Recap: Three Power-Plays Goals Not Enough for Ducks in 5-4 Loss to Kraken

The Ducks scored a season-high three power-play goals but Daniel Sprong broke a 4-4 tie early in the third period, giving the Kraken a 5-4 victory over the Ducks tonight at Honda Center.
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Trevor Zegras led the Ducks offensively with a three-point night, matching a career-best. Troy Terry, Adam Henrique, Mason McTavish and Derek Grant scored for Anaheim. Cam Fowler tallied two assists and now has points in six of his last seven games (2-8=10).
With two points, Terry moved into the NHL lead for all-time scoring against the Kraken (6-4=10). Terry has points in all five of his career matchups against Seattle.
John Gibson made 14 saves in his 17th start of the season, before suffering an injury on Sprong's go-ahead goal and leaving the game. Anthony Stolarz replaced Gibson in net, his fifth relief appearance of the season, stopping all six shots he faced.
Sprong, Jared McCann, Matty Beniers, Alex Wennberg and Vince Dunn scored for the Kraken, who improved to 13-5-3 on the season and 7-1-1 on the road.
Former Sharks netminder Martin Jones earned his fourth straight win with 25 saves.
Despite the setback, Anaheim scored three power-play goals for the first time since November 2017 (11/09/17 vs. VAN). Power-play goals have come in bunches this season for the Ducks, with nine of the club's 10 on the year scored in just four games.
Seattle wasted little time taking command after the initial puck drop, racing out to an early 2-0 lead before the midway point of the first period.
The opening goal came on a well-executed faceoff set play, which saw McCann sneak across the formation and lift home a backdoor pass from Jordan Eberle.
McCann has points in four of his last five games (3-2=5). A year after tallying a career-best 27 goals and 50 points, the 26-year-old again paces the Kraken in goals (eight).
With an assist, Eberle also continued his strong run of late, with points in five of his last six appearances (3-4=7). The longtime Oiler winger tallied his 600th career NHL point earlier this season and is now 42nd among active NHLers in career scoring.
Wennberg doubled the lead minutes later as the recipient of a terrific setup feed by Andre Burakovsky, who redirected Adam Larsson's point shot across the crease to Wennberg for the tap-in goal.
Wennberg's goal snapped a six-game scoring drought while Burakovsky's assist gave the first-year Kraken winger six points in his last three games (3-3=6).
Gibson kept the deficit from reaching three later in the period after a unsuccessful Anaheim power play, shutting down the former Duck Sprong on a breakaway after he left the box.

The big stop would prove a turning point in the first period, when a second Anaheim power-play opportunity got the home side back in the game.
As the Ducks worked the puck around the perimeter of the zone, it eventually came to Terry along the goal line. Anaheim's leading scorer saw some open space in the slot and made an aggressive play with the puck, dancing inside the defense with a move to his forehand before slipping a shot between Jones' legs to bring the Ducks back within one.

Terry would later add an assist on Henrique's power-play goal for his seventh multi-point game of the season. The 25-year-old winger leads Anaheim in points (9-14=23), goals and assists.
It appeared that power-play goal, and a couple of subsequent territorially strong shifts from the Ducks, would push the one-goal difference to the middle frame, but a last-minute Anaheim defensive breakdown would restore Seattle's two-goal cushion before the break.
Dunn scored the goal, taking a pass from Oliver Bjorkstrand on left wing and finding a wealth of open space in the slot before beating Gibson with a wrist shot to the blocker side.
Dunn, who has found the scoresheet in both matchups vs. Anaheim this season, co-leads Kraken defensemen in scoring. Gourde drew the secondary assist, his third straight game with a helper.
Making his return from injury after a 10-game absence, Grant answered right back for Anaheim in the early moments of the second, following up a centering pass to Frank Vatrano and slamming home the rebound.

Grant, now seven appearances from 400 in the NHL, skated 15:12 in his return to action, tallying the goal (his second of the season) with two shots and one takeaway. The versatile 32-year-old veteran also went 6-for-7 (87%) in the faceoff circle.
The seesaw action would only continue from there though, as Seattle went back ahead by two on a power-play goal of their own, with Beniers finishing off a rebound after a one-timer by Sprong.
Beniers has points in four straight games (2-7=9), including three multi-point efforts. The second pick in the 2021 draft has five points (2-3=5) in two games against Anaheim this season.
Once again facing a two-goal deficit, against a team riding a four-game winning streak, it would again be Anaheim's power-play unit coming through to tie the game.
McTavish scored the first on another one-timer from Zegras, a play the Ducks have run often lately on the power play to a couple of near-misses. This time the young center made no mistake, wiring his bid past Jones before the netminder could slide across his crease.

The 19-year-old McTavish now owns 4-7=11 points in 22 games this season.
Henrique tied the game on another man advantage just over a minute later, converting a backhand centering pass from Terry behind the net.

After opening the new season with just one point in his first nine games, Henrique has 7-4=11 points in his last 12 games. He sits third among Ducks leaders in goals.
That 4-4 tie would last only until early in the third, when a bouncing puck high in the Anaheim zone became a turnover and quick scoring chance for Sprong, who outwaited Gibson and beat the sprawled Ducks netminder on the backhand.
Seattle would lock it down defensively from there, completely preventing Anaheim from getting any momentum on the offensive end and preserving a 5-4 divisional victory.
The Ducks begin a four-game road trip Tuesday in Nashville.