BUFFALO — Matty Beniers scored for the fifth straight game to set a Seattle Kraken record in a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabers at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.
Beniers, Justin Schultz and Jordan Eberle each had a goal and an assist, and Andrey Burakovsky had two assists for the Kraken (24-12-4), who have won six straight. Philipp Grubauer made 32 saves for his first win since Dec. 18.
“I thought we had our ups and downs,” Eberle said. “We obviously started a little bit slow, I thought, found a way to come back in the first and the second period was much the same. We started well in the third, obviously, and then just kind of held on. I wouldn’t” t say it was our best but give them credit, they played well and they created lots. ‘Grubi’ was excellent tonight. He made some huge saves and kept us ahead.”
Video: SEA@BUF: Beniers extends his goal streak to 5 games
Alex Tuch scored twice, and Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist for the Sabers (20-17-2), who had won eight of 10.
“I think they capitalized and we didn’t, honestly,” Tuch said. “I thought we had some momentum for the majority of the game, and when we kind of sat back a little bit got a little frustration, left some spots open in the [defensive] zone, and that’s when they capitalized. [We had a] couple turnovers. I thought it was a little bit better than last night (a 4-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers), but we have to take a bigger step to beat a team that’s been playing really well as of late.”
Eric Comrie made 18 saves in his first start since sustaining a lower-body injury Nov. 16.
“It’s going to take time,” he said. “This is my first game in a long time in the NHL. You’re not just stepping into the easiest environment in the world. I mean, you’re stepping into the best league in the world. Yeah, I felt fine, but there’s still a feeling I wasn’t quite all there, if you know what I mean.”
Video: SEA@BUF: Eberle evens the score with a PPG
Beniers gave Seattle a 3-2 lead at 1:06 of the third period when he pushed in a loose puck at the left post. He has nine points (five goals, four assists) in a five-game point streak
“The goal … is a little bit indicative of how he plays,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “He’s on top of the blue paint and finds a way to tap one in. We know he has that side to his game. He’s got some dynamic ability in open ice and finding plays, but he’s also got that moxie and grit to go.” some of those hard areas.”
Schultz extended it to 4-2 at 5:17 on a one-timer from the left circle before Tuch cut it to 4-3 in front with 22 seconds remaining as Comrie pulled for an extra attacker.
“I think we had enough chances to put more on the board and that was the difference for me,” Sabers coach Don Granato said. “You’re going to give up some goals. I thought we had chances to get ahead of them, it might’ve been a different game at that point going 2-2 into the third. … That’s a really, really good hockey team , obviously. They took advantage of a few opportunities. We had enough, generated enough chances that we could’ve won, all the way to the end.”
Video: SEA@BUF: Gourde buries the pass from Schultz
Tuch gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 9:56 of the first period. Tage Thompson held the puck from high in the zone down to the net before sending a pass through the crease to Tuch, who lifted it under the bar.
Eberle tipped a point shot from Burakovsky on the power play to tie it 1-1 at 18:52.
Dahlin walked the blue line before finding a lane from above the slot to put the Sabers ahead 2-1 on the power play at 5:12 of the second period.
Yanni Gourde drove to the net and took a pass from Schultz for a tap-in from in front to tie it 2-2 at 8:59.
“We just keep working, that’s all,” Hakstol said. “We are not quite halfway through the year. These guys work hard together. They care about having success together. And today you are going to have games like this, on a back-to-back, where it doesn’t look all that good, it doesn’t look pretty. But that’s a great win for our group to stick together and find a way to get it done.”
NOTES: Seattle has outscored its opponents 26-10 through the first five games of a seven-game road trip. … The Kraken have won five straight road games for the second time this season. … Beniers has five goals and four assists in a five-game point streak. … Burakovsky has seven points (one goal, six assists) in a four-game point streak. … Tuch has 20 goals, matching his NHL career high set in 2018-19 with the Vegas Golden Knights, and has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past six games. … Dahlin scored his 13th goal of the season, tying his NHL career high set in 2021-22. … Jeff Skinner and Dylan Cozens each had two assists for Buffalo. … Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn had his three-game goal streak end but had an assist to extend his point streak to four games (three goals, five assists). … Sabers defenseman Henri Jokiharju played 21:08 after missing 11 games with a lower-body injury.
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