NHL roundup: Kraken pass inaugural season win total

[January 26, 2023] Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice and the Seattle Kraken surpassed their victory and point totals from their expansion season, defeating the visiting Vancouver Canucks 6-1 on Wednesday night.

The Kraken improved to 28-14-5 with 61 points after going 27-49-6 with 60 points last season. They also defeated Vancouver for the first time, after going 0-5-1 in six previous meetings since Seattle entered the league.

Jared McCann added a goal and two assists, with Alex Wennberg, Eeli Tolvanen and Ryan Donato also scoring for Seattle, which improved to 10-2-1 in January and tied Vegas for most points in the Pacific Division. Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson each had two assists and goaltender Martin Jones made 19 saves.

Conor Garland scored and Spencer Martin stopped 29 of 35 shots for the Canucks, who dropped to 1-1-0 under new coach Rick Tocchet.

Senators 2, Islanders 1

Shane Pinto and Claude Giroux scored goals and host Ottawa withstood an injury to starting goalie Cam Talbot to edge skidding New York.

Talbot was credited with the win after stopping all 14 shots he faced before exiting with 11:55 left in the second, reportedly with a lower-body injury. Anton Forsberg made 21 saves in relief for the Senators, who won for only the third time in nine games (3-6-0).

Brock Nelson scored in the second for the Islanders, who have lost six straight (0-4-2) and 11 of 13 (2-8-3) this month to fall into 11th place in the Eastern Conference and five points out of the second wild card spot. Goalie Semyon Varlamov recorded 36 saves.

Maple Leafs 3, Rangers 2 (OT)

Mitchell Marner scored 19 seconds into overtime for his 18th goal of the season, giving Toronto a win over visiting New York. Toronto's Timothy Liljegren tied the game at 15:49 of the third period.

Pontus Holmberg also scored and Liljegren finished with two points for the Maple Leafs, who have won the first two games of a five-game homestand and improved to 4-0-1 in their past five. Ilya Samsonov, making his fourth straight start, stopped 27 shots.

Filip Chytil scored twice for the Rangers, who got 32 saves from Igor Shesterkin. Rangers left winger Will Cuylle, who is from Toronto, made NHL debut. He finished with a minus-1 rating in 5:49 of ice time.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner (16) celebrates with forward Auston Matthews (34) and defenseman Timothy Liljegren (37) after scoring the winning goal in overtime against the New York Rangers at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Blue Jackets 3, Oilers 2 (OT)

Kent Johnson scored with 2:31 left in overtime, and visiting Columbus ended Edmonton's six-game winning streak.

Without a goal in his previous 15 contests, Johnson skated with the puck to find an opening, then drove it past Edmonton netminder Stuart Skinner (24 saves), who appeared to be screened by teammate Darnell Nurse, for the winner. Meanwhile, Joonas Korpisalo was strong in net while making 34 saves to help Columbus post just their fourth road win of the season.

Zach Hyman scored his 25th goal and Connor McDavid recorded his 49th assist in 49 games for the Oilers, who have still earned at least one point in nine of their last 10.

Hurricanes 3, Stars 2 (OT)

Martin Necas scored the overtime winner to give Carolina a road victory over Dallas.

At 1:34 of the extra frame, Necas took the puck in the circle and maneuvered his way into the slot, then fired a shot past Stars goalie Jake Oettinger for the deciding score. It was Necas' 19th goal of the season, and his second OT winner against the Stars. Brett Pesce recorded two assists for the Hurricanes, and Sebastian Aho and Brent Burns scored Carolina's other goals.

Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson scored for the Stars.

--Field Level Media

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