The Seattle Kraken scored two goals in an interval of 1:57 in the second period on Tuesday night en route to an easy 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
Twice Jordan Eberle, Brandon Tanev, Yanni Gourde and Ryan Donato hit the target for the Kraken (2-4-1), the new NHL expansion team.
Mike Hoffman was the only one to retaliate in the Canadian camp (1-6-0).
Goalkeeper Jake Allen, left to himself for a good part of the game, made 22 saves in front of the Habs net, while his opposite, Philipp Grubauer, rejected 23 shots.
The Canadian was chasing a second straight win, but things started off badly for him – once again.
It was only 62 seconds in the game when Eberle opened the scoring for the 32nd NHL franchise.
Hoffman then took advantage of Brendan Gallagher’s hard work behind the home net to drop the disc into a gaping cage and tie the game.
Tanev returned the lead to his team less than four minutes later, allowing the Kraken to return to the locker room for the first intermission ahead 2-1.
One would think that the break allowed the men of head coach Dominique Ducharme to regain their composure, with a view to the second third. Fault.
A lack of timing, rough play and erratic changes to the Montreal bench allowed the Kraken to strike twice in the span of just 1:57.
Gourde first made a nice individual maneuver to beat Allen with the backhand after 6:56 of play, then the Quebecer set the table for the second goal of the game – and fifth this season – for Tanev at 8:53, carrying the scores 4-1 in favor of the Kraken.
Donato added insult to injury in the third period, and the Washington State club relished the second victory in their young history on the Bettman Tour.
In the absence of Jake Evans, injured, Cédric Paquette pivoted the fourth unit completed by Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Armia. No other changes had been made to the formation of the CH.
Following his duel with the Kraken, the Canadian will continue his four-game tour of the West Coast by visiting the Sharks in San Jose on Thursday night.