Panthers deflate Kraken early in 5-1 win

In Seattle, the Kraken were boiled in a 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

The Canes’ Carter Verhaeghe hit for a double within 26 seconds of each other for a 2-0 lead in the first period.

“I thought [building on a lead was] strong, especially in the five-minute block after they scored,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “That’s when you’re really watching to see are you going to lose the momentum that you had built prior. We were good and solid right through it.”

Florida improved to 12-9-4.

Spencer Knight made 35 saves in his 50th NHL game.

“50 games. Oh, it’s not much. I sit next to a guy who’s over 600,” Knight said. “Whatever, it’s cool.”

Seattle got one back in the second period on a strike from Jared McCann .

“[Knight is] unbelievable back in the goal and we’re so confident in him,” Verhaeghe said. “He makes great saves every night and it’s automatic every night with him. He just continues to make highlight reel saves.”

Seattle dropped to 15-6-3.

The two quick goals in the opening frame seemed to deflate the Kraken.

“I didn’t think that was really the turning point,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “[It] added frustration, and that’s part of the game. You’ve got to make your decision (to challenge). Again, 20 or 30 seconds to make the best decision possible. In that case, I felt like we needed to set it up and have a chance to make that determination. On the other side, that’s not up to me. So no, I don’t carry too much of that.”

Matthew Tkachuk extended the Florida lead to 3-1 in the middle frame.

“After a response like that, especially on the road, it takes the wind out of their sails and in their crowd,” Panthers defenseman Marc Staal said. “That line was making a lot of plays.”

The Panthers hit for two goals in the third, one from Aleksi Heponiemi for a 4-1 advantage.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating, but you can’t focus on it,” McCann said. “We have a lot of veteran guys here [which] kind of just calms us down and lets us play hockey.”

Gustav Forsling picked up the second goal in the frame for the 5-1 final, it came off the power play.

Philipp Grubauer made 23 saves in the Seattle loss.