Kraken score 4 in 2nd, hand Blue Jackets 6th straight loss

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Kraken scored four goals in the second period to rally for a 5-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday.

Jared McCann had a goal and an assist, and Jordan Eberle had two assists for the Kraken (7-8-1), who have won consecutive games after dropping four straight. Joey Daccord made 38 saves.

“I don't think anybody on the bench was happy with the way the first period was going,” Seattle coach Dan Bylsma said. “Maybe it's a reset after the period [when the] 20 minutes is up, but I just… the response from the group is great to see.”

Sean Kuraly and Zach Aston-Reese each had a goal and an assist, and Kevin Labanc had two assists for the Blue Jackets (5-8-2), who have lost six straight games (0-5-1). Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves.

“The key to the game is not playing our game in the second period,” Kuraly said. “Obviously, when you look back at it, it’s managing the puck. We knew they were going to come out strong [that period], they’re not just going to kind of lay over at home.”

Tye Kartye cut the lead to 2-1 at 2:50 of the second period, shifting the puck to his backhand and stuffing it around Merzlikins’ left pad at the top of the crease.

“I was just standing in front of the net, and [Adam Larsson] got it there, [Andre Burakovsky] got it there, and I just kind of jammed it,” Kartye said. “There wasn’t much to it.”

Tanev tied it 2-2 at 7:13. He picked up the puck in the neutral zone, cut to the slot on a 2-on-1 rush and beat Merzlikins with a wrist shot.

“Obviously it's not the start that we wanted,” said Tanev, who scored his third goal in the past two games. “But we found a way to make some plays, and good things will happen when you're playing the right way."

Tolvanen put the Kraken ahead 3-2 with a power-play goal just 10 seconds later, tapping in a cross-crease pass from Eberle at the right post.

“Our first power play, we stepped over the boards with the mindset we were going to score, and that got us into the lead,” Bylsma said.

Will Borgen extended the lead to 4-2 at 13:34 with a snap shot over Merzlikins’ glove from the top of the right circle after Oliver Bjorkstrand found him streaking across the blue line.

McCann added an empty-net goal at 18:42 of the third for the 5-2 final.

“We came in after the first period and said for sure it’s our best period,” Columbus coach Dean Evason said. “But we don’t want to go in and praise too much, we’ve got to keep the foot on the pedal, and then it just… we couldn’t sustain it for whatever reason.”

Kuraly gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 13:46 of the first period. He put the puck into an open net after Aston-Reese’s shot from the high slot got behind Daccord.

Aston-Reese then pushed it to 2-0 just 22 seconds later. Kuraly won a race to a loose puck in the right corner and threw the puck toward the crease, where Aston-Reese redirected it over Daccord’s glove.

“I think most of it’s just simple, and I think it’s repeatable things that we’ve done a lot of times,” Kuraly said. “And they don’t have to end up in goals, but I think it can be a blueprint for us to try and score goals. It’s a bunch of singles that [add] up in a home run.”

NOTES: The Kraken scored four goals in a period for a League-leading fourth time this season. … McCann’s secondary assist on Talvanen’s goal made him the first player in Kraken history to record 200 points with the team (104 goals, 97 assists).