Seattle, Wash. (WGR 550/WBEN) - The Buffalo Sabres will have to until next year to post their first win in the City of Seattle. For the second-straight year, the blue and gold's visit to Climate Pledge Arena went poorly.
Buffalo's four-game Western road trip came to an end on a sour note Tuesday night with a 5-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken.
The home side struck first just over two minutes into the contest, as Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak netted his first goal of the season on a snap-shot from the point.
Just over three minutes later, Seattle made it 2-0 when forward Morgan Geekie potted his first goal of the campaign on a breakaway that beat Sabres goalie Erie Comrie.
The Kraken extended their lead to 3-0 at the 4:46 mark of the second period, as they continued to roll the confident Sabres. Forward Daniel Sprong scored his first goal of the season as he went in alone on Comrie and deked the puck past the Buffalo netminder.
The Sabres finally got on the board eight minutes later when Dylan Cozens smacked home a loose puck sitting near the Seattle goal line. Cozens cleaned up a rebound chance from Vinnie Hinostroza, as his shot pinballed towards the net.
Before Buffalo was able to capitalize on Cozens' momentum, Seattle struck back and re-claimed their three-goal edge. On a power play later in the middle frame, forward Jared McCann wired a shot above the right shoulder of Comrie.
The score became 5-1 in favor of the Kraken at the halfway point of the third period when rookie forward Matty Beniers scored his third goal of the season on the power play.
In the end, Rasmus Dahlin's goal-scoring streak came to an end, though his point streak to start the season lived on thanks to an assist on Cozens' goal.
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GAME RECAP
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
SEA: 2:20 - Jamie Oleksiak (1) (Daniel Sprong, Yanni Gourde); 5:39 - Morgan Geekie (1) (Brandon Tanev)
Second Period:
BUF: 12:25 - Dylan Cozens (2) (Vinnie Hinostroza, Rasmus Dahlin)
SEA: 4:46 - Daniel Sprong (1) (Brandon Tanev); 16:07 - Jared McCann (4) PPG (Andre Burakovsky, Vince Dunn)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
SEA: 9:45 - Matty Beniers (3) PPG (Justin Schultz, Daniel Sprong)
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 11:13 - Rasmus Dahlin (Closing hand on puck - 2 min.)
SEA: 16:15 - Adam Larsson (Cross-checking - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 14:54 - Kyle Okposo (Tripping - 2 min.)
SEA: 17:39 - Daniel Sprong (Holding the stick - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 8:05 - Tage Thompson (Tripping - 2 min.)
SEA: 3:20 - Morgan Geekie (Cross-checking - 2 min.); 4:47 - Will Borgen (Minor - 2 min.)
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Daniel Sprong - SEA
2.) Brandon Tanev - SEA
3.) Martin Jones - SEA
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What's next:
The blue and gold return home to Buffalo to host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at KeyBank Center. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. ET with pregame coverage on the radio flagship home of the Buffalo Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550 - starting at 6 p.m. ET with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog.
