SUNRISE, Florida — It was clear early on in Sunday night’s latest and much-needed road victory that the Kraken were prepared to do the work that had gone missing in recent games.
Barely one minute had ticked off the game clock of this 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers when Jared McCann jumped on an offensive zone turnover, backhanded the puck out to the high slot and watched Matty Beniers unleash a cannon-blast slapper for the opening goal. Even after the Panthers had tied things in the second period, the Kraken aggressively pursued the puck deep in the Florida end and eventually notched a go-ahead goal just 1:31 later.
Oliver Bjorkstrand did a good job keeping the puck in at the blue line and fed a pass to Yanni Gourde, who slipped it to Andre Burakovsky just atop the right faceoff circle. Burakovsky unleashed a powerful wrist shot that Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had little chance on and the Kraken were ahead to stay.
And the hard work didn’t stop in the third period, with the Kraken pouring on three more goals to win it going away.
Beniers got the first one started by playing the puck in the Panthers’ end, circling back to the point and firing a shot toward the net that Jordan Eberle redirected for the line’s second goal of the night. Daniel Sprong added a fourth Kraken goal on the power play with under five minutes remaining with a one-timed slapper from the left circle.
Gourde capped the Kraken scoring late before Matt Kiersted got one back for the Panthers in the final two minutes.
Beniers got the first one started by playing the puck in the Panthers’ end, circling back to the point and firing a shot toward the net that Jordan Eberle redirected for the line’s second goal of the night. Daniel Sprong added a fourth Kraken goal on the power play with under five minutes remaining with a one-timed slapper from the left circle.
Gourde capped the Kraken scoring late before Matt Kiersted got one back for the Panthers in the final two minutes.
If anything, the goal seemed to revive the Kraken’s energy more than the home side’s. The Kraken were unrelenting from there, leading to Burakovsky’s goal and then later the Maurice eruption behind his bench.
Things got testy late when Kraken defender Justin Schultz got his stick up on Ryan Lomberg during a race for the puck. Lomberg didn’t appreciate it and promptly slammed Schultz into the boards from behind, earning a match penalty in the process.
Beniers was closest to the play and went hard at Lomberg after the hit. The two shoved each other and then players piled in. Lomberg got hold of Beniers and landed several punches on him while the two were on the ice before they were separated and order restored.
