Jared McCann and Alex Wennberg each had a goal and an assist as the Seattle Kraken defeated the host Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 Friday night.
Jordan Eberle and Brandon Tanev also scored and Vince Dunn added two assists for Seattle, which has won on each of the first three stops of its four-game trip that concludes Sunday against defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado.
Goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 21 saves for Seattle.
Patrik Laine and Adam Boqvist both had a goal and an assist for Columbus, which had a three-game points streak snapped (2-0-1).
Elvis Merzlikins stopped 31 of 34 shots.
Wennberg scored the go-ahead goal at 7:12 of the third period on the power play. Stationed with his back to the net, Wennberg took a pass from Eeli Tolvanen and spun before jamming the puck between Merzlikins’ pads.
Tanev added an empty-netter with 47.5 seconds remaining.
The game was scoreless until midway through the second period.
The Blue Jackets opened the scoring on the power play at 10:18 of the second. Boqvist kept the puck in the offensive zone at the right point and sent a cross-ice pass to Laine at the top of the left faceoff circle. Laine took a stride forward before putting a wrist shot high into the upper left corner of the net.
The Kraken tied the score with a power-play goal at 13:20. Oliver Bjorkstrand sent a cross-ice pass to McCann for a one-timer from just outside the left faceoff dot that found the upper left corner of the net. The goal was McCann’s team-leading 30th of the season, a career high.
Seattle took the lead just 48 seconds later on a three-on-two rush. Eberle carried the puck out of his own zone and fed McCann on the left wing. McCann’s initial shot was stopped by Merzlikins, but Eberle collected the rebound in the slot and went to his backhand to slide the puck under the sprawling goalie.
The Blue Jackets tied the score at 2-2 on Boqvist’s goal at 4:53 of the third. Laine’s shot from the blue line deflected off a Seattle forward and then hit Boqvist in the shin before the puck dropped to his stick for a one-timer in the slot.
–Field Level Media
