Kraken clinch playoff berth for 1st time with win against Coyotes

The Seattle Kraken clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time with a 4-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Thursday.

Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle each had a goal and two assists, Matty Beniers had a goal and an assist and Philipp Grubauer made 27 saves for the Kraken (44-26-8), who finished 30th last season (27-49-6), their first in the NHL.
"It's unbelievable, it's hard to put into words, the excitement, the growth, the steps we've taken and the way we've come together," Seattle forward Jaden Schwartz said. "It's obviously exciting … everyone's just really fired up that we're in in the playoffs. It's a dream come true for us, and to be able to do in our second year is pretty special."
The win moved the Kraken seven points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames for the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.
"This group believed in it and pushed through that finish line, and I don't believe they're done yet," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "Points are still valuable to us in terms of positioning and how you're feeling going into the playoffs. We'll find out who [we play] and then go to work. That's just what the group does. Go to work."
Barrett Hayton and Laurent Dauphin scored, and Karel Vejmelka made 30 saves for the Coyotes (27-39-13), who have lost nine in a row (0-7-2), including 8-1 at Seattle on Monday. Arizona has been outscored 24-7 in its past four games.
"I don't think we generated a lot in the first and we took a little bit of time to get our offense figured," Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. "I think we generated enough in the second and third periods. We had [two] power plays, but we couldn't score a killer goal at the right time."
The Kraken scored in the final minute of the first period and the first minute of the second period to take a 2-0 lead.
McCann made it 1-0 at 19:36 of the first after Beniers won a puck battle behind the net and passed to Eberle, who fed McCann for a tap-in. McCann scored two goals Monday and has 38 this season.
"We've got to win. We've got to win to get into the playoffs," he said. "We had the opportunity to do that tonight, and we did it. We rose to the occasion."

Vince Dunn made it 2-0 just 28 seconds into the second when his shot from the high slot went under Vejmelka and crossed the goal line as defenseman Patrik Nemeth tried to clear it.
Eberle gave Seattle a 3-0 lead at 5:52 after he was left alone in front.
The Kraken's top line of McCann, Beniers and Eberle combined for eight points, and each had a goal.
"We were just playing hard, winning our battles," Beniers said. "That's the biggest thing, when we get time and space, we've got some good players who can make plays."
Hayton cut it to 3-1 at 12:00 with a one-timer from the right face-off circle after Matias Maccelli's cross-ice backhand pass.
Beniers made it 4-1 at 3:37 of the third period on a breakaway created by Eberle's stretch pass following a Coyotes turnover.

Laurent Dauphin scored his first goal this season with 39 seconds left for the 4-2 final.
Seattle's 46 wins and 96 points are the most by an NHL team in its second season since the 1967-68 expansion. The 30-point improvement from its first season is also the largest.
"We came together as a team, even when we had some big injuries and guys out of the lineup," McCann said. "We stuck with it, stuck with the process, and it just show the character that we have. We're excited."
NOTES: The teams will play for the third time in eight days Monday at Mullett Arena. … The Kraken are 33-1-3 when leading after the second period. … Beniers leads NHL rookies in goals (23) and points (56). … The Coyotes finished 7-25-9 on the road. … Arizona also had a nine-game losing streak from Dec. 31-Jan. 15 (0-9-0). … Eberle has four goals in his past three games. He became the third Seattle player with at least 60 points this season (61 points; 19 goals, 42 assists), joining McCann (66 points; 38 goals, 28 assists) and Dunn (64 points; 14 goals, 50 assists).