Jan 25, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Kraken right wing Eeli Tolvanen (20) shoots the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Vince Dunn scored the go-ahead goal with a two-man advantage late in the second period as the Seattle Kraken defeated the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Saturday, spoiling a historic afternoon for Sidney Crosby.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, Eeli Tolvanen and Matty Beniers also tallied and Chandler Stephenson and Jared McCann each had two assists for the Kraken, who went 3-1-0 on their four-game homestand. Goaltender Joey Daccord made 28 saves.
Crosby scored the lone goal for the Penguins, who are 3-7-3 over their past 13 games. Rookie Joel Blomqvist stopped 21 of 25 shots.
Trailing 1-0, the Penguins tied it at 4:34 of the second period as defenseman Kris Letang sent the puck to Rickard Rakell behind the Seattle net. Rakell spotted Crosby in the slot and he put a low one-timer just inside the right post.
It was the 307th time Crosby and Letang combined on a goal, moving the past Boston’s Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr for second place in NHL history for a forward/defenseman duo. They trail only Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey, who combined for 350.
The goal also gave Crosby 742 career points on the road, breaking a tie with Joe Sakic for 10th in NHL history.
The Kraken opened the scoring at 2:16 of the second after a Pittsburgh turnover led to an odd-man rush. Stephenson carried the puck down the right wing, over the blue line and to the faceoff dot before leaving a drop pass for Andre Burakovsky, who was trailing the play. Burakovsky immediately sent the puck to Bjorkstrand on the left wing for a one-timer that beat Blomqvist before he could get across the crease.
After Crosby’s goal, the Kraken regained the lead on a 5-on-3 power play at 17:46 of the second. Dunn got the puck in the high slot and sent a slap shot into the upper right corner of the net as teammate Jaden Schwartz set a screen in front of Blomqvist.
Seattle extended its lead to 3-1 on Tolvanen’s goal at 5:06 of the third, and Beniers converted a pass from Kaapo Kakko on a two-on-one rush at 13:06 to cap the scoring.
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin’s left knee buckled in a first-period collision with Stephenson near center ice. Malkin came out for one more shift before heading to the dressing room. He didn’t return.
–Field Level Media
