Some people learn best by doing. For others, it’s by watching.
The Seattle Kraken gave Shane Wright a chance at the latter over the past week and it paid off Monday in Anaheim.
Wright, who had been a healthy scratch in the previous three games, returned with a goal and an assist in a 3-2 victory against the Ducks in Anaheim.
The teams will complete their home-and-home series Wednesday in Seattle.
“I kind of realized I have a little more time with the puck than I think I do,” Wright, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, said about what he learned from watching from high above the ice in the press box.
“Just being able to hold on to those pucks, rather than kind of throwing it away or making a play with someone else. Just holding on to it, skating it and then trying to make a play with it,” Wright said.
Wright scored the game’s opening goal, outmuscling a defender in front of the net to redirect Oliver Bjorkstrand’s shot from the left point past Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostal. With the score tied early in the third period, Wright won a faceoff in the offensive zone back to Brandon Montour, whose slap shot from the right point proved to be the winning goal.
“It was great to see Wright get on the board early,” Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said. “I thought he played really well all game long. The faceoff win (setting up the winner) is just another example of what he can add.”
The Kraken, who snapped a five-game road losing streak during which they were outscored 17-5 and shut out twice, also got a boost from Andre Burakovsky’s first goal of the season.
Burakovsky scored from the top left of the goal crease after a back-to-the-net, backhanded pass from Jared McCann from the opposite faceoff circle. The goal forged a 2-2 tie 46 seconds into the third period, and Montour tallied just 24 seconds later.
“It’s been a while,” said Burakovsky, who last scored April 9 against the Arizona Coyotes, a franchise that has since moved to Utah. “It’s been a lot of games. It hasn’t come easy, so definitely nice to see it going in. Maybe not the prettiest one I’ve scored in my life, but it will count.”
Trevor Zegras and Frank Vatrano tallied for the Ducks, who had a four-game point streak (3-0-1) come to an end.
“This time of year is when teams start separating themselves,” said Ducks forward Troy Terry, who had a pair of assists. “As a team, getting experience in those types of games … you could tell the intensity was higher. We’ll learn from it. I think we did a lot of good things, and we did enough good things to maybe even win the game. A few errors cost us.”
Ducks coach Greg Cronin had no qualms about his team’s play through the first two periods.
“We were playing our game. We just got off it,” Cronin said. “It happens. It’s not complicated. We’ve just got to play to our structure, play to our system, and then when you do that, you’re connected and you can anticipate and play faster.”
Ducks forward Leo Carlsson, the No. 2 pick in 2023, was injured late in the second period when he crashed into his own net after being checked by Seattle’s Tye Kartye, who was penalized for interference on the play. Carlsson suffered an upper-body injury and his status for Wednesday’s rematch has not been announced.
–Field Level Media
