Final Buzzer: Kraken Outduel Anaheim

ANAHEIM- The Kraken's current win streak reached five games here in southern California with a 5-4 conquest over Anaheim. It ties the franchise mark for winning streaks, which the Kraken set earlier this month. Seattle can up the streak record to six Tuesday in Los Angeles, plus make it a clean sweep of this month's recent stretch of divisional matchups.
It wasn't easy. The home squad Ducks came back twice after the Kraken went ahead 3-1 and 4-2. Four penalties in the first two periods resulted in three power-play goals. But early third period, Daniel Sprong showed yet again why GM Ron Francis and coach Dave Hakstol invited the Dutch free agent to training camp on a professional tryout and then signed him to a one-year deal.
Both Kraken leaders always liked his offensive skills, especially his elite shot. What turned the tide for Sprong amid stiff competition at forward was his willingness and delivery of playing hard in all three zones, without or without the puck. Sunday, Sprong took a pass from linemate Ryan Donato (who took a pass from temporary linemate Matty Beniers, filling in for an injured Morgan Geekie, who left the second period with an undisclosed upper-body injury).

It's Sprong's fourth goal and 11th point in 14 games. He had a goal and assist here. It was also Beniers' third point of the night (a goal and two assists) and ninth in his last four games. He leads all NHL rookies in scoring with seven goals and 11 assists.
Donato proceeded to act as a decoy net front (he's deft at getting to the crease). It afforded Sprong plenty of ice and time to get to the far side of the Anaheim net. Ducks goalie John Gibson, moving over to track Sprong, was disrupted by two ANA defensemen (Kevin Shattenkirk and Nathan Beaulieu) falling backward onto him. Sprong made sure to bury the puck into the gaping net. Gibson immediately left the game with backup Anthony Stolarz replacing him.

"We were on a breakout and then Donnie gave it to me, when I wanted to dump in the puck and go for a long change," said Sprong when asked about the scoring sequence. "I think it ended up hitting [Mason] McTavish in the foot and came right back to me in a slot."
Sprong said he appreciates the regular playing time he's received after missing some early games due to a visa issue and ensuing healthy scratches to get back to game shape.
"It's a little bit easier mentally," he said. "You don't have to think about if you're in or out. But we have a really good, deep team. Every night there's different guys stepping up ... I think we're a really tight group in here [locker room]. We're all happy for each other and our goal is to win games and it doesn't matter who gets it done."
Dave Hakstol told the post-game media scrum he liked what his squad got done in the third period after Sprong regained the lead for the Kraken. He was especially pleased with the consistent forechecking pressure.
"It was good to go flip the switch, lock it down a little bit and play a good 20 minutes on the road," said Hakstol.

Jones Delivers Again

After Sprong's game-winner, the rest of the period was a proverbial nail-biting time for Seattle fans. Jones continued his stellar work after the fourth goal was scored late second period. He made a pair of vital saves (ones not every NHL goaltender makes) in the final period to keep the one-goal lead.
True to what his teammates and head coach say about him, Jones was in position, calm and poised, making saves, including letting the puck hit him, to deny the home crowd one more goal roar. Jones is now 11-4-2 on the season.
Jones' teammates played with equal poise to keep Anaheim from getting too many scary chances, especially deploying rigorous and effective forechecking plus a bevy of blocked shots. Stolarz was pulled with a bit more than two minutes remaining, but Seattle gave up little in that final span.
"When you get those types of saves at the right time," said Hakstol, "it gives us a chance to get into the intermission. Then take a deep breath and then go back at it ... Then he's got two timely saves in the third period in which we gave up very, very little. But again, you need to have those saves or it can be a tough night."
"You can look at the second period, there's stretches where Jonesy had no work. All of a sudden, we've [facing] two power plays in a row coming at us and he's got chaos around him. That's not an easy game for a goaltender to play. When you find those he saves, that's why we're standing here talking about a win."

Timely Save after Pair of Disappointing Penalties

Lost among the two late second-period Anaheim power play goals was a big and timely save by Martin Jones right after veteran winger Adam Henrique tied this back-and-forth at 4-4. Just 17 seconds following Anaheim came back from a 3-1 deficit, Vince Dunn lost the handle on a puck and Anaheim free-agent center Ryan Strome took advantage with a wide-open chance on Jones, who turned away the backhanded shot attempt to keep this game in hand.

First of All ...

Seattle struck first with goal 33 seconds into the game. Matty Beniers steers a face off to the right side wall. Jordan Eberle gives extra effort, sending the puck net from his knees. Linemate Jared McCann was there to slip in his eighth goal of the season before Ducks goalie John Gibson could react.

It was Eberle's 11th assist of the season and the 10th for Beniers, who leads all NHL rookies in scoring. McCann takes over the team lead in goals, tied with Andre Burakovsky going into Sunday's road affair.
Seven minutes into the opening period, the Kraken entered the Anaheim zone with a 3-on-1 break courtesy of a Ducks defenseman pinching up into the play and then sliding to the ice in the neutral zone. Defenseman and alternate captain Adam Larsson started the scoring sequence with a dart-like pass to Burakovsky, who one-timed a pass to fellow Swede and first-liner Alexander Wennberg at the right post. Wennberg, a magician with the stick, dangled and, abracadabra, puck in the net to make it 2-0. Burakovsky logged his team-leading 14th assist on the goal

Storybook Bookend

When Daniel Sprong was whistled for a hooking penalty mid-period, the Kraken penalty killers snuffed out an offensively-talented Anaheim group. Less than two minutes later, the PK couldn't repeat the feat. Troy Terry, who scored twice in the Oct. 12 season opener for both teams that ended in a 5-4 Ducks overtime win here at Honda Center, tallied his third against Seattle this season (including the October OT winner). Terry, given too much time and space net front, did his own abracadabra dangling, to tighten the contest.
But, in the Kraken 2022-23 mode of finding ways to win, the Yanni Gourde line generated a scoring chance in the final minute. Gourde retrieved a puck from exiting the offensive zone, sending it back to the Ducks' goal line, where Oliver Bjorkstrand collected. Bjorkstrand deked a pair of defenders wheeling at the left faceoff circle. He moved the puck to Vince Dunn, who moved up for a shot with patience, still 15 to 20 feet, beating ANA goalie Gibson clean. It marked Seattle's 16th defenseman goal of the season, second in the NHL. Only the New York Islanders have more, with 18 but in two more games than the Kraken.