Outside Thursday night was cold, wet and otherwise miserable. So the Seattle Kraken comforted themselves with the warm glow of a red light – the one behind the Chicago Blackhawks net at Climate Pledge Arena.
Matty Beniers, Jaden Schwartz (his career 200th) and the recently hot Brandon Tanev lit the lamp for Seattle in a 3-1 win. Joey Daccord made 18 saves for his third consecutive victory. By the way, for those wary that Daccord would be a one-year wonder, he came in with the NHL’s 6th-best save percentage (.916) among goalies who’ve played six or more games.
The Kraken have now won all three games on their season-high six game homestand. The victory also boosts Seattle back up to NHL-.500, at 8-8-1. Prior to the winning streak, the Kraken had lost 8 of 9.
Kraken captain Jordan Eberle slammed hard into the end boards on his first shift of the middle period and didn’t return, what the team is officially calling a “lower-body” injury.
1st Period
The Blackhawks record their first shot on goal at 7:17, a Seth Jones slapper from 57 feet.
Joey’s heart raced faster – and coach Dan Bylsma’s surely skipped a beat – after a bouncing puck rebounded off the end boards and hopped over Daccord’s goal stick.
The netminder’s desperation, diving poke pushed the puck away from hard-charging former Kraken Ryan Donato in the nick of time. The puck is circled in red in the screengrab at left.
Things you don’t see every day dep’t.: Seattle’s Shane Wright and Chicago’s Lukas Reichel come together in front of the Hawks net, and remain motionless after the whistle. They don’t appear agitated, but they also don’t separate. Eventually we learn why. The blade of Wright’s stick had lodged inside the top of Reichel’s sweater, and Shane didn’t want to be called for felony slashing.
Aided by a power play, the Kraken outshot the Blackhawks 10-3. The score after one period, though, is no score.
2nd Period
Fresh, slippery ice works against the Kraken. Jordan Eberle and Connor Murphy race for a loose puck, jostle, lose their balance and slide heavily into the end boards. The Kraken captain takes the worst of it; though he was able to turn his back to the boards before impact, Eberle is doubled over as trainer Justin Rogers assists him off the ice.
Chandler Stephenson appears to receive an early Christmas present, as a loose puck squirts onto his stick while he’s standing all alone between the circles. But Chicago goalie Petr Mrazek plays Grinch to keep the game scoreless.
The next Kraken slip-n-slide is much more fun. Racing down left wing, Jared McCann hits Matty Beniers in stride with a cross-ice pass. Matty goes down to one knee to get more “oomph” on his shot, which cleanly beats Mrazek at 4:18. Beniers loses his balance after the big swing, careening into the boards. No worries – he’s immediately up and celebrating his fourth goal of the season.
Close calls each way: Beniers’ twig betrays him, breaking and creating open ice for the Blackhawks on the turnover. Jason Dickinson’s drive grazes the outside of the right post. At the other end, Oliver Bjorkstrand shoots at a gaping net off a deflection, but fires wide.
Chicago has a chance to equalize when Adam Larsson is called for cross-checking at 19:14. That chance lasts 26 seconds, until Jones takes an interference minor. We’ll play 4-on-4 to start the 3rd. After 40, the Kraken have the SOG lead, 20-9, and a 1-0 lead where it counts.
3rd Period
After Larsson gets sprung from the box, Seattle begins an abbreviated 26-second power play. That proves more than enough, as Stephenson carries wide, then sends the puck out front against the grain to Jaden Schwartz. That has the Blackhawks out of position as Schwartz deposits one of the easiest goals of his 200 scored in the NHL.
The Kraken, who rallied from down two goals twice so far in this homestand, now have their own 2-0 lead to protect. Donato, denied earlier by Daccord, gets his revenge at 3:22, pulling Chicago with 2-1. It’s goal eight on the season for the former Kraken 4th liner.
Seattle had multiple chances to ice the game. Joining Shane Wright on a 2-on-1 burst, Eeli Tolvanen called his own number and missed the net. Soon after, Seattle produced its best sustained pressure of the game, but Mrazek smothered Ryker Evans’ slapshot after a fine feed from Bjorkstrand. With four minutes left and Mrazek having wandered to the top of the right wing circle, Beniers had him beat but couldn’t put home an insurance goal.
Chicago pulled their goalie for a sixth attacker. Beniers missed a long-range empty-netter in the final minute. That man Donato fired into Daccord with 41 ticks left. On a Chicago misplay in their own zone, Brandon Tanev finally put the game away at 19:41, his fifth of the season. The Kraken win 3-1, outshooting the visitors 26-19.
Up Next
Seattle is scheduled to practice Friday morning at Kraken Community Iceplex. Then it’s a New York, New York weekend at CPA. Note the starting times: 1 pm Saturday against the Islanders, 6 pm Sunday against the Rangers.