Defenseman Brandon Montour also had two assists, and Philipp Grubauer made 32 saves for the Kraken (30-26-9), who are 3-6-0 since the Olympic break after going 6-2-0 heading into it.
“Disappointing when you go on skids like that, especially when you're in a playoff spot,” said forward Jared McCann, who also scored. “It's hard to get out of I feel like, especially when you have times where you're playing great and still losing. … The pressure was building and we had a good talk before the game tonight, just play a little more free and create with the puck, and it was able to show.”
Evander Kane and Marco Rossi scored and Nikita Tolopilo made 28 saves for the Canucks (20-38-8), who were trying to win consecutive games at home for the first time this season. Vancouver has two wins in its past 12 games (2-7-3) and four in the past 28 (4-19-5).
“Obviously, you have five goals (against), it's never a recipe for success,” Kane said. “I thought we did some good things in the first period. Second period we had some chances as well. They got a few power plays, gave them some momentum late in the third. But ultimately, we’ve got to find a way to score a few more goals and keep a few out of more out of our net.”
McCann put Seattle ahead 1-0 at 4:12 of the first period, scoring his first goal in 11 games with a quick shot from the hash marks on a pass from Montour below the goal line after collecting his own rebound on a sharp-angle shot and circling behind the net.
Kane tied it 1-1 with a breakaway deke and elevated backhand at 11:42, but McMann restored the Seattle lead on the power play at 19:10 of the period with a wrist shot off the left wing that caught Tolopilo transitioning into his post and went in off him. McMann said he was trying to pass to Shane Wright driving to the net and wasn’t sure how it went in.
“Didn't know if that one was going in with the shot that I had,” McMann said. “But I think it just fooled the goalie because I think he just missed it kind of thing, and trickled in.”
Jamie Oleksiak made it 3-1 at 5:06 of the second period on a 4-on-2 rush after the Canucks got caught on a line change, taking a pass from Beniers alone in the high slot with plenty of time to pick a corner over Tolopilo’s glove.
“We definitely could have had better changes tonight,” Kane said. “But again, it's absorbing the pressure, making plays under pressure, taking hits to make plays, those little details on the breakout. And good support from all five guys on the ice makes a big difference.”
McMann scored his 21st goal of the season to make it 4-1 with a backdoor tap in off the rush at 4:14 of the third period, going to the back post to finish off Eberle’s cross-crease pass. He is the first player in Kraken history to score multiple goals in their debut with the team.
“He plays with a lot of speed, physicality, makes good plays, kept it somewhat simple,” Beniers said. “As time goes on, you play more and more with a guy, you start to realize their tendencies, where they go on the ice, what they like to do with the puck. So, you keep learning but pretty good start.”
