Kraken win fifth straight by dumping Canadiens 4-0

Seattle Kraken's Eeli Tolvanen (20) scores the first goal on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) during first period NHL hockey action Monday, January 9, 2023 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

The Seattle Kraken continued their perfect start to 2023 with a 4-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.

Seattle, with five straight wins to start the new year, have also outscored their opposition 26-8 in the process while improving their record to 23-12-4.

Montreal (16-22-3) had just snapped a seven-game winless skid on Saturday but failed to string consecutive wins together.

Vince Dunn and Eeli Tolvanen both had one goal and an assist. Daniel Sprong also scored while Matty Beniers bagged the empty-netter. In his return to his home province of Quebec, Yanni Gourde collected two assists.

Martin Jones recorded the shutout by stopping all 21 shots sent his way.

Samuel Montembeault allowed three goals and made 37 saves.

The surging Kraken jumped out of the starting blocks in the first period, outshooting Montreal 19-6 and grabbing a 3-0 lead.

Seattle opened the score at 6:54 of the opening frame when Dunn found Tolvanen with a cross-ice pass through the slot. The winger netted his fifth goal of the season.

Sprong doubled the Kraken’s lead on the power play with a heavy shot from the point.

Dunn also employed a slap shot from the point to give Seattle a 3-0 lead by the first intermission.

The Kraken shut down Montreal’s attack, blocking a total of 18 shots.

Jones made an impressive pad save on Nick Suzuki with 3:03 remaining in the final frame to conserve his shutout.

Montreal pulled Montembeault but Beniers sealed Seattle’s win with the empty-netter.

REVERSE ZERO

The Montreal Canadiens lost a fourth straight game with their reverse retro uniforms. The Habs slumped to a 0-4-0 record and have been outscored 18-5 while playing in light blue.

EMERGENCY RECALL

The Canadiens announced a few hours before the game that goaltender Jake Allen suffered an upper-body injury. The team recalled Cayden Primeau from AHL affiliate Laval Rocket and he was the backup netminder against the Kraken.

UP NEXT

The Canadiens will conclude a three-game homestand by hosting the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

The Kraken continue their seven-game road trip with a visit to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2023.