In Seattle, the Kraken scored three times in the middle frame on Thursday en route to a 5-2 win over the visiting Vancouver Canucks. 
Jared McCann potted a goal and picked up three assists in the win.
Philipp Grubauer made 19 saves in the win.
The Kraken improved to 24-21-11, and extended their point streak to four games.
“That was a solid performance all the way through,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We got good contributions from everybody. Our play with the puck drives a lot of our success tonight as far as moving the puck, taking care of it, making good, hard plays, and getting through the neutral zone. We played fast, and that’s the way we looked tonight for most of the night.”
J.T. Miller broke the ice in the game, scoring at 4:34 of the opening stanza for a 1-0 lead to the Canucks. It was his third straight game with a goal.
Seattle replied with a strike by Vince Dunn at 13:22 of the first to tie the game, 1-1.
“I saw the defense kind of coming out hard at me,” McCann said. “He had a good stick, and ‘Dunner’ and I kind of talked about him shooting the puck a little bit more, and that’s going to open me up. So, just kind of a good play that turned out well. I keep harping on him to shoot the puck, so I’m glad he did.”
The Canucks dropped to 37-16-6 off their fourth straight loss.
“The first 10 minutes I thought we were fine,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “And then all of a sudden it was a comedy of errors where guys were missing pucks and things like that.”
McCann collected his goal off the power play with 21 seconds gone in the middle frame. “My linemates created that all for me,” McCann said. “They forechecked there, they had a good stick, and I was able to just turn, spin and shoot. So, that’s all on them. … I saw I had a little bit of time, so I just tried to pick my spot.”
The Canucks were scoreless in four power play chances.
“Obviously, it’s going to be a focal point until you have a little bit more success, and that’s the way it’s going to be,” Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes said. “But no one cares more than guys that are on the ice, and hopefully we’ll be able to get the job done.”
Vancouver tied it up again when Sam Lafferty scored at 4:57 of the second.
Seattle regained the lead on a marker from Justin Schultz at 13:29.
“It’s not X’s and O’s,” Tocchet said. “They came up with loose pucks, and we didn’t. … You can analyze it, but there’s nothing really to say.
Eberle potted the first of his double at 14:40 of the middle frame for a 4-1 lead headed to the third period.
“It’s pretty frustrating when we don’t play like that,” McCann said. “Because we played against one of the best teams in the NHL, we play like that, we just feel good, we’re dominating. And it’s frustrating sometimes when we’re not playing like that every game.”
Eberle collected his double when he hit an empty net just over minutes left on the game clock for the 5-2 final count on the scoreboard. 
Thatcher Demko made 26 saves in the loss.
“We’re going to go through this,” Demko said. “It’s not going to be a perfect season. This is the first bit of adversity that we’ve faced, so I’m sure it’s fun to write that we’re struggling or whatever, but it’s part of the game, part of the sport. We’re learning from it.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.