SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 27: Jared McCann #19 celebrates with Matty Beniers #10 of the Seattle Kraken after scoring a second goal during the second period of a game against the Washington Capitals at Climate Pledge Arena on January 27, 2026 in S … (Liv Lyons / NHLI / Getty Images)
SEATTLE - Jared McCann had a four-point night with two goals and two assists, Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle each had a goal and an assist, and the Seattle Kraken beat the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Tuesday night.
McCann briefly appeared to have a hat trick only for a missed stoppage for a high-sticking penalty against Beniers to be enforced on review to wipe out the goal. He would have become the first Kraken to have multiple hat tricks with Seattle.
Alexander Ovechkin scored the 919th goal of his storied career on the power play for Washington's only goal of the night, which came on the Beniers penalty that wiped out McCann's hat trick.
The Capitals have now lost six of their last seven games, with five losses coming in regulation.
The Kraken dominated most of the night with a few key sequences on the defensive side that kept the puck out of their net. Seattle held a 13-4 advantage in shots in the opening period despite both teams going scoreless. However, a late high-sticking penalty against Ethen Frank allowed the Kraken to open the second period on the power play.
McCann ripped a one-timer past Washington goaltender Logan Thompson for an opening goal and a 1-0 lead. His second came midway through the period as he was in position to clean up a rebound of a Beniers shot off Thompson for a two-goal lead.
McCann nearly scored his third of the period only to set up Eberle's goal instead. A hard wrist shot from McCann clanged off the left post and rebounded right onto the stick of Eberle as he beat a helpless Thompson for a 3-0 advantage.
A massive battle in front of Seattle's net early in the third period sparked a breakaway chance for McCann and the hat-trick goal that wasn't meant to be. Connor McMichael drove in on Philipp Grubauer and the Seattle net with Trevor van Rymsdyk and Ovechkin diving in to try and shovel the loose puck into the net. But Beniers cleared the puck to Eberle, who banked a pass to a streaking McCann for a finish as hats rained down on the ice.
However, Beniers caught Justin Sourdif with a high-stick almost 45 seconds prior to McCann's would-be goal. The linesman relayed the penalty to the referee during the stoppage and a review confirmed the infraction to wipe McCann's goal off the board.
A minute into Beniers' first penalty, Ovechkin came wide open on the back side of Grubauer as Ryan Leonard set up Ovechkin's 22nd goal of the season to make it a 3-1 game right after Seattle thought they'd make it 4-0.
The Kraken killed off Beniers' second minor successfully and Ryker Evans gave Seattle breathing room with 6:48 left to play. Evans beat the Washington defense and his centering pass from Jacob Melanson bounced into the net off the skate of Tom Wilson for a 4-1 Kraken lead.
McCann then set up Beniers on a breakaway into the Washington zone as he beat Thompson for a 5-1 lead. Beniers is now averaging a point a game for the month of January in 15 games with nine goals and six assists.
What's next:
The Kraken host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night in their final home game before the NHL's Winter Olympics break. Seattle will travel to play the Vegas Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings before the three-week pause in the schedule begins next week.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
MORE KRAKEN NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE
Matty Beniers, Berkly Catton score 18 seconds apart in 3rd period as Seattle Kraken beat Devils 4-2
Seattle Kraken can't overcome sluggish start, lose 4-2 to Ducks
Seattle Kraken snap four-game slide with 4-1 win over Islanders
Connor Dewar scores twice as Seattle Kraken lose 6-3 to Penguins
Nate Schmidt scores twice as Seattle Kraken lose 6-3 to Mammoth
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.