Bjorkstrand has 4 points, Kraken hold off Rangers

NEW YORK -- Oliver Bjorkstrand had two goals and two assists, and the Seattle Kraken held on for a 7-5 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Eeli Tolvanen had a goal and two assists, Shane Wright had a goal and an assist, and Philipp Grubauer made 32 saves for the Kraken (14-14-1), who went 3-1-0 on a four-game road trip.

It was Seattle's first win at Madison Square Garden (1-3-0) and also its first regulation win in eight games (2-6-0) against New York since joining the NHL in 2021-22.

"You're always trying to find ways to get confidence," Bjorkstrand said. "We're playing some good teams, so winning three of four is a pretty good road trip. We definitely feel good about ourselves, but we can't be too satisfied. We still have a lot of work to do ... we want to go home and keep going in that direction."

Vincent Trocheck and K'Andre Miller each had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Quick made 15 saves for the Rangers (14-11-1), who are 2-7-0 and have allowed 35 goals in their past nine games.

"Seattle's goals were their chances ... that was it," New York coach Peter Laviolette said. "We had the pieces in place and when it came down to the point where it had to be defended, it got loose so that's definitely not what you're looking for. You're in charge of a game 3-1 and their chances were the goals. We could have been better and tighter in those situations."

Reilly Smith gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 3:38 of the first period when he pushed a puck that had trickled behind Grubauer into the net.

Bjorkstrand tied the game 1-1 with a power-play goal at 1:46 of the second period, scoring on a one-timer from the slot. Bjorkstrand's line with Wright, a center, and Tolvanen combined for four goals and nine points.

"I think we've able to gain some chemistry," Bjorkstrand said of his line. "We've done that for some games now, so it's just building on it. I think we're getting really comfortable with where the pucks are going and where other guys going to be. ... A lot of good stuff."

Filip Chytil made it 2-1 just 1:04 later, scoring with a snap shot along the ice from the high slot that went inside the right post at 2:50 of the second period.

Trocheck pushed it to 3-1 at 4:47 on a shot from the slot for a power-play goal.

"This is the NHL and we're playing good teams and can't expect to win every night but there's some things we have to make sure we're paying more attention to," Trocheck said. "I thought there were a lot of good things to come out of tonight, being down late and fighting back the way we did, showing the urgency. But going forward we need to have that same urgency throughout the game."

Grubauer kept the Kraken within two by making the save of the game at 11:17 of the second period, when he dove across to deny Artemi Panarin with his left glove.

"We didn't like our start, being down 3-1, but I think we get timely goals, and some big saves by [Grubauer] to keep us in the game," Kraken forward Brandon Tanev said. "I think we understood what we needed to do in getting back in the game. That's a good hockey team over there and we played hard, we played physical, and when we got our opportunities, we capitalized."

The Kraken scored three goals in a span of 5:18 late in the second to take a 4-3 lead.

Tanev scored on a backdoor goal from the slot to make it 3-2 at 14:06 before Tolvanen scored on a one-timer from the top of the right circle to tie it 3-3 at 15:34.

Bjorkstrand made it 4-3 on a redirection from the slot at 19:24.

Vince Dunn scored on a slap shot 1:00 into the third period to push it to 5-3, and Wright connected from the slot to make it 6-3 at 11:13.

Miller pulled the Rangers within 6-4 on a shot from the left corner that hit Grubauer in the mask and went into the net at 12:27. Alexis Lafreniere cut it to 6-5 at 14:57 on a shot from the bottom of the right circle.

Yanni Gourde scored an empty-net goal at 18:14 for the 7-5 final.

"When we're at our best, we're playing fast, physical, and simple," Tanev said. "Everyone's on the same page. Those things all add up in a 60-minute game."

NOTES: Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin, who signed an eight-year, $92 million contract Saturday, was unavailable after his wife went into labor earlier in the day. … With goalie Joey Daccord out for the game due to an illness, the Kraken signed Michael Matyas to an amateur tryout. The 32-year-old, who served as the backup, played with Alaska Anchorage in the NCAA for three seasons (2012-15). ... Wright extended his goal streak to three games and has six goals in his past eight games. ... The Rangers are 0-8-1 when trailing after the second period.