Rask took a pass from Vince Dunn (one of three assists Monday, making him tops on the team with 27). The former Minnesota Wild forward showed his evident patience with the puck, waiting several beats before sending a crisp cross-ice pass to Sprong, who one-timed it for a goal and the lead.
"Last game we scored with Matty and wanted to get to a good start tonight," said Sprong, referring to a four-minute penalty call on Ottawa early in the game. He scored on his elite one-timer from a familiar spot, top of the left faceoff circle, to both the Kraken forwards and hockey fans around the globe.
"I watched the greatest scorer of all time the last two years from that spot [former Washington Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin, who btw has 48 goals this season]," offered Sprong without prompting. "I learned a lot from him. He was really good to me, he talked to me... I picked up a lot of things."
Those things: "The way goalies move, where [Ovechkin] wanted to put his shot depending on the goalie and situation, places to open up his stance and get the shot off."
Late second period, Rask beat Forsberg short side, upper left corner on a missile of a shot after taking a feed from linemate Joonas Donskoi. These two are making Francis look even smarter at the trade table. When the main storyline on the March 21 deadline was accumulating draft choices (including a first-rounder and four second-rounders this summer), the two players he picked up in trades have scored seven goals between them in less than a month.
Rask has three goals and three assists in 10 games with the Kraken. Sprong has scored four goals in 10 games. Rask looked like he was feeling it during the second and third period, especially after his goal.
"I was getting a lot of touches," he said. "The more you touch the puck, the more confident you can be."