BUFFALO, N.Y. — Vince Dunn’s goal streak sacrificed itself for Matty Beniers’. Dunn’s shot went off the goalpost and Beniers dove on the rebound, handing Seattle its first lead of Tuesday night’s victory — the Kraken’s sixth in a row.
Dunn had scored in three consecutive contests. Beniers, meanwhile, became the second rookie this season to score in five straight games.
Seattle’s Justin Schultz set up the tying goal and took care of the insurance tally himself, sending a low shot whistling under Sabres goaltender Eric Comrie. The Sabres got one back with 20 seconds left, but the Kraken held on for a 4-3 victory.
Seattle won its sixth straight and is undefeated in 2023. It can tie its season-best, seven-game win streak on Thursday against the big, bad Boston Bruins, who have the best record in the league by a sizable margin. The Bruins have dropped four games in regulation through 40 this season.
Martin Jones manned the net for every second of the Kraken’s win streak through five games. Philipp Grubauer got his first turn on Tuesday and made 32 stops.
The Kraken were playing catch-up until the third period. On Seattle’s first tying goal, Andre Burakovsky snagged a clearing attempt after a faceoff loss. He unloaded a shot from just inside the blue line and Jordan Eberle redirected it past Comrie to make it 1-1.
Yanni Gourde tied the score at 2. Schultz pinched in and carried the puck to the net, where Gourde was positioned to flip it over Comrie’s pad.
Both teams generated early, bumper-to-bumper traffic in front of the opposing goaltender. Only two shots made it through in the first nine minutes of the game, both belonging to the Kraken.
Near the midway point of the first period, the Sabres scored on their first shot on goal. Tage Thompson, who was third in the league in goals headed into the game, came up the side and sent a pass through the crease to teammate Alex Tuch. Diving Kraken winger Jaden Schwartz couldn’t stop Tuch from roofing the puck to make it 1-0.
Grubauer turned aside Dylan Cozens’ point-blank chance while the Kraken killed off their second penalty of the night. He then stopped Vinnie Hinostroza on a short breakaway, which looked like a pivotal stop until the Kraken headed right back to the penalty box and allowed a goal five seconds into the man advantage. Rasmus Dahlin made it 2-1 Buffalo.
Both teams had played to a 4-0 final the night before. Seattle beat Montreal before crossing the border, while Buffalo lost to the visiting Philadelphia Flyers by the same score.