Kraken inch back toward .500, beat Blue Jackets for second straight win

Kraken 5, Blue Jackets 2 at Climate Pledge Arena

Notable: The 7-8-1 Kraken won their second straight game after dropping four in a row, inching back toward .500 with a victory against the slumping Columbus Blue Jackets.

Quotable: “It’s a long trip from Vancouver. He’s walking with his bag over his shoulder. He’s halfway right now.” — Kraken coach Dan Bylsma’s creative reason why forward Daniel Sprong, reacquired via trade with the Canucks on Friday, hadn’t joined the team in Seattle yet.

He quickly clarified that Sprong, a native of the Netherlands, was still waiting on his immigration paperwork.

Goal of the game: Fourth-line winger Tye Kartye released the nervous tension in Climate Pledge Arena and kicked off a stretch where the Kraken scored three times in less than five minutes to take a 3-2 lead. Kartye hadn’t found the net since Oct. 12 in Minnesota.

He spun and sent a backhander into the net from short range to cut the Blue Jackets lead to 2-1.

Player of the game: Kartye, who put the Kraken back on track with his own goal and helped set up Brandon Tanev’s unassisted tying goal. Kartye delivered a hit at the opposite end of the ice as Columbus sent the puck flying around the boards, to Tanev, who took off on a 2-on-1.

On tap: Game 3 of a six-game homestand is Thursday against the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks, who have one of the brightest young stars in the game in Connor Bedard but are hovering above last place in the Western Conference’s Central Division.