SEATTLE — Alex Wennberg scored the winner in his 600th career NHL game, Morgan Geekie and Eeli Tolvanen scored on either side of it and the Kraken finished out play before the All-Star break by moving into first place in the Pacific Division.
The Kraken turned in an imperfect effort but still held back the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
After Tolvanen made it 3-1, Columbus crowded Philipp Grubauer (24 saves) and outshot Seattle 9-3 through the first 13 minutes in their best stretch of the game. But they got no closer.
The Kraken controlled possession in the first period but never unleashed the fury on the visibly outmatched Blue Jackets. Columbus also did a good job early of blocking routes to goaltender Elvis Merzlikins.
Geekie knocked a zero off the scoreboard about halfway through the first period on a smooth scoring play in transition. He quickly settled a pass from Brandon Tanev and tucked it inside the goal post.
Wennberg scored his 10th of the season from close in. Jared McCann waited at the red line to deal the puck to Jordan Eberle, who in turn tapped it to Wennberg, who had moved up from the hash marks.
Tolvanen scored his eighth goal in 15 games since entering the Kraken lineup on Jan. 1. The Kraken stuffed three attempts by the Blue Jackets to exit their own zone. Tolvanen denied of the third try, carried the puck in and beat Merzlikins low through a screen.
The Kraken’s next game is Feb. 7 at the New York Islanders. Rookie Matty Beniers, who missed Friday and Saturday’s games for undisclosed reasons, hadn’t been ruled out at game time and is set to represent the Kraken at the NHL All-Star weekend Feb. 3-4.
