Kraken rout: Seattle topples Montreal 5-1 for first home win

Without the pressure of three years of anticipation hanging over them, the Seattle Kraken felt free and loose going into the second home game in franchise history.

It showed and Tuesday night quickly turned into a Seattle rout.

Brandon Tanev had two goals and Jordan Eberle added another to give the Seattle Kraken their first home win ever, beating the Montreal Canadiens 5-1.

“I’m not gonna say pressure, but there’s a lot of anxiety in it. You feel the big game; the first ever game in this building,” Eberle said. “So you know with that out of the way, I think the boys felt a little bit at ease.”

Mike Hoffman scored for a second straight game for Montreal, but it was an ugly start to the Canadiens’ West Coast trip. Montreal is last in the Eastern Conference with just two points in six games and having been outscored 24-11.

“Tonight we did not deserve to win at all,” Montreal forward Josh Anderson said. “The coaches put a game plan together every single night. Our job as players is to go out and execute. Right now, we are not doing that.”

Eberle got Seattle started by scoring 62 seconds into the game with his first of the season.

Then Tanev, who is quickly becoming a fan favorite and is the unlikely goal-scoring leader for Seattle with five in seven games, redirected a pass from Jamie Oleksiak for the 2-1 lead late in the first period.

Yanni Gourde scored his first of the season on a nifty backhanded sweep around Montreal goalie Jake Allen during the second period. Gourde also assisted on Tanev’s second goal, when he beat Allen by catching Montreal in a change midway through the second period for a 4-1 Kraken lead.

©2021 Cox Media Group