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National Hockey League
Seattle 2, Pittsburgh 0
When: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 29, 2024
Where: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Referees: Chris Schlenker, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen: Tyson Baker, Bevan Mills
Attendance: 17151

Philipp Grubauer made 33 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Seattle Kraken defeated the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0 Thursday night in a matchup of teams chasing wild-card playoff berths in their respective conferences.

Alex Wennberg had a goal and an assist and Oliver Bjorkstrand also tallied for the Kraken, who improved to 5-1-1 in their past seven games.

Grubauer won for the fourth time in as many starts since returning Feb. 13 after being out for more than two months with a lower-body injury. He was making back-to-back starts for the first time since Dec. 7-9, the latter being the game in which he was hurt.

Tristan Jarry stopped 26 shots for the Penguins, who had a three-game winning streak and a four-game point streak (3-0-1) snapped. They will wrap up a four-game Western swing with games Saturday at Calgary and Sunday at Edmonton.

The Kraken led 1-0 after the first period despite being outshot 18-8.

Bjorkstrand opened the scoring at 12:25 after Will Borgen's rising shot from the right point hit Wennberg in the upper back and deflected high into the air. Bjorkstrand tracked the puck, and just before it reached the ice, volleyed it between Jarry's pads from just outside the top left edge of the crease.

It remained 1-0 until Wennberg scored on the power play at 15:02 of the third. Jarry made an initial save on Kailer Yamamoto's shot on a mad scramble in front of the net, but Wennberg kicked the rebound to his stick at the top left of the crease and lifted the puck just over the goalie's reach.

The Kraken avenged a 3-0 loss at Pittsburgh on Jan. 15.

Seattle's Dave Hakstol coached his 500th NHL game.

The Kraken played without forward Andre Burakovsky, who sustained an undisclosed injury in overtime of Seattle's 4-3 shootout win against the Boston Bruins on Monday.

The Penguins remained without forwards Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust due to upper-body injuries.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Seattle
N/A Points Alex Wennberg 2
N/A Goals Alex Wennberg 1
N/A Assists Alex Wennberg 1
N/A Power Play Goals Alex Wennberg 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Tristan Jarry .929 Save Percentage Philipp Grubauer 1.000
Tristan Jarry 26 Saves Philipp Grubauer 33
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 33 0 0-3 3-4 8 26
Seattle 28 2 1-4 3-3 6 27
Upcoming Games
  • Seattle will play their next game at home against Edmonton. The Kraken have a W/L % of .520 after a win and .382 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Calgary. The Penguins have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .517 after a loss.