Daccord has 1st NHL shutout, Kraken top Panthers to end 8-game skid

SEATTLE -- Joey Daccord made 24 saves in his first NHL shutout, and the Seattle Kraken ended an eight-game skid with a 4-0 win against the Florida Panthers at Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday.

"It means the world, honestly,” Daccord said. “I’m super grateful for the opportunity to play in the NHL every single night, and for the coaching staff and the guys to trust me out there and to get a shutout in the NHL, especially against such a high-caliber team with a lot of good players ... yeah, it hasn't really sunk in yet, but it's pretty special, for sure."

Kailer Yamamoto and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare each had a goal and an assist for the Kraken (9-14-7), who won their first game since a 7-1 victory against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 22. Will Borgen had two assists.

"It's a tough stretch,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “It gets pretty heavy when you're working hard, you're close, but the moral victories, they don't ring very true after you go through that for several games. So, for the guys to be able to let loose, enjoy a good win knowing that they worked for it, that's huge.”

Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves for the Panthers (17-9-2), who had won three straight. Bobrovsky won his previous four starts.

“We didn’t create a lot today,” Florida forward Evan Rodrigues said. “I thought they did a good job of being hard defensively. They were heavy on the back check, and they really clogged the middle. I think they did to us what we usually do to other teams.”

The Panthers went 0-for-3 on the power play.

“I think we were comfortable in a tight game, and then we got on the power play, it didn’t go, and we got a little bit uncomfortable with it,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “Even with that, we got a third of our shots blocked, and a third of our shots missed the net, and so a big chunk of our offense never got to their net.”

Seattle’s fourth line of Yamamoto, Bellemare, and Devin Shore contributed two goals.

“Those guys were going good,” Hakstol said. “The way the matchups landed and ended up tonight, they didn't have a ton of minutes, but every time over the boards, they were going good. We've seen a little bit of chemistry grow with that line, so that's not just a one-night thing.”

Yamamoto made it 1-0 with a breakaway goal at 3:06 of the second period after a stretch pass from Borgen. Yamamoto deked to his forehand and tucked it under the crossbar.

The goal marked the first time Seattle has scored first since its eight-game skid (0-6-2) began.

"The goal by ‘Yamo’ was a huge one,” Hakstol said. “And we kept our foot on the gas in the third period.”

Bellemare made it 2-0 at 5:59 of the third period after defenseman Ryker Evans went behind the net and fed Bellemare in the low slot for an open net. The assist was Evans’ first NHL point and came in his fourth NHL game.

"Obviously, this kid is going to be here a long enough time,” Bellemare said of Evans. “So, it was fun to see him [get a point], and he thanked me [for putting it] in, which was a funny thing."

Alex Wennberg extended it to 3-0 at 9:13 of the third with a wrist shot off a 2-on-1 rush. He took a pass from Borgen at the Florida blue line, skated in and shot it off the post and in behind Bobrovsky.

Eeli Tolvanen scored an empty-net goal at 16:09 for the 4-0 final.

“It's still a kids game, right?” Hakstol said. “You play hard. You want to work hard and have success together, and then you have fun and enjoy that. And our guys were able to finally do that tonight after a real tough stretch.”

NOTES: Panthers forward Sam Reinhart’s point streak ended at five games (two goals, eight assists). … Evans was selected in the second round (No. 35) by the Kraken in the 2021 NHL Draft. ... Seattle center Yanni Gourde won 14 of 20 face-offs (70 percent).