Burakovsky scores winning goal helping Kraken edge Jets, 4-3

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Andre Burakovsky scored a power-play goal with 2:39 remaining in the third period to lift the Seattle Kraken to a 4-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.

Jared McCann had a goal and two assists and Justin Schultz and Tomas Tatar also scored for the Kraken, who have won four of their last five games.

Joey Daccord made 30 saves for Seattle, which was coming off a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Monday and has earned at least a point in eight of its last 10 games, going 7-2-1 in that span.

Schultz hopes getting tough back-to-back victories is the spark the Kraken need to keep pushing hard for a playoff spot.

“We’re still in the fight here,” said Schultz. “Guys want to be in the fight and we’re not giving up, so these are two big wins for us. Need a lot more of them, but we’re heading in the right direction.”

Jets forward Mason Appleton had just blocked a shot, but Burakovsky got the puck and fired it over goalie Connor Hellebuyck’s glove.

“It’s been a battle,” said Burakovsky. “With all the injuries and the missed time, I think I’ve been playing some really good hockey lately. … It was nice to finally see one go in.”

Kyle Connor, Adam Lowry and Nino Niederreiter scored for the Jets, who had won their last two, and Appleton added a pair of assists. Hellebuyck stopped 20 shots.

“That’s a frustrating loss,” Jets coach Rick Bowness said. “It certainly wasn’t our best.”

Seattle led 1-0 after the first period. It was 2-2 following the second and 3-3 inside the first two minutes of the third.

Niederreiter scored at 1:17 of the third, but Tatar replied 25 seconds later to tie it.

Seattle opened the scoring when Schultz went on the rush and fired a low shot past Hellebuyck at 8:45 of the first.

Winnipeg capitalized on a Seattle turnover and Connor scored his 26th goal of the season after Mark Scheifele sent him a cross-ice pass at 8:07 of the second.

It was Scheifele’s 700th career point in his 778th game, making him the second player in franchise history to reach that mark behind Blake Wheeler, who had 812 in 897 games.

“It’s a very humbling, humbling thing and obviously excited and proud and lots more work to do,” Scheifele said of reaching the milestone.

Winnipeg went on the power play late in the second period but McCann scored short-handed, going on a breakaway and beating Hellebuyck with 2:04 remaining. McCann became the first player in Kraken history to score short-handed in back-to-back games.

The Jets got it back to 2-2 with nine seconds left when Appleton fed Lowry a pass from behind the net and he fired the puck past Daccord. Lowry’s ninth goal of the season snapped a 21-game goal drought.

UP NEXT

The Kraken host the Jets in the second game of a home and home on Friday.

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