McCann and Winterton seal it late
Jared McCann put the Seattle Kraken ahead for good at 14:33 of the third period, carrying the puck into the zone, slipping past defenseman Timothy Liljegren and beating Logan Thompson with a low wrist shot. Ryan Winterton then scored on a breakaway at 17:20 to complete a 5-3 victory over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Sunday. The Kraken improved to 4-2-0 and have won two straight to open a five-game road trip. Washington dropped to 3-2-0.[S1][S2]
Seattle coach Lane Lambert praised his team's commitment, noting blocked shots and a hard-fought effort. Ben Meyers, who had two assists, said both teams played well and credited goaltender Joey Daccord with standing tall. Daccord finished with 33 saves, including 17 in the third period. Frederick Gaudreau scored his third goal in two games and added an assist, while Winterton also had an assist.[S1]
Ovechkin scores, but Capitals stumble
Alex Ovechkin gave Washington a 2-1 lead at 16:47 of the first period, taking a pass from Ilya Protas after a Seattle turnover behind the net and wristing the puck past Daccord. It was Ovechkin's first goal of the season and the 930th of his NHL career. He has now scored against 190 different goaltenders, an NHL record, 12 more than Jaromir Jagr's 178. Ovechkin missed the preseason with a lower-body injury and said he is finding his rhythm through games.[S1][S2]
Jordan Kyrou, acquired from the St. Louis Blues on June 23, scored his first goal for Washington at 11:41 of the first, converting a cross-ice pass from Cole Hutson. Boone Jenner tied it 3-3 just 46 seconds into the third period, keeping the puck in at the blue line and knocking in his own rebound. Washington coach Spencer Carbery blamed poor decisions with the puck and said the team must become smarter. Jenner said the Capitals did not play to their strengths consistently.[S1][S2]
First-period flurry and notes
Kaapo Kakko opened the scoring at 6:06 of the first period, scoring between Thompson's left skate and the post after a rebound from Vince Dunn's point shot. Kyrou tied it 1-1, then Ovechkin made it 2-1. Jordan Eberle evened the score 2-2 at 19:49, knocking home his own rebound at the back post after Chandler Stephenson's initial shot. Gaudreau put Seattle back ahead 3-2 at 13:24 of the second, deking around Thompson and sliding the puck home.[S1][S2]
In other notes, McCann has four points (two goals, two assists) over a four-game point streak. Meyers has a goal and four assists in his past two games. Capitals forward Ryan Leonard recorded an assist for his 50th NHL point (23 goals, 27 assists) in 89 games, becoming the fastest Washington skater to reach that mark since Nicklas Backstrom, who did it in 63 games in 2007-08. Seattle next plays at Philadelphia on Tuesday night, while Washington visits Carolina on Tuesday night.[S1][S2]
