By Marcus Sledge

1/9/25

COLUMBUS – The Columbus Blue Jackets used a dominant second period, scoring four consecutive goals, to secure a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.

Zach Werenski, Luca Del Bel Belluz, and Denton Mateychuk each tallied a goal and an assist for Columbus (19-17-6), which has now won three in a row and six of its last eight games. Sean Kuraly, Kent Johnson, and Kirill Marchenko also scored, while James van Riemsdyk added two assists. Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves to anchor the win.

Seattle (17-22-3) suffered its fourth consecutive loss despite two goals from Eeli Tolvanen. Philipp Grubauer could not find much support from his defense, allowing five goals on 19 shots before being replaced late in the second period by Joey Daccord, who stopped all four shots he faced.

Game Breakdown

Kuraly opened the scoring for Columbus at 11:58 of the first period, redirecting Ivan Provorov’s shot for his first goal in 15 games. The lead was short-lived, as Tolvanen responded just 10 seconds later with a goal from the top of the right circle, snapping his 12-game goal drought.

The Blue Jackets seized control in the second period, starting with Del Bel Belluz’s go-ahead goal at 3:29. Playing in his season debut after being recalled from Cleveland (AHL), the rookie redirected a van Riemsdyk pass for his second NHL goal in just his second game.

Werenski extended the lead to 3-1 at 10:53, scoring from the left faceoff dot, and Mateychuk made it 4-1 at 12:27 with his first NHL goal. The 2022 first-round pick (No. 12 overall) celebrated the milestone in just his eighth career game.

Johnson pushed the score to 5-1 at 15:45, prompting Seattle to pull Grubauer in favor of Daccord.

In the third period, Tolvanen scored his second of the night at 8:44 to cut the deficit to 5-2. Marchenko sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 19:31.

Next up: Kraken head to Buffalo to take on the Sabres (16-21-5) puck drop scheduled for 1PM Pacific Time.

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