Ryan Donato scores again as Kraken coast past Blues

[December 21, 2022] Ryan Donato scored for the fourth consecutive game as the Seattle Kraken defeated the visiting St. Louis Blues 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Carson Soucy, Daniel Sprong, Jared McCann and Brandon Tanev also tallied for Seattle, which won its second consecutive game. Goaltender Martin Jones made 22 saves.

Colton Parayko and Pavel Buchnevich scored third-period goals for the Blues, who had a five-game point streak (4-0-1) snapped. Thomas Greiss stopped 28 of 32 shots.

Donato opened the scoring at 16:27 of the first period as the Kraken took advantage of a St. Louis line change. Seattle defenseman Adam Larsson made a stretch pass up the middle of the ice to Donato at the St. Louis blue line. Donato skated in on a breakaway and lifted a forehander over Greiss' blocker.

It remained 1-0 until midway through the second period. Seattle's Will Borgen took a shot from the blue line that deflected off the Blues' Ryan O'Reilly and started skipping wide of the net. But Soucy, who had joined the rush, reached out with one hand on his stick and redirected the puck over Greiss' leg pad and just inside the left post.

The Kraken made it 3-0 at 16:58 of the second as Sprong scored on a breakaway after taking a pass from Morgan Geekie from Seattle's own blue line.

Seattle Kraken center Morgan Geekie (67) advances the puck St. Louis Blues during the first period at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

McCann made it 4-0 with an unassisted goal at 19:16 of the second after a St. Louis turnover. McCann's initial shot from the left faceoff circle was blocked, but he tracked down the puck just below the goal line and fired it toward the net, with it banking off the back of Greiss' skate.

The Blues finally got on the board at 5:59 of the third on Parayko's wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle.

Buchnevich added a power-play goal at 10:54 on a wrister from the top of the left faceoff circle.

Tanev, who was stopped on a penalty shot early in the third, scored into an empty net at 15:47.

St. Louis forward Jordan Kyrou, who had three goals and an assist in a 5-1 victory at Vancouver the previous night, was scratched due to an upper-body injury.

--Field Level Media

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