Powered by a four-point effort from Jared McCann, the Seattle Kraken defeated the Washington Capitals 5-1 and picked up their 24th win of the season.
The Seattle Kraken put forth a complete effort on Tuesday night, defeating the Washington Capitals 5-1, led by Jared McCann.
The first period saw the Kraken dominate the shot chart, outshooting the Capitals 13-4. They were unable to solve Logan Thompson in the opening frame, but they were able to break through in the second period.
McCann got the scoring started, recording a power play goal just 1:15 into the middle frame. He followed it up with an even-strength goal, his 14th of the season, before adding an assist on Jordan Eberle’s 19th of the year.
In the third period, the Capitals scored their own power play goal, off the stick of the greatest goal scorer the NHL has ever seen, Alex Ovechkin. There was no panic from the Kraken as they went back to shutting things down before scoring a pair of insurance markers.
Ryker Evans scored the fourth Kraken goal of the game before Matty Beniers scored the fifth. On Beniers’ goal, McCann picked up another point, his fourth of the game and his 26th of the season in just 28 games. Earlier in the third period, McCann thought he had scored a hat trick, but a high-sticking penalty was called on Beniers. The infraction happened 47 seconds before the goal, with the Kraken having multiple spells of puck possession.
Jared McCann leads the Kraken in points per game with 0.93. (Kevin Ng-Imagn Images)Outside of injuries, McCann has been stellar this season. When he’s in the lineup, the Kraken are a far greater offensive team, and he brings the balance the team needs. He’s back on the top line with Beniers and Eberle, and the chemistry appears to have never wavered. ,
“(Jared McCann’s) been consistent since he’s been a Kraken,” said the Kraken captain Eberle. “He has been our most offensive guy. When he’s healthy, and he’s moving his feet, and he’s got confidence, that’s what happened.”
Philipp Grubauer wasn’t all too busy, facing just 20 shots, but he stopped the shots he needed to, turning away 19 of the 20. He’s now up to a .919 save percentage and 2.19 goals-against average in 21 games.
The Kraken return to action on Thursday when they host Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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