Laine, Blue Jackets defeat Kraken in OT

COLUMBUS -- Patrik Laine scored 2:16 into overtime to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 2-1 win against the Seattle Kraken at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.

Laine took a pass from Zach Werenski on the rush and scored short side with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.
"It felt awesome," Laine said. "It's always nice to get the OT winner, but here seeing the fans for the first time when I score like this, it was a good feeling."
It was the first overtime game in Seattle history.
"Obviously, it's not the result we wanted," Kraken forward Brandon Tanev said. "You're coming into a tough building to play a good team. These are important points early on in the season. You take some good away from that game."

Elvis Merzlikins made 19 saves for Columbus (2-0-0), and Philipp Grubauer made 23 for Seattle (1-1-1).
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said they got caught on a line change that led to Laine's winning goal.
"We got tired on that one," he said. "We tried to get a guy off the ice, and that turned into the odd-man rush."
Eric Robinson tied the game 1-1 at 10:07 of the third period for the Blue Jackets. Forward Gregory Hofmann got the primary assist for his first NHL point in his second game.
Robinson picked up a loose puck at the blue line and snapped a shot from the right circle.
"It took us some time to figure it out," Robinson said. "[Grubauer] was playing really well. We could have done a better job getting in his eyes. Eventually we beat him."

Tanev gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead at 14:32 of the second period. It was the first time Seattle scored the first goal in a game.
After skating around Oliver Bjorkstrand in the right face-off circle, Tanev cut toward the net, faked a shot with his forehand to freeze Merzlikins, and lifted a backhand inside the near post.
Tanev scored two goals in the Kraken's first victory, 4-3 at the Nashville Predators on Thursday, but said his role is being a complete player.
"It's doing anything the team needs, whether it's blocking a shot, making a big hit or just playing simple," he said. "It's moments on the ice and understanding where you need to be that I bring every night."
Grubauer made the save against Laine on a breakaway at 12:06 of the second period and against Werenski on the rebound at 12:08, but for the second game in a row the Kraken struggled in the third period; they were outshot 13-1 by the Predators in the third Thursday.
"We've got to find an identity in the third period," Seattle forward Ryan Donato said. "That will come with time. We've got a lot of new guys on this team. We know we can't sit on our heels and take off the pressure."
The Blue Jackets finally broke through in the third when Robinson scored on their 21st shot.
"It's really nice feeling," Merzlikins said. "We still had our mistakes. We have to keep working."
After an 8-2 victory against the Arizona Coyotes in its season opener Thursday, Columbus coach Brad Larsen said he saw improvement in the second game.
"I thought we were a lot more plugged into this game," the first-year coach said. "It was a grind, but structurally we were better in a couple of areas we had addressed as a group."
NOTES: Alex Wennberg became the first Kraken player to face a former team. The forward played 415 games for the Blue Jackets from 2014-2020. He faced Columbus last season with the Florida Panthers. … The Kraken were not called for a penalty. The Blue Jackets were assessed one, rookie forward Cole Sillinger for cross-checking Joonas Donskoi 17 seconds into the second period.