Kraken snap losing streak on Jared McCann's OT winner against Vegas

SEATTLE — Kraken 4, Golden Knights 3, OT at Climate Pledge Arena

Notable: Two players who had just suffered the indignity of a healthy scratch bounced back with important contributions as the Kraken notched a big win against the Vegas Golden Knights.

A top Kraken penalty killer capable of taking off for the other end on tired legs, Brandon Tanev gets breakaways relatively often. However, he hasn’t converted often. On Friday night with Seattle trailing Vegas 2-0, the process repeated itself, but this time Tanev tucked a shot into the top corner.

Tanev scored again in the second period. Tye Kartye, a healthy scratch Tuesday in Colorado, held onto the puck under duress next to the net and fed a crashing Tanev, who immediately pointed him out during his goal celebration.

Oliver Bjorkstrand, Tuesday’s other, more notable healthy scratch because he was an All-Star last season, gave the Kraken their first lead. He tried to get a stick on a puck bouncing around the slot and it deflected in off his body.

This was less than three minutes into the third period, though. The top team in the Pacific Division wasn’t going quietly, especially with that much time left. After the Kraken failed to score on an empty net, Vegas scored an extra-attacker goal to make it 3-3 and force overtime. Alex Pietrangelo’s bid went in off Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson.

For the 11th time in 15 games, the Kraken did not score the first goal. Pavel Dorofeyev dinged Seattle’s penalty kill on the opening strike. Then Nicolas Roy, who set up the first goal, had a wide-open look and capitalized as Seattle goaltender Joey Daccord slid over.

Goal of the game: Jared McCann scored his seventh of the season 29 seconds into overtime, taking it in alone. The Kraken snapped a four-game losing streak.

Player of the game: Tanev (2 goals)

On tap: The Kraken have a rare weekend off to practice, then host the 5-5-2 Columbus Blue Jackets.

Look for acknowledgment of a devastating loss. Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau, 31, was killed by a drunken driver while bicycling in August alongside his brother Matthew, 29, who was also struck and killed. Many teams have arranged tributes to the brothers while the Blue Jackets are in town.