Eberle, Burakovsky lead Kraken to 4th straight win

OTTAWA --Jordan Eberle and Andre Burakovsky each had a goal and two assists for the Seattle Kraken in an 8-4 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

Matty Beniers, Daniel Sprong, Justin Schultz and Vince Dunn each had a goal and an assist for the Kraken (22-12-4), who have won four straight. Martin Jones, who has started each game during the winning streak, made 19 saves.
"I think the strength of this group is in the depth that we have," Eberle said. "And that's not just the forwards, it's the defense, it's the goalies. You see teams that have four lines and six [defensemen] that can contribute, and that's dangerous. In my opinion, a lot of the teams that make the playoffs, it's because of that [depth]."
Seattle is 12-4-2 on the road this season after going 11-27-3 away from Climate Pledge Arena last season.
"We're just a better hockey team," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "That encompasses everything from what our team looks like on paper to how we play and perform every night. We've worked hard to be successful on the road. That's not an easy thing to do, but we've found different ways to win games."

SEA@OTT: Eberle extends Kraken's lead in 3rd period

Tim Stutzle had a hat trick and an assist for the Senators (18-18-3), who had won four of five.
"There were some guys that didn't have it tonight," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "The chemistry wasn't there. … At the end of day, you only win by playing hard defense in this league, and we didn't play nearly enough defense tonight to have a chance to win a game."
Anton Forsberg allowed three goals on five shots before being replaced by Cam Talbot, who made 14 saves.
"It was a tough night for both of us," Talbot said. "We'll both take the heat on this one. I know I can speak for him because he is as accountable as me. You score four goals in a hockey game, and your goalie should be able to make the saves to win the rest of the game. I think he'd be with me when I say we need to be better, and we will be."
Oliver Bjorkstrand gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 9:19 of the first period with a wrist shot blocker side from the top of the right circle.
Brady Tkachuk tied it 1-1 at 10:21, skating through the neutral zone before shooting glove side in between two defenders from the high slot.
Jared McCann put the Kraken back in front 2-1 at 12:53 with a quick shot from the right circle off a cross-ice pass from Jaden Schwartz.
"I feel like we're just more consistent," McCann said. "We don't take any team lightly ever. We were the team last year that was sometimes taken too lightly. It definitely showed."

Schultz made it 3-1 at 15:13 of the first when his redirection of Jamie Oleksiak's point shot trickled under Forsberg.
Stutzle cut it to 3-2 at 6:35 of the second period, getting credit for a power-play goal after Seattle forward Brandon Tanev's clearing attempt deflected in off him in front.
Stutzle then tied it 3-3 at 8:34 on a rebound near the left post.
"I just don't think we deserved it tonight," Stutzle said. "We were working hard, but just too many mistakes. We talked about it before the game, to play fast, and we didn't really do that tonight."
Sprong responded 22 seconds later to give the Kraken a 4-3 lead, skating in on a 2-on-1 and beating Talbot short side from the right circle.
"We've talked about it all year. When they've scored, most of the time we've responded well," Sprong said. "[Will Borgen] made a good play, we went in on a 2-on-1 and put it in the back of the net."
Said Talbot: "If I make the save on the 2-on-1, it could have been a completely different game. I have to be better."
Beniers made it 5-3 at 14:13 off a feed from Eberle, who knocked down Thomas Chabot's pass below the goal line.
Dunn extended the lead to 6-3 at 1:19 of the third period on a slap shot from the point, and Eberle made it 7-3 at 4:55 when he shot into an open net after Burakovsky's initial chance ricocheted to him.
"It's huge that all four lines can score," McCann said. "Even our [defensemen]. Our [defensemen] showed up tonight, and [Dunn] had a bomb from the point. It's good to see."
Stutzle completed the hat trick to cut it to 7-4 at 5:20, scoring from in front after avoiding a poke check from Jones. Stutzle has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) during a seven-game point streak.
"He's a star," Smith said. "Three and one tonight. We scored four goals. With four goals, you should win every time in this league if you take care of the puck and you check, and we just didn't check."

SEA@OTT: Stützle nets 3 goals at home for hat trick

Burakovsky tapped in his own rebound at the left post at 9:59 for the 8-4 final.
"We've been at our best when we've been able to roll four lines and not have a huge concern over each matchup," Hakstol said. "That's the way our team is built. We're asking everyone to contribute, play the right way, play with responsibility defensively. We weren't airtight there tonight, but we were good enough at the right times."
NOTES: The Kraken have outscored their opponents 22-8 during the four-game winning streak. … Eberle, Burakovsky and Beniers were each plus-4. … Tkachuk's goal was his first since Dec. 14 (10 games).