they were able to capitalize really quickly after us and take the air out of our momentum, I guess you could say.”

Alex Wennberg put Seattle back in front 3-2 on the rush at 2:08 when he lifted a backhand over a sprawled Levi’s glove.

“When we gave up the third one, that was -- we just tied it on a really nice goal to start the second period and then we forget the responsibilities we have without the puck and it ended up in our net,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “That was disappointing. I think our group was a little deflated, and you can’t be. You’ve got to find a way to stay energized despite [that].”

Schwartz tipped Borgen’s point shot to push it to 4-2 at 11:34. He missed 16 games because of an upper-body injury.

“It’s nice,” Schwartz said. “You always want to chip in. Obviously winning comes first and I find when you’re just working and playing for one another, you’re not really thinking about points and stuff, I find [you can] be more successful. Just try to focus on my game and help this team and then as you work, plays open up and it’s always nice to chip in.”

Matty Beniers extended the lead to 5-2 at 16:13, scoring on a wrist shot to the far side from the left face-off dot.

The Sabres outshot the Kraken 19-11 over the final two periods.

“Obviously in that spot you’ve got to really play through the game,” Wennberg said. “It’s a 60-minute game and I feel like we did a solid job. Obviously you’re going to learn and there’s going to be more opportunities like this where you have to close a game, and today we did a really good job.”

NOTES: The Kraken have won all five games they’ve played against the Sabres since entering the NHL. … Dunn has nine points (four goals, five assists) in a six-game point streak since Dec. 23. His four goals are the most among NHL defensemen in that span. … Gourde extended his goal streak to three games. … Daccord is one victory from matching the longest winning streak by a goalie in Kraken history (Martin Jones, Jan. 1-14, 2023). … Tuch has five points (two goals, three assists) in a three-game point streak. … Skinner’s goal was his 350th in the NHL.