Alex Wennberg burns his former team with game winner as Kraken beat Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jared McCann hit 30 goals for the first time in his career with his fourth in three games, Alex Wennberg burned his former team with the go-ahead strike and the Kraken followed up three straight losses with three straight wins — the latest 4-2 at the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It came on the heels of the news that nothing was changing in the Kraken locker room. Not a single deal went down involving Seattle in the final three weeks leading up to Friday’s noon trade deadline.

“It’s awesome. It’s great,” McCann said of his personal milestone. “But at the same time, we’re still trying to accomplish something as a team. We have a great group of guys in here. I’m happy that things stayed the way they are.”

The previous two victories were messy, and the Kraken kept the trend going, letting league-worst Columbus (20-36-6) hang around well into the third period. The Blue Jackets hit the cross bar and were stopped by a diving Philipp Grubauer (21 saves) while attempting to send the game to overtime.

“Could have easily stretched the lead in the first part of that [third] period. It didn’t happen,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “We responded well and were able to close out the game.” 

Matty Beniers had one of the first period’s best chances when he took the puck end-to-end with help, briefly tossing it to Adam Larsson and then Jordan Eberle, before testing Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins’s glove. Wennberg spotted the Blue Jackets a power play they didn’t take advantage of.

Columbus flirted with danger during a second-period penalty kill of its own. Erik Gudbranson absorbed two blasts from Eeli Tolvanen, and the Blue Jackets let the Kraken creep close to the crease several times before breaking up the chances.

The Blue Jackets have been shut out three times at Nationwide Arena this season, a small blessing for some. A skull-rattling 1857 Napoleon replica cannon goes off following each goal from the home team. Patrik Laine triggered Friday night’s first boom when he scored a Blue Jackets power-play goal just past the game’s midway mark. The Kraken penalty kill had logged eight games without allowing a goal.

After a third shot block, it appeared the Kraken weren’t getting anything past Gudbranson on the right side of the ice, so McCann tried his luck on the left and tied the game. He then put a shot off Merzlikins’ (31 saves) pads off the rush and the rebound fired out to Eberle, who offered the Kraken their first lead.

“Good chemistry,” McCann said. We play a lot of cards together, too, so I feel like that helps us a lot.

“We’re finding each other. It’s been good.”

Oliver Bjorkstrand made his return to the only other NHL city he’s called home and earned the primary assist on McCann’s goal. He came in on a high note, having scored in overtime in Detroit the previous night. He left on a concerning one, departing the third period with a lower-body injury. Hakstol offered no update after the game.

Wennberg is another former Blue Jacket and received polite applause when his name was announced as part of Seattle’s starting lineup. No more of that in the third period. Nine seconds into a Blue Jackets power play soon after they tied the game at 2, Wennberg spun and fired in front of the net to give Seattle another lead. Tolvanen got him the puck from the boards.

“You saw how quickly he went from [net front] to goal line, all in one motion,” Hakstol said. “That’s a real skilled play, to get that puck to the top of the blue paint. And then he found a hole. It’s nice to have that element there.”

It was Wennberg’s first goal since Jan. 28 — the last time Seattle faced Columbus.

“[It’s nice] for me to come and play your old team, to have that success and score goals, but right now, it doesn’t really matter who scores,” Wennberg said. “We’ve got to win these games.”

Brandon Tanev added an empty-net goal. Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn had two assists and helped Grubauer keep the game tied at 2. He dived into the net to block a shot before Wennberg scored the winner.

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