Beniers leads Kraken to victory over sputtering Bruins

BOSTON (AP) — Matty Beniers had a goal and two assists as the Seattle Kraken concluded a five-game road trip with a 4-1 win over the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins on Thursday night.

Jordan Eberle, Eeli Tolvanen and Jared McCann also scored for Seattle. Joey Daccord stopped 36 shots to snap his three-game losing streak.

“Unreal. He’s made huge saves every night he’s been between the pipes,” Beniers said.

It was a thrilling experience for Daccord, who grew up in Boston.

“Real special night,” he said. “Trying to put everything into perspective. I grew up a Boston sports fan. It was pretty emotional for me.”

Boston has dropped three straight and four of five, with all the defeats coming at home. David Pastrnak scored for the Bruins, and Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves.

The sputtering Bruins fell into a tie with Florida atop the Atlantic Division standings, with the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers one point behind them for most in the Eastern Conference.

The Bruins took the lead five minutes into the game when Pastrnak fired a shot on Daccord and then drove home the rebound for his 34th goal of the season.

A high-sticking penalty on Boston resulted in Seattle getting the equalizer at 10:49 of the first period as Eberle’s persistence paid off after Swayman made the initial stop.

Boston hit two posts and James van Riemsdyk missed an open net in the second. That frustration was magnified when the Kraken capitalized on a 3-on-1 break late in the period as Tolvanen fired in a one-timer. Beniers was credited with his second assist of the night.

“We're not getting the results right now, but sometimes you go through this during the season. We hit some posts. Those things happen,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “We’re going to stick together and keep grinding and keep working.”

Bruins forward Charlie Coyle had a good look to tie it but his backhand bid hit the post two minutes into the third. The deficit grew to two goals when Beniers — a Massachusetts native — beat Swayman on a rush from the left side.

“Boston kids love coming home to Boston,” Beniers said with a smile. “I know (Daccord) was pumped up. I was pumped up. It was fun to get the win.”

The Bruins needed to kill off a penalty before getting an extra skater for a 6-on-5 advantage with 1:30 remaining, but Seattle found the empty net as McCann made it four goals for the Kraken’s top line.

Boston went 0 for 2 on the power play and is 0 for 15 in a four-game drought.

“I think we do a good job of looking at the game as a whole. (Montgomery) and the coaches do a good job of being encouraging in these moments,” Coyle said. “It hasn’t gone our way as much as we would have liked since coming back from the (All-Star) break. Overall, we’re still building our game and what our mission is. There’s no reason to get discouraged by any means.”

UP NEXT

Kraken: Open a six-game homestand Monday against Detroit.

Bruins: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

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