In Ottawa, the Senators held tough with the Seattle Kraken for the first period and a quarter on Saturday.
The Kraken took a 3-1 lead into the second period before Tim Stutzle scored two of his three goals on the night to knot the game, 3-3, in the middle frame.
From there, it was all Seattle as they posted two goals to reclaim the lead in the second period, 5-3, and added three more in the third period en route to a n 8-4 win.
Martin Jones made 19 saves in the Kraken’s fourth straight win.
“I think the strength of this group is in the depth that we have,” Seattle’s Jordan Eberle (goal and three points)Â said. “And that’s not just the forwards, it’s the defense, it’s the goalies. You see teams that have four lines and six [defensemen] that can contribute, and that’s dangerous. In my opinion, a lot of the teams that make the playoffs, it’s because of that [depth].”
Seattle improved to 22-12-4.
“We’re just a better hockey team,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “That encompasses everything from what our team looks like on paper to how we play and perform every night. We’ve worked hard to be successful on the road. That’s not an easy thing to do, but we’ve found different ways to win games.”
Ottawa dropped to 18-18-3.
“There were some guys that didn’t have it tonight,” Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. “The chemistry wasn’t there. … At the end of day, you only win by playing hard defense in this league, and we didn’t play nearly enough defense tonight to have a chance to win a game.”
Brady Tkachuk scored in the first period for the Senators.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, Jared McCann, and Justin Schultz scored for Seattle in the opening period.
“It’s huge that all four lines can score,” McCann said. “Even our [defensemen]. Our [defensemen] showed up tonight, and [Dunn] had a bomb from the point. It’s good to see.”
Stutzle tied with his first two goals early in the second.
“I just don’t think we deserved it tonight,” Stutzle said. “We were working hard, but just too many mistakes. We talked about it before the game, to play fast, and we didn’t really do that tonight.”
Seattle replied with goals from Daniel Sprong and Matty Beniers for a 5-3 lead headed to the third period.
Stutzle finished his hat trick in the third, but Seattle kept the foot to the floor with three more goals.
Vince Dunn, Eberle, and Andre Burakovsky scored in the third for the 8-4 final.
“We’ve been at our best when we’ve been able to roll four lines and not have a huge concern over each matchup,” Hakstol said. “That’s the way our team is built. We’re asking everyone to contribute, play the right way, play with responsibility defensively. We weren’t airtight there tonight, but we were good enough at the right times.”
Anton Forsberg got the start for the Senators, and two saves and yielded three goals. allowed three goals before getting the hook.
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Cam Talbot made 14 saves in relief.
“It was a tough night for both of us,” Talbot said. “We’ll both take the heat on this one. I know I can speak for him because he is as accountable as me. You score four goals in a hockey game, and your goalie should be able to make the saves to win the rest of the game. I think he’d be with me when I say we need to be better, and we will be.”
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