Brandon Montour scored on a slap shot from just inside the top of the right faceoff circle with 33 seconds remaining as the Seattle Kraken defeated the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 Wednesday night after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period.
The Maple Leafs tied the score at 18:30 on a goal by Auston Matthews, who also had two assists.
Chandler Stephenson had a goal and an assist and Mackie Samoskevich added two helpers for the Kraken, who wrapped up a 3-1-0 homestand. Berkly Catton, Josh Mahura and Ryker Evans also scored and goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 17 saves.
Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NHL draft, scored a pair of power-play goals and had an assist for the Maple Leafs, who dropped to 1-2-0 on their four-game trip that concludes Saturday in Vancouver. Jack Roslovic also tallied and had an assist and Darren Raddysh had two assists. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 12 of 17 shots.
The winning goal came after Jordan Eberle won a faceoff in the offensive zone and Bobby McMann sent a cross-ice pass to Montour, whose blast snuck between Bobrovsky’s blocker and right hip.
Trailing 4-2, Easton Cowan’s shot from the slot was kicked aside by Grubauer but the puck fell to Roslovic, who lifted the rebound over the goalie from the left faceoff circle at 8:02 of the third period. Matthews tied it on a sharp-angled shot from low on the right wing between Grubauer’s pads.
The Kraken opened the scoring just 1:59 into the game. Catton held the puck in the offensive zone along the left-wing boards and passed to Samoskevich before heading for the slot. Catton took a return pass and lifted a backhander over Bobrovsky’s glove. The puck hit the crossbar and the back of the goalie’s skate before trickling into the net.
The Maple Leafs tied it on the power play at 19:14 on McKenna’s shot from the right faceoff circle that went high off the far post and into the net.
Seattle regained the lead on a two-on-one rush just 16 seconds into the second as defenseman Mahura finished off a pinpoint pass from Ben Meyers.
The Maple Leafs tied it with a man advantage at 1:46 on McKenna’s one-timer from the bottom of the right faceoff circle after taking Matthews’ no-look, cross-slot pass.
Seattle went back out front on the power play at 3:33 as Stephenson’s pass for Matty Beniers deflected off the skate of Toronto defenseman Troy Stecher and into the net.
The Kraken took a two-goal lead at 10:58 as Samoskevich sent a cross-ice pass to defenseman Evans for a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot that caromed in off the far post.