By Marcus Sledge
BUFFALO — Kaapo Kakko scored twice as the Seattle Kraken stormed back with six unanswered goals to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 6-2 at KeyBank Center on Saturday, ending a four-game losing streak.
Chandler Stephenson, Josh Mahura, and Jared McCann each a pair of two assists for the Kraken (18-22-3), who overcame an early two-goal deficit. Joey Daccord, making his first start since Dec. 22, made 33 saves. He had recently returned from an upper-body injury and stepped in following a relief appearance on Thursday in a 6-2 loss to Columbus.
For Buffalo (16-22-5), Sam Lafferty and Jack Quinn scored, while JJ Peterka recorded two assists. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 24 shots, but the Sabres’ two-game winning streak came to an abrupt end.
The Sabres struck early, with Lafferty giving them a 1-0 lead just 2:37 into the game. His wrist shot deflected off Vince Dunn’s stick and past Daccord. Quinn doubled the lead at 17:17, capitalizing on a power play with a one-timer from the left face-off circle that glanced off Daccord’s blocker.
Seattle began its comeback midway through the second period. Ryker Evans got the Kraken on the board at 12:48, with his wrist shot deflecting off Sabres forward Jason Zucker and into the net. Andre Burakovsky tied the game 2-2 at 19:12, burying a rebound on his backhand after Mahura’s initial shot was stopped by Luukkonen.
In the third period, the Kraken seized control. Oliver Bjorkstrand gave Seattle its first lead at 3:08 when his shot deflected off Buffalo defenseman Jacob Bryson’s glove and into the net. Just 38 seconds later, Kakko extended the lead to 4-2 with a sharp-angle shot from the right circle. He added another on the power play at 5:26, snapping a shot past Luukkonen from in front of the net. The goal scoring spree saw three goals in 2:18.
Brandon Tanev sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 16:25, completing the 6-2 comeback victory.
The Kraken snapped their four-game skid (0-3-1) and will look to build on this momentum as they continue their road trip.
Up next: Kraken play again tomorrow in Detroit facing off with the Red Wings (19-18-4)
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