Kraken Defeat Sabres 6-4 to Sweep Season Series – The Hockey Writers Seattle Kraken Latest News, Analysis & More

The Seattle Kraken hosted the Buffalo Sabres for their second meeting in ten days. It was the Kraken who were once again victorious against Buffalo, defeating them 6-4.

Game Recap

Five minutes into the first, the visitors kicked off the scoring. Peyton Krebs sent a pass to Owen Power at the blue line. He took a blast of a shot, which bounced off of Joey Daccord. Jack Quinn was right in front, where he was able to tip the puck into the net. Ryker Evans was in the middle of a scrum to get the puck. He won and passed to Mitchell Stephens. Stephens took a shot from the boards which was saved by Devon Levi. John Hayden recovered the rebound and took a shot. Hayden put the Kraken on the board to tie the game up just 27 seconds after the Sabres did. Six minutes later, the tie was broken. Evans took a shot between the faceoff circles, which was blocked by Levi. Oliver Bjorkstrand recovered and took another shot, this one also was blocked. Chandler Stephenson grabbed the puck next to the goal. With a shot and a 360, he was able to send it into the back of the net to bring the Kraken into the lead as the period came to a close.

The second period kicked off with the first penalty of the game. Jiri Kulich had to sit for a slash on Matty Beniers. The penalty was killed and shortly after, it was the Kraken’s turn to sit. Stephens was called for holding on Jack Quinn. The penalties were flying tonight. Zach Benson had to sit at the five-minute mark for hooking Ryker Evans. On the third penalty of the night, the first power play goal was scored. Vince Dunn had the puck by the blue line. He passed to Beniers, who sent a pass to Stephenson next to the goal. Beniers skated up to the goal and Stephenson passed back to him. He got close enough where he was able to take a shot and score, extending the Kraken lead to two goals.

At the eight-minute mark, it was Eeli Tolvanen’s turn to sit, this time for hooking Mattias Samuelsson. It was Buffalo’s turn to score on the power play here. Tage Thompson circled in front of the net, looking for an opening. He passed to Rasmus Dahlin, who took a shot from the blue line. The puck deflected off of Jason Zucker and into the back of the net to bring Buffalo closer to Seattle. Six minutes after their second goal, they were able to tie the game. Krebs passed to Samuelsson. He then passed to Thompson, who was to his right on the blue line. Schwartz knocked the puck out of his grasp, but Thompson recovered. He skated up to the net. He took a shot and scored his 20th goal of the season to tie the game.

Less than a minute later, Seattle gained their lead back. Jared McCann had control of the puck from behind the net. He passed to Shane Wright on his left. He had a good vantage point from his spot behind the net and saw Jamie Oleksiak was open. He gave Oleksiak the puck. From between the faceoff circles, he took a shot and broke the tie for the home team. As the period closed with a score of 4-3 in favor of Seattle, both teams had some work to do in the third.

With 3:57 on the clock, the Kraken received their last penalty of the game. Andre Burakovsky had to sit for two minutes due to hooking Dylan Cozens. The penalty ran out before the Sabres could take advantage. Tolvanen and McCann passed to each other from the boards. McCann had control of the biscuit, sending it to Adam Larsson. With a slap shot, Larsson scored his third of the season. Time was dwindling on the clock and Buffalo needed to make some plays. The Sabres pulled Levi to have an extra attacker to make some magic happen. There was a battle for the puck in front of the net, but it was ultimately Alex Tuch who won. He was able to make a shot past Daccord and give the Sabres a fighting chance. It would be McCann who had the last laugh. He received control of the puck off a pass from Oleksiak around the boards. McCann took a shot from the glass. The puck was on the perfect angle to hit the back of the net, giving the Kraken the 6-4 win over the Sabres.

Next Games

The Kraken look to extend their win streak when they host the Washington Capitals on Jan. 23. The Sabres will attempt to dust themselves off when they visit Vancouver on Jan. 21 where they will play the Canucks.