Photo: SounderBruce, via Wikimedia Commons.
Brandon Montour scored with less than a minute remaining to give the Seattle Kraken a 5-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday night, according to NHL.com's game recap and the Associated Press report carried by theScore.
Montour's slap shot from the top of the right circle squeezed through Sergei Bobrovsky's pads with 32.7 seconds left, according to NHL.com, moments after Auston Matthews had tied the game at 18:30 of the third period with Bobrovsky off for an extra attacker. The goal capped a wild finish: Toronto had trailed 4-2 before Jack Roslovic cut the deficit at 8:02 of the third and Matthews levelled it late.
Seattle had built its lead through Berkly Catton, Josh Mahura, Chandler Stephenson and Ryker Evans, according to the recap, while Toronto's goals came from Gavin McKenna (two), Roslovic and Matthews. McKenna, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NHL draft, recorded his first two-goal game and added an assist for a three-point night, according to the Associated Press.
The result was Seattle's third win in four games and its third time in four games recovering after blowing a multigoal third-period lead, according to NHL.com. The Kraken improved to 8-4-1, while Toronto fell to 7-6-2 and to 1-2-0 on a four-game trip, according to Deadspin.
Matthews summed up the winner simply. "It was just a breakdown, and they're coming down the outside lane," he said, according to NHL.com. "A pretty good D-man takes a slap shot right at our goalie." Seattle coach Lane Lambert praised his team's five-on-five play, saying, "They've got some dynamic players over there, and 5-on-5, we were the better hockey team."
What happens next is a quick turnaround for both clubs. Seattle travels to Calgary on Friday, according to The Hockey News, while Toronto concludes its four-game trip in Vancouver on Saturday, according to Deadspin.