Kraken defeat Blue Jackets for ninth straight win

COLUMBUS -- Jared McCann had two goals and an assist, and the Seattle Kraken set a franchise record with their ninth straight win, 7-4 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.

Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and two assists, Brian Dumoulin had a goal and an assist and Joey Daccord made 30 saves for the Kraken (19-14-9), who extended their team-record point streak to 13 (11-0-2) despite allowing more than three goals for the first time in nine games.

“Obviously, our defense had been playing very well,” McCann said. “Our [defensemen] are making our lives easier as forwards getting the pucks out. We’re blocking a lot of shots, and Joey’s been incredible for us. We owe a lot to him, but it’s been a great team game so far.”

Seattle trailed 3-2 in the second period before scoring the next four goals to take a 6-3 lead.

“It's good in games that we're not playing well that we find a way to kind of turn the switch and start playing hockey,” Bjorkstrand said. “We came out not in the best way, and I think we found our way a little bit. It's a positive that we were able to find a way to win.”

Ivan Provorov scored twice, Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist, Andrew Peeke had two assists and Daniil Tarasov made 29 saves for the Blue Jackets (13-21-9), who have lost three in a row and eight of 10 (2-4-4).

“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.

“In the second (period) overall as a team we tried to do too much, got away from what was working for us in the first. We went into the second intermission with a one-goal deficit. Afterward we pushed hard, but sometimes when you try to come from behind it doesn’t always work out.”

Provorov gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 1:41 of the first period, ending a 19-game goal drought (Nov. 27).

Jordan Eberle tied it 1-1 for Seattle at 11:37, scoring from the right circle after a long stretch pass from Adam Larsson, before Provorov scored again to make it 2-1 at 12:10 with his shot from near the blue line that deflected off Dumoulin.

McCann tied it 2-2 at 15:31, converting Bjorkstrand’s centering pass.

“We were rolling,” Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger said. “I thought we let our foot off the gas towards the end of the first, especially in the second, and they got a couple there in the third. You’ve got to play a full 60 (minutes) to win in this league.”

Marchenko put Columbus ahead 3-2 at 4:43 of the second period with a one-timer from the right face-off circle during a 5-on-3 power play.

The Kraken responded when Tye Kartye redirected a Vince Dunn shot to tie it 3-3 at 9:45, and Bjorkstrand’s power-play goal at 13:42 made it 4-3.

Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent acknowledged that Tarasov struggled.

“Did I like his game? I thought it was just average,” he said. “But we're seeing him play really well, so we'll evaluate and go from there.”

McCann extended the lead to 5-3 at 6:17 of the third period, and Dumoulin scored from the left circle at 8:28 to make it 6-3.

Emil Bemstrom cut it to 6-4 at 12:24, but Eeli Tolvanen scored an empty-net goal at 18:55 for the 7-4 final.

Daccord made 11 saves in the third.

“Not everything went the way we wanted tonight, but not for a second was there panic, wasted emotion the bench,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “Our guys realized we weren’t at our best and just tried to simplify and give ourselves a chance.”

NOTES: Daccord set a franchise record with his eighth straight win; Martin Jones won seven in a row last season. … Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury, and center Matty Beniers (undisclosed) did not play in the third. Hakstol had no updates. … It was the fourth time this season Seattle scored seven goals, tied with the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs for most in the NHL. … The Kraken won eight in a row from Jan. 1-14, 2023. … Marchenko scored his 35th goal in his 100th NHL game to tie Rick Nash for the most through 100 games in Blue Jackets history.