Kraken Defeat Penguins 4-1 as Malkin Exits with Injury

SEATTLE — Joey Daccord made 28 saves as the Seattle Kraken defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday, marking their third win in four games. The victory came at a cost for Pittsburgh, as star forward Evgeni Malkin left the game with a lower-body injury in the first period.

Daccord, who has won five of his last seven starts, credited his consistency for his recent success. “I try to just be the same every day,” Daccord said. “I know if I just play like myself and play like I’m able to, then I don’t need to elevate above what I’m capable of at a consistent level.”

The Kraken (22-25-3) took control early, with Jared McCann and Vince Dunn each contributing two assists. McCann noted the team’s improved confidence compared to their recent 3-0 loss to the Washington Capitals. “We spread them out a lot more and used the width of the rink,” McCann said.

Pittsburgh (20-23-8) struggled to capitalize on their opportunities, despite outplaying Seattle for much of the game. “It’s real frustrating because I thought for the majority of the game, we carried the play,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “But you can’t hand teams easy offense like we did.”

Malkin’s injury occurred at 10:15 of the first period after a collision with Chandler Stephenson. He played one more shift but did not return for the second period. Sullivan did not provide an update on Malkin’s status after the game.

Seattle opened the scoring at 2:16 of the second period when Eeli Tolvanen one-timed a pass from Stephenson past Penguins goalie Joel Blomqvist. Sidney Crosby tied the game at 4:34 with a one-timer from the slot, assisted by Rickard Rakell. However, the Kraken regained the lead on a 5-on-3 power play, with Dunn scoring at 17:46.

Tolvanen extended Seattle’s lead to 3-1 early in the third period, and Alex Wennberg sealed the win with a goal at 13:06. The Kraken improved to 12-0-0 when leading after two periods this season.

Pittsburgh’s struggles continued as they dropped their third game in four outings. “Everyone’s working hard, everyone in this room wants to win,” Crosby said. “It’s frustrating, these last couple losses that we’ve had, we’ve felt like we’ve been playing good enough to win, and we haven’t.”

Daccord is set to start in Monday’s divisional matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, who have won nine of their last 12 games. The 28-year-old goalie has yet to secure a win against Edmonton in six career appearances.