Canadiens' quick start too much for slumping Kraken

(Photo credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

Alex Newhook scored twice and Kaiden Guhle had a goal and two assists as the visiting Montreal Canadiens routed the spiraling Seattle Kraken 5-1 on Sunday night.

Nick Suzuki added a goal and an assist and Mike Matheson also scored for Montreal (26-32-12, 64 points), which snapped a four-game winless streak (0-2-2) and won for just the second time in its past eight games (2-4-2). Goaltender Cayden Primeau made 36 saves.

Jordan Eberle scored for Seattle (28-29-13, 69 points), which matched its season-worst with an eight-game winless stretch (0-6-2), essentially knocking the Kraken out of the Western Conference's wild-card playoff chase.

The Canadiens scored four unanswered goals on six shots in the opening 18 minutes, knocking Seattle's starting goalie, Philipp Grubauer, from the game. Joey Daccord stopped 10 of 11 shots the rest of the way.

Guhle opened the scoring at 4:18 of the first. His slap shot from the blue line went off Eberle's stick and trickled toward the net, with Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak inadvertently tipping it past Grubauer just before the goalie could cover the puck with his catching glove.

Newhook made it 2-0 at 6:22, redirecting Guhle's high shot from the left point inside the near post.

Suzuki extended the lead at 17:33 on a two-on-one rush, beating Grubauer on a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle.

Newhook scored his second at the 18-minute mark, taking a drop pass from Brendan Gallagher and sliding a shot between Grubauer's pads from the left faceoff circle.

Eberle got the Kraken on the board 56 seconds into the second period, putting a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle into the roof of the net.

Seattle appeared to pull within 4-2 on a power-play goal by Matty Beniers five minutes into the second, but Montreal assistant coach Trevor Letowski challenged the call and a video review determined the Kraken were offside when entering the offensive zone.

Matheson, a defenseman, scored on a short-handed breakaway at 13:16 of the second to make it 5-1.

The Kraken wore their Winter Classic uniforms that honored the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans, who beat the Canadiens to become the first U.S. team to claim the Stanley Cup.

--Field Level Media