Kraken hand Penguins 4th straight loss with 3-1 victory

SEATTLE (AP) — Jordan Eberle scored midway through the second period after Seattle had two goals disallowed by challenges, Morgan Geekie scored late in the second and the Kraken beat Pittsburgh 3-1 Saturday night for the Penguins’ fourth straight loss.

Eberle’s goal at 11:20 of the second pulled Seattle even at 1-1 and Geekie’s goal with 1:27 left in the period gave the Kraken the lead for good.

Jaden Schwartz added an empty net goal for Seattle, his fifth of the season. Martin Jones stopped 32 shots.

Jake Guentzel scored on a breakaway midway through the second period and Casey DeSmith had 27 saves, but Pittsburgh’s road trip concluded with a thud.

The Penguins lost three straight in Western Canada before closing out its road swing against the Kraken. Pittsburgh was outscored 15-5 in losses in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

Seattle scored four times in the second period, only to see two of the goals waved off after successful challenges by Pittsburgh. Ryan Donato’s goal at 8:09 was disallowed after it was determined he was offside on the play and entered the zone ahead of Eberle, who had the puck. Three minutes later, Andre Burakovsky slammed a rebound past DeSmith, but Pittsburgh’s challenge was successful again and it was determined the play should have been whistled for a stoppage before the goal due to a high stick.

However, on the ensuing faceoff, Matty Beniers found Eberle open at the side of the goal for his first of the season.

Late in the period, Geekie gave Seattle the lead with his second of the season, getting the rebound of Daniel Sprong’s shot and scoring from a sharp angle.

Jones had two saves to deny Sidney Crosby in the third period. First, he lunged to stop Crosby on a power play early in the period, then stopped Crosby again with 1:47 left after Pittsburgh pulled DeSmith. Danton Heinen hit the post with 7:50 remaining

Guentzel returned to the lineup after missing the previous four games with an upper body injury. His fourth goal of the season was a gift from Seattle defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, who made a lazy pass at the blue line and Guentzel got a breakaway and beat Jones at 10:05 of the second period.

NOTES: Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan tied Ed Johnston for most games coached in Penguins history at 516. Sullivan has been in charge of the Penguins since 2015 and is the second-longest tenured coach in the league behind Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper. ... Eberle and Jones both had additions to their families on Friday. Eberle’s wife gave birth to the couples’ second child, while Jones and his wife welcomed their first.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Pittsburgh returns home to host Boston on Tuesday.

Kraken: Seattle is at Calgary on Tuesday.

©2022 Cox Media Group