Wright scores in Kraken win against Sharks

SAN JOSE -- Shane Wright scored his first goal of the season for the Seattle Kraken, who held on for a 4-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Monday.

Wright, the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, was playing his first NHL game since Nov. 13. He was recalled from Coachella Valley of the American Hockey League on Sunday.

"Definitely felt comfortable out there, for sure," Wright said. "Definitely felt like I belong out there."

Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and an assist, and Eeli Tolvanen and Jaden Schwartz each had two assists for the Kraken (31-30-13), who have won three of their past four. Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves.

"I thought we got good contributions from everybody," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "Everybody had a piece in it, and that's really positive."

Fabian Zetterlund had a goal and an assist, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 28 saves for the Sharks (17-49-8), who were coming off a win but are 1-9-1 in their past 11 games.

"There's a pattern going on now where we've gotten off to bad starts the last three games," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "We have to do a better job of being ready to go at the drop of the puck. You don't have much of a chance in this league when you're only playing 40 minutes."

Matty Beniers scored 29 seconds into the first period to give Seattle a 1-0 lead, beating Blackwood glove side with a one-timer from the left face-off circle.

"You don't want to give up a goal 29 seconds into a game," Sharks defenseman Kyle Burroughs said." It's not the way you want to start, it doesn't set the tone well. Obviously, we're going to have to be better about that moving forward and correct that."

Tye Kartye appeared to add to the Kraken lead at 6:52, but the Sharks successfully challenged the play for offside.

Bjorkstrand did make it 2-0 at 11:26, roofing a shot over Blackwood's left shoulder off a pass from Tolvanen from behind the net.

Zetterlund cut it to 2-1 at 14:19, scoring with a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Mikael Granlund on a power play.

Wright pushed it to 3-1 at 17:06 when he finished a return pass from Jordan Eberle into an open net.

"Obviously, playing with [Schwartz] and [Eberle], it's pretty easy playing with two guys like that," Wright said. "I felt really good today. Obviously, happy with the result as well, and try to keep it going here."

Klim Kostin got the Sharks to within 3-2 at 5:01 of the second period, redirecting in a shot from Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

"He's got poise with the puck. He's not afraid to make a play," Quinn said of Kostin. "He can make a play, he can protect it. There's a lot to like about him. He's a first-round talent. He's making the most of his opportunity here."

Jared McCann scored into an empty net at 19:52 of the third period for the 4-2 final.