Forward Jared McCann couldn’t have picked a better time to equal the most productive goal-scoring month of his NHL career.
With his plucky, competitive team fighting to stay in the thick of the Pacific Division playoff hunt, McCann scored twice Tuesday night and assisted on a third goal in a 5-1 win over the Washington Capitals. The goals gave McCann four since being reunited last week on a top line with Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers and eight for the month of January to tie for his career best set in March 2023.
McCann then prematurely brought hats raining down from the Climate Pledge Arena stands with a third period breakaway goal that would have been his third of the night. But officials ruled after the fact – with no apparent whistle having been blown or arm raised to signal a penalty call – that Beniers had committed a four-minute high-sticking infraction just as McCann was sent in alone.
After much confusion and a lengthy delay for video review, the goal was waved off and a penalty assessed. Washington scored its only goal of the contest on Philipp Grubauer during the first minor penalty to cut the Kraken lead to 3-1, with NHL all-time goal-scoring leader Alex Ovechkin notching his 22nd of the season.
But the Kraken added goals by Ryker Evans and Beniers to clinch a second consecutive win and third in the last four games. The victory also kept them in a tie for the second Western Conference wild card spot with Los Angeles and San Jose, though the Kings and Sharks hold the tiebreakers.
They are importantly also only two points behind Anaheim for third place in the Pacific and still hold a game-in-hand on the Ducks. The Kraken face the Ducks and then the Kings in back-to-back road contests next week ahead of the Winter Olympic break.
McCann nearly had his hat trick before the second period ended, but rang a shot off the post behind Capitals netminder Logan Thompson after which Eberle slammed home the rebound out of mid-air. Earlier in the period, McCann had popped home a rebound off a Beniers shot after opening the scoring with a power play blast from the point.
The three second period goals by the Kraken gave them their first 3-0 lead since winning by that score on the road against the Winnipeg Jets during the season’s first road trip back in October.
As for McCann, he now has four goals and two assists for six points in four games back on the top line. After missing all of training camp with a lower body issue, he got hurt the second week of the season and was out nearly six weeks. McCann then got hurt again in December and missed 18 more days but has been in the lineup for 17 consecutive games since, scoring nine times and adding eight assists.
His 14 goals are second on the team behind only Eberle’s 18 and despite the fact McCann has played 22 fewer games. His ascension gives the Kraken a needed scoring boost after the team struggled much of the season to score more than three goals per contest