SEATTLE — The Kraken had been rolling in the deep — until they met the Blueshirts Blockade.
Seattle’s four-game win streak to start a nearly two-week homestand was halted by Jonathan Quick and the Rangers, who picked up a 2-0 win Sunday night at Climate Pledge Arena as the 38-year-old netminder was impenetrable in his second straight shutout.
It has been 128:05 since Quick last gave up a goal for the Rangers, dating back to the third period of the Sabres game on Nov. 7.
Denying all 24 shots he faced, Quick improved to 4-0 on the season and is now three wins away from becoming the first U.S.-born goalie to reach 400 wins in NHL history.
His shutout also counted as the 62nd of his 18-year NHL career, which pushed him ahead of Turk Broda for sole possession of 18th place in league history.
After a scoreless opening frame, Seattle poured on the first six shots of the second period.
The Rangers didn’t register their first shot of the period until the 11:47 mark.
The ice had been severely tilted in the Kraken’s favor in comparison to the first 20 minutes, but it was the Rangers who managed to strike first.
Head coach Peter Laviolette had been riding the Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Alexis Lafreniere line for much of the night at that point, and it was that trio that opened the scoring.
Panarin found Lafreniere backdoor at the far post through traffic for the easy tap-in and the 1-0 lead. It counted as Lafreniere’s seventh goal of the season, while Panarin extended his point streak to seven games.
The 33-year-old Panarin has only gone one game without a point so far this season.
Zac Jones then scored his first goal of the season less than three minutes into the third period to give the Rangers some insurance.
The Rangers were a lot more structured in their own end and a lot more intentional in the neutral zone in this one.
Disrupting the Kraken in transition, the Blueshirts limited the Kraken to five high-danger chances in the first period, which largely came in front of the net.
The problem was, the Rangers only generated two high-danger chances of their own, according to Natural Stat Trick.
It resulted in a scoreless opening 20 minutes, which Quick played a major part in with six saves.
