SEATTLE (AP) — Rem Pitlick scored his first three NHL goals and the Minnesota Wild beat the Seattle Kraken 4-2 Saturday night for their fifth win in six games.
Nico Sturm added an empty-netter with about 5 minutes left, and Ryan Hartman had three assists for Minnesota. Cam Talbot had 28 saves.
Marcus Johansson had a power-play goal for Seattle, and Alex Wennberg also scored. Philipp Grubauer finished with 18 saves. The Kraken have lost six of seven since a 4-1 win here over the Wild on Oct. 28.
Pitlick came into the game with four assists in 15 career games — four with the Wild this year and 11 with Nashville last season. Before his scoring outburst against the Kraken, he had only two shots all season.
Pitlick got his first goal with 7:27 left in the first period. Hartman hustled down the ice to get the puck on the boards near the red line, and his cross-ice pass found Pitlick in front. where he was able to sneak the shot in past Grubauer.
Hartman set up Pitlick again midway through the second. Hartman’s hit on Seattle’s Jared McCann led to a turnover, with Pitlick getting the puck near the blue line for an easy breakaway at 7:44. With 40 seconds left in the period, Hartman again found Pitlick streaking up the ice after a turnover for a breakaway to complete the hat trick.
Johansson pulled Seattle to 3-1 at 9:19 of the third with the team's first power-play goal at home. The Kraken had started 0 for 20 with the man advantage on home ice.
After Sturm regained Minnesota's three-goal lead, Wennberg pulled Seattle back within two with 1:02 remaining.
NOTES: Seattle F Colin Blackwell made his season debut. Blackwell was activated before the game, after missing the opening 14 games with a lower body injury. ... Seattle F Riley Sheahan was placed on waivers on Saturday. … It was Hartman’s fourth career game with at least three points.
UP NEXT
Wild: Host San Jose on Tuesday night.
Kraken: Host Chicago on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
