Seattle, Wash. (WGR 550/WBEN) - With points at an absolute premium, the Buffalo Sabres took care of its business in regulation on Monday night.
Buffalo scored goals in bunches in the first and second periods, with winger Jeff Skinner scoring three goals overall to help take down the Seattle Kraken, 6-2, at Climate Pledge Arena.
The Kraken wasted next to no time getting the scoring started on Monday, as forward Jordan Eberle scored his 15th goal of the season just 24 seconds in.
Eberle's tally may have poked the bear, though, as the Sabres responded with three-consecutive goals in the next five minutes of play.
All it took was 25 seconds for the Sabres to respond, as Tage Thompson ripped a quick wrist shot top shelf over Kraken goalie Joey Daccord.
A little more than three minutes later, Skinner tallied his first goal of the night with his 22nd goal of the 2023-24 campaign.
Less than two minutes later, the Sabres gained a two-goal advantage they would not relinquish thanks to Alex Tuch's 19th tally of the year. It was also Tuch's 300th career point in the NHL.
That was also the last shot Daccord saw on Monday, as Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol pulled the netminder in favor of Philipp Grubauer.
Seattle pulled back to within one before period's end, as on a four-minute power play, forward Matty Beniers rammed home a loose puck to the left of Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Luukkonen lost sight of the puck on the goal line, and Beniers was there to make it a 3-2 contest still in favor of Buffalo.
After a "lull" to begin the second period, the Sabres got back on the scoreboard twice near the halfway point of the frame.
First up was defenseman Owen Power, who cashed in on a loose puck that had just rang off the post off a re-direct from center Dylan Cozens in front of the Kraken net.
Less than a minute later, Skinner scored his second goal of the evening to extend the Sabres' lead to 5-2.
Then in the late stages of the third period , Skinner put the finishing touches on his seventh-career hat-trick to all but ice things in Seattle.
Skinner's effort helped him draw significantly closer to another 30-goal season. Furthermore, the veteran led the way to Buffalo's first win over the Kraken in franchise history.
----------
SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 0:49 - Tage Thompson (21) (Zemgus Girgensons, Alex Tuch); 3:56 - Jeff Skinner (22) (Peyton Krebs); 5:41 - Alex Tuch (19) (Tage Thompson, Zemgus Girgensons)
SEA: 0:24 - Jordan Eberle (15) (Eeli Tolvanen, Brian Dumoulin); 14:36 - Matty Beniers (10) PPG (Eeli Tolvanen, Justin Schultz)
Second Period:
BUF: 10:36 - Owen Power (6) (Dylan Cozens, JJ Peterka); 11:18 - Jeff Skinner (23) (Unassisted)
SEA: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 18:01 - Jeff Skinner (24) (Jordan Greenway, Jacob Bryson)
SEA: NONE
----------
----------
Losi & Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Jeff Skinner - BUF
2.) Tage Thompson - BUF
3.) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - BUF
----------
What's next:
The Sabres continue their West coast road trip by heading North of the border on Tuesday to face the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Puck drop is set for 10 p.m. ET with pregame coverage on WGR with Brian Koziol and Paul Hamilton starts at 9 p.m. ET.