Kraken end seven-game skid with win against Predators

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Kraken ended a seven-game skid with a 4-3 win against the Nashville Predators at Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday.

Colin Blackwell scored shorthanded to make it 4-3 at 3:19 of the third period when he took several swings at a loose puck in the crease before getting it to slide under goalie Juuse Saros.
Blackwell played 33 games for Nashville from 2018-20.
"That one felt good against a team you used to play for," Blackwell said. "You feel like maybe they may have given up on you, along those lines. Big goal, shorthanded, and that one definitely sticks out in this year. It felt really good, and I thought we had a heck of a team win tonight. Everybody played well tonight. … When we play like that, we're hard to beat."

Yanni Gourde had a goal and an assist, and Chris Driedger made 19 saves for the Kraken (17-34-5), who won for the first time since Feb. 11.
"I thought our team played great defensively," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "We did a real good job all throughout the game 5-on-5. Our penalty kill was outstanding (2-for-3) in front of [Driedger]."
Roman Josi had two assists to reach 501 NHL points, and Saros made 27 saves in his 200th NHL game for the Predators (30-20-4), who played for the first time since losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in the 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Feb. 26.
"It was really two areas," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "Our execution with the puck wasn't as good as it needed to be throughout the game. And then without the puck, our attention to detail defensively was not at the level that needed to be."
Philip Tomasino gave Nashville a 1-0 lead at 13:13 of the first period when he crashed the net and got his stick on a pass by Michael McCarron from behind the goal line that deflected off Driedger's stick.
Matt Duchene extended the lead to 2-0 at 6:54 of the second period with a power-play goal off the rush.
Seattle scored three goals in a span of 2:39 to take a 3-2 lead.
"The game goes back and forth, teams have good rushes, and they are creating chances," Kraken forward Alex Wennberg said. "They scored a goal, but just to find a way to push back there, that's a huge part of the game, the shift after when they score. It's a great chance to make a statement, and you either push back or you're going to let them go. I feel like it's great for us to come back and have that push. You see the team after one good play, you see the other line come out afterward and you're feeding off each other, and that's how the team works and that's how you'll be successful."

Wennberg cut it to 2-1 at 7:23 when he scored 2-on-1 off a pass from Marcus Johansson for his first goal since Jan. 13.
Calle Jarnkrok tied it 2-2 at 8:58 with his 11th goal off a pass from Jordan Eberle, and Gourde put the Kraken ahead 3-2 at 10:02 on a backhand after a cross-ice pass from Blackwell.
Duchene scored at 14:36 to tie it 3-3 when he put back a rebound on a backhand for his 25th goal.
"Just the way I think when we played the third period, even after the shorthanded goal," Josi said. "I felt like we didn't play well enough to score a goal. We didn't create any O-zone time. They kept coming at us and kept getting chances, so yeah, the shorthanded goal is unfortunate, but even after that we've got to have a better effort. Most of the time we are a hard-working team and I felt we weren't tonight. I felt like Seattle outworked us, and that's something we take a lot of pride in and we're definitely not happy with that."
NOTES:Josi has 131 goals and 370 assists in 732 NHL games in 11 seasons. He is second in Predators history behind David Legwand (566) for most points. Among active defensemen, only Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks reached 500 points in fewer games (613). … Saros is 101-64-20 in seven seasons with Nashville. … Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki had a game-high six hits in 12:33 after missing three games with a lower-body injury. … Seattle forward Kole Lind had an assist and a Kraken-high five shots in 13:50 in his first game since Dec. 30. … The Kraken outshot the Predators 15-3 in the third period and 31-22 in the game. … Seattle last won at home Jan. 23, 5-3 against the Florida Panthers. … Seattle was outscored 29-13 in the skid.