Shane Wright returned to the lineup and had a goal and an assist as the Seattle Kraken defeated the host Anaheim Ducks 3-2 Monday night in the opener of a home-and-home series between the Pacific Division rivals.
Andre Burakovsky and Brandon Montour also scored and Ryker Evans had two assists for the Kraken, who had lost their previous five road games dating to late October. Goaltender Joey Daccord made 21 saves to post his sixth victory over the past seven starts.
Trevor Zegras and Frank Vatrano tallied for the Ducks, who took their second straight loss (0-1-1). Troy Terry notched two assists, and Lukas Dostal stopped 24 of 27 shots.
Trailing 2-1 entering the third period, the Kraken scored twice in the opening 1:10 to take the lead.
Burakovsky tied it 46 seconds into the frame on a tip-in at the left post after taking a backhanded, back-to-the-net pass from Jared McCann.
The Kraken took the lead just 24 seconds later. Wright won a faceoff in the offensive zone back to Montour, whose slap slot from the right point found its way through a screen and into the upper left corner of the net.
The Kraken opened the scoring at 7:12 of the first period as Wright outmuscled a defender in front of the net and redirected Oliver Bjorkstrand’s shot from the left point past Dostal. Wright, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft, had been a healthy scratch the previous three games and hadn’t registered a point since Oct. 17.
The Ducks tied it at 15:59 of the opening period with an extra attacker on the ice during a delayed penalty against Seattle. Terry carried the puck over the line on the right wing and fired a cross-ice pass toward Zegras, who put a shot from the bottom of the left faceoff circle over Daccord’s shoulder.
Anaheim scored the only goal of the second period. Vatrano tapped a rebound into the open side of the net at 6:17 after Daccord made a blocker save on Olen Zellweger.
Ducks forward Leo Carlsson, the No. 2 overall draft choice in 2023, was injured late in the second period when he crashed into his own net after being checked by Seattle’s Tye Kartye, who was penalized for interference on the play. The Ducks announced that Carlsson, who didn’t return, sustained an upper-body injury.
–Field Level Media