Jared McCann had two goals and an assist, Joey Daccord made 30 saves, and the Seattle Kraken extended their winning streak to nine games by rallying to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-4 on Saturday night.
Oliver Bjorkstrand contributed a goal and two assists, Brian Dumoulin added a goal and an assist, and Jordan Eberle, Tye Kartye, and Eeli Tolvanen also scored for the Kraken. The win streak is the longest in the three-year history of the franchise, and Seattle is now 11-0-2 in its last 13 games.
The Kraken overcame three one-goal deficits and took the lead for the first time late in the second period with Bjorkstrand’s power-play goal. McCann and Dumoulin extended the lead in the third period, and Tolvanen sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 1:05 remaining.
“We downplay the word confidence, but that has something to do with it,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “Not everything went the way we wanted tonight, but there was no panic. Our guys realized we weren’t at our best and just tried to simplify and give ourselves a chance.”
Ivan Provorov scored twice on his 27th birthday, Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist, and Daniil Tarasov made 29 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have lost three in a row and five of the last six games.
“To be a good team, you have to be able to hold onto leads and win games,” Provorov said. “So far, we haven’t been able to figure that out.”
The Blue Jackets scored 1:41 into the game with Provorov’s long-distance wrist shot through heavy traffic. Jordan Eberle tied it later in the first period with a rush goal.
Provorov gave Columbus the lead again with his second goal, a long shot that deflected off Dumoulin’s leg. McCann tied it again late in the first with his team-leading 15th goal.
Marchenko capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play early in the second period for his team-leading 14th goal. His 35 goals tie him with Rick Nash for the most by a Blue Jackets player through 100 games.
Emil Bemstrom cut the deficit to 6-4 with a late third-period goal, his first since Dec. 7, but Columbus couldn’t close the gap any further.
“Our defense has been playing very well,” McCann said. “Our D is making our lives easier as forwards getting the pucks out. We’re blocking a lot of shots, and (Daccord) has been incredible for us. We owe a lot to him, but it’s been a great team effort.”
Game Notes
Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky left the game with a lower-body injury and did not return. Forward Matty Beniers did not play in the third period for undisclosed reasons. Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli recorded an assist for his 25th point of the season, ranking second among NHL rookies behind Chicago’s Connor Bedard.
Upcoming Games
- Kraken: At Pittsburgh on Monday.
- Blue Jackets: Host Vancouver on Monday.
