SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken scored eight goals for the first time in their history in an 8-5 win against the San Jose Sharks at Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday.
“I think it was a game going back and forth a lot,” Kraken forward Andrey Burakovsky said. “I think we were doing a really good job taking care of the chances that we created and the chances they gave us. Really good to see so many players contributing on the offensive side and defensive side.”
Burakovsky and Matty Beniers each had a goal and two assists, Jaden Schwartz scored twice, and Martin Jones made 21 saves for the Kraken (11-5-3), who finished 4-1-1 on their homestand and are 8-1-1 in their past 10 games.
Seattle scored seven goals once as an expansion team last season, a 7-4 win at the Buffalo Sabers on Nov. 29, 2021.
“Sometimes there are nights like this, I kind of had that feeling right from the get go,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “It was just one of those nights where, I mean, there was a lot happening. You know, [Jones] didn’t let in a bad goal tonight and made some huge saves. But with, I think there were [53] shots, 13 goals, so it was just one of those nights.”
Video: SJS@SEA: Beniers nets 6th goal of the season, 3rd in the season
Timo Meier had a hat trick, Logan Couture scored in his fifth straight game, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 19 saves for the Sharks (7-12-3), who have lost three of four.
“Obviously disappointing,” Meier said. “We came back and then I think we gave up too much, we were turning too many pucks over. I think there were parts of the game where we played well but it was just not consistent enough for 60 minutes. I think that was a winnable game.”
Couture gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 4:11 of the first period on a redirect Nick Cicek‘s point shot.
Burakovsky tied it 1-1 at 9:44 during a 5-on-3 power play.
Meier gave San Jose a 2-1 lead at 18:53 during a 4-on-3 power play, but Vince Dunn tied it 2-2 at 5:52 of the second period.
“The lack of pride in puck possession really cost us tonight,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “Listen, they’re a fast team, give them credit, they play at a pace. They looked probably a little faster than they really are because I thought we played slow, not only physically slow, but mentally.”
Video: SJS@SEA: Dunn ties game in 2nd period
Ryan Donato gave Seattle a 3-2 lead at 7:02, and Jamie Oleksiak extended it to 4-2 at 10:11 when he deflected a Justin Schultz slap pass at the side of the net.
Oleksiak was playing for the first time since Nov. 8 after missing four games with a lower-body injury.
“I felt a little better than I expected. A couple of defensive reads on the goals against I probably wish I could have had back,” said Oleksiak, who played 19:23.
Video: SJS@SEA: Bjorkstrand nets 2nd goal of the season and 3rd in the season
Meier cut the lead to 4-3 at 13:39 after slipping behind the Kraken defense and scoring from the right circle on a partial breakaway.
Alexander Barabanov tied it 4-4 before 1:00 into the third period Oliver Bjorkstrand put the Kraken back in front 5-4 at 2:48 when he scored on a backhand from above the crease following a turnover.
Schwartz scored from the slot at 3:47 to make it 6-4.
Meier completed his fourth NHL hat trick at 8:58 to bring the Sharks within 6-5, but Beniers pushed the lead to 7-5 at 15:16 with a shot from the slot.
Schwartz scored into an empty net at 19:25 for the 8-5 final.
“It was fun for the fans, it stunk for the coaches, giving up five,” Hakstol said. “You got to find different ways and the atmosphere in this building is awesome. I mean, that’s a party happening for 18,000 people and it’s fun to be able to win in different ways.”
Video: SJS@SEA: Meier records hat trick in Sharks’ loss
NOTES: The Sharks’ Erik Karlsson had an assist, making him the 11th defenseman since the 1980-81 season to score 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in the first 22 games. He leads all NHL defensemen and is tied for fourth in the NHL behind Connor McDavid (35), Jason Robertson (31), Leon Draisaitl (31) and David Pastrnak (30).
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