Kraken beat Blue Jackets 7-4 for team record 9th straight win
Jan 13, 2024, 7:04 PM | Updated: 8:44 pm
(AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jared McCann had two goals and an assist, Joey Daccord made 32 saves and the Seattle Kraken extended their win streak to nine games, rallying to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-4 on Saturday night.
Seattle Kraken 7, Columbus Blue Jackets 4: Box score
Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and two assists, Brian Dumoulin had a goal and an assist, and Jordan Eberle, Tye Karte and Eeli Tolvanen also scored for the Kraken, whose win streak is the longest in three-year history of the franchise. Seattle is 11-0-2 in its last 13.
The Kraken came back from one-goal deficits three times and took the lead for the first time late in the second period on Bjorkstrand’s power-play goal.
McCann and Dumoulin added to it in the third. Tolvanen had an empty-net goal with 1:05 left in the game.
“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 not for a second was there panic, wasted emotion the bench. Our guys realized we weren’t at our best and just tried to simplify and give ourselves a chance.”
Ivan Provorov had two goals on his 27th birthday, Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist, and Daniil Tarasov stopped 29 shots for the Blue Jackets, who have lost their last three and five of the last six.
“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 when he beat Tarasov on a rush.
Provorov gave Columbus the lead with his second of the game, a long shot that caromed in off the leg of Dumoulin. The Kraken tied it again late in the first with McCann’s team-leading 15th goal.
Marchenko took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play for the Blue Jackets to beat Daccord early in the second period for his team-leading 14th goal.
Emil Bemstrom cut the deficit to 6-4 with a goal late in the third, his first since since Dec. 7, but that would be it for Columbus.
“Obviously, our defense had 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) been incredible for us. We owe a lot to him, but it’s been a great team game so far.”
NOTES: Kraken forward Andre Burkovsky left the game with a lower body injury and didn’t return. … Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli had an assist for his 25th point of the season, second in the NHL among rookies behind Chicago’s Connor Bedard.
UP NEXT
Seattle Kraken: At Pittsburgh on Monday.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Host Vancouver on Monday.
Seattle Kraken Check-In: How is Matty Beniers’ 2nd season going?