Joey Daccord notches third shutout in 4-0 Seattle Kraken victory over Anaheim Ducks
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 26: Oliver Bjorkstrand #22 of the Seattle Kraken celebrates with teammates after scoring during the second period against the Anaheim Ducks at Climate Pledge Arena on March 26, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Alika Jenner / Getty Images)
SEATTLE - The Seattle Kraken took advantage of a matchup against an abysmal Anaheim Ducks squad to snap out an eight-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory on Tuesday night.
Joey Daccord recorded his third shutout of the season while facing just 12 shots on net, which is a new franchise record for fewest shots allowed in a game. Eeli Tolvanen and Matty Beniers each scored goals as part of three-point nights for Seattle, while Jordan Eberle and Oliver Bjorkstrand each added power play tallies in the victory.
"Tonight we had great life," head coach Dave Hakstol said. "We came out, we played very well right from the start of the game, scoring the first couple goals. The second goal, the power play goal (by Eberle), just kind of takes a little bit of weight off everybody's shoulders and I think everybody just came into the game tonight with a great mentality and everybody did their job."
A rebuilding Ducks roster that features a ton of young talent just couldn't get much going offensively themselves. The Kraken had twice allowed just 14 shots in a game, once earlier this season in a 7-1 blowout of the San Jose Sharks, and once last April in a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.
For the Kraken, it was a significant release to finally get a win, score some goals, and snap out of the funk they've been in through the last two-plus weeks.
"When you go through those patches you're not winning," Tolvanen said. "I don't hockey is much fun when you're not winning. You need those games. We're in the situation we are right now. It's been a tough month but I feel like we just have to take all the positives we can, move forward and try to win as many games as we can."
The Ducks entered the matchup as one of just four teams in the NHL already mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and fully looked the part.
Tolvanen finished a beautiful pass from behind the net delivered by Beniers past Ducks goaltender John Gibson to gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead just under eight minutes into the contest.
Jackson LaCombe gave Seattle a power play chance when he tripped André Burakovsky on what appeared to be an impending breakaway chance off a turnover. Eberle's pass attempt looking for Jaden Schwartz on the backdoor deflected off the skate of defenseman William Lagesson and by Gibson for a 2-0 Kraken lead.
A too many men on the ice penalty gave the Kraken another power play opportunity in the second period. Tolvanen's pass deflected off the skate of Pavel Mintyukov directly to Oliver Bjorkstrand for a 3-0 lead.
Beniers and Tolvanen then executed a give-and-go with Beniers, who beat Gibson for his 11th goal of the season and a 4-0 Seattle advantage.
During the eight-game losing streak, the Kraken had been held to one goal or less in six of the eight losses. They scored more than two goals just once in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Being able to put up four goals – even against a bad Anaheim team – was a nice palette cleanser for the team.
"Offense has been hard to come by as a team," Beneirs said. "Just getting those goals in and getting some confidence and knowing we can put those goals up is a big help, a big boost for us as a team and hopefully we keep that going here moving forward."
Logan Morrison made his NHL debut with the Kraken alongside fellow rookie and former Hamilton Bulldogs teammate Ryan Winterton on Tuesday night. Playing with Winterton and Tye Kartye, Morrison saw over 14 minutes of ice time while also getting a chance on the team's second power play unit.
"It was a pretty special experience," Morrison said. "I expected a lot and it definitely exceeded that. The fans were unbelievable. It's such a such a nice rank and yeah, I had a great time."
Morrison finished with three shots on goal, which included a good chance on a late power play for Seattle.
Hakstol said earlier this week the duo had earned the chance to play and they were called up prior to Seattle's 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday. However, the byproduct being a shakeup of the lineup certainly didn't hurt either.
"We saw Mo's presence with the puck, his poise with the puck, tight spaces, whether it's a defensive zone orin the offensive zone, including the half wall on the power play. He's got very good poise there," Hakstol said. "Wints just played the way he plays. You saw his intelligence, you saw kind of the sneaky pace that he has. He combines that with a really good stick and, you know, those three did a really good job tonight."
Morrison, Winterton, and Mason McTavish of the Ducks all played together on the same Hamilton team, which made Tuesday's debut even more special for Morrison.
"I've known [Winterton] since I was 17 and he was 16, so we've been together a ton and really good friends. It's pretty special playing my first NHL game with him on my wing. … A couple familiar faces on that side too, which is pretty special."
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