Coyotes allow 3 unanswered goals in losing effort to Kraken

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Carson Soucy had two goals and Daniel Sprong scored in his first game with Seattle to lead the Kraken to a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.

Soucy scored the first and last goal in a five-goal second period and Morgan Geekie added one in the third as the expansion Kraken won their third game in the last four while beating Arizona for the first time in three meetings.

Nick Schmaltz and Nick Ritchie scored for the Coyotes, who have lost three in a row after winning six of seven in their best stretch of the season.

Sprong was acquired from Washington at Monday’s trade deadline. He skated 14 minutes for the Capitals in Dallas on Sunday.

Phillipp Grubauer made 23 saves for the Kraken, who gave up five goals in each of their two losses to Arizona.

Arizona goalie Karel Vejmelka stopped 35 shots in his first appearance since signing a three-year contract extension worth about $8 million on Monday.

After a scoreless first period with few good scoring chances, the teams combined for five goals in the second — three in a 62-second span midway through the period.

Schmaltz’s 19th goal on a power play started the flurry at 8:11. Schmaltz took a backhand feed from Clayton Keller and punched it in from the slot. Arizona had the man advantage after Haydn Fleury was penalized for cross-checking Keller behind the Kraken net.

Soucy tied it 18 seconds later, when his shot from the deep slot through a screen hit the crossbar and bounced in.

Ritchie gave Arizona a 2-1 lead at 9:13 when skated in alone on the right side after a cross-ice pass from Loui Eriksson and beat Grubauer to the glove side.

Sprong’s power-play goal tied it 2-all at 13:39 of the second, when his wrist shot from the top of the right circle got over Vejmelka’s blocker.

Soucy’s second goal came a low wrist shot from the right circle for a 3-2 Kraken lead.

Geekie found an open side at 12:38 of the third period for a 4-2 edge.