Blackhawks lines in warmups at Kraken:

Teravainen-Bedard-Lardis
Bertuzzi-Frondell-Mikheyev
Donato-Nazar-Greene
Slaggert-Boisvert-Burakovsky

Kaiser-Crevier
Vlasic-Rinzel
Korchinski-Del Mastro

Soderblom

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) April 5, 2026

The Hawks did make some changes to their lineup, moving Teuvo Teravainen to the top line and Ryan Greene down to the third line. Nick Lardis was also in the lineup after taking a puck off his hand in the last outing against Edmonton.

First period

Bedard was on his game in the first period, setting up mutiple scoring chances. Despite the great chances from Bedard, Lardis and others could not score. The first period ended scoreless but it was clear the Blackhawks carried the play.

Second period

Chicago got the scoring started by cashing a power-play opportunity for the game’s first goal.

Teuvo Teravainen takes it to the hoop and scores on the power play to snap a 15-game goal drought. His 14th of the season. He needed that. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/yF4Rnlac9s

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 5, 2026

After the Teravainen goal, the Hawks continued to pile on with a goal from Tyler Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi got to the net late in the second period and scored his 32rd goal of the season.

Tyler Bertuzzi scores with 22.2 seconds left in the period for his 32th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/74Kci8wQEr

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 5, 2026

After the second Hawks goal, the period ended 2-0 in favor of Chicago.

Third period

Midway through the third period, the Kraken cut the lead in half. Jaden Schwartz got his 11th goal of the season. The Hawks answered right back with a goal from rookie Sacha Boisvert for the first of his career.

Sacha Boisvert first career NHL goal alert. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/sjlX8QiiZm

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 5, 2026

Boisvert was set up by defenseman Kevin Korchinski. Korchinski was playing in his 100th NHL game.

Following the Boisvert goal, Seattle came back with a goal of its own. Kaapo Kakko scored his 13th goal of the seasont to cut the lead to one again.

Ilya Mikheyev sealed the Chicago victory with an empty-net goal late in the third period.

Analysis

Despite not meaning much in the standings, this game was important. It helped show what could be for next season and areas that still need improvement.

What could be

The Hawks can run out a team of mainly younger players. The defense is composed of players under the age of 25. Despite their rescent struggles, analytically, Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro had good games. Korchinski drew praise from his coach postgame.

Jeff Blashill had this to say about Korchinski:

Blashill said Wyatt Kaiser has been the Blackhawks’ best D lately and he wants him taking the hardest matchups moving forward.

He also praised Korchinski: “He’s not over-complicating it. He’s using his feet to beat pressure, then he’s moving the puck to the open people. When he…

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) April 5, 2026

In addition to praising Korchinski, Blashill heaped high praise on Wyatt Kaiser. Kaiser has been having a great season for the Hawks and will continue to be challenged.

Needs improvement

While the defense was good last night, the offense still needs to get better. Despite scoring four goals, the offense left several grade-A chances set up by Bedard on the ice. If the Hawks want to get significantly better, they have to find more goal scorers, whether that is internally or externally. 

The post RECAP: Boisvert scores first goal as Blackhawks defeat Kraken 4-2 appeared first on The Rink.

First period

The Hawks and Kraken finished the opening frame scoreless. Seattle outshot Chicago 9-7. Of note, late in the first period, Kraken defensemen Ryan Lindgren drilled Andre Burakovsky with a big hit. Burakovsky was slow to get up but eventually made it to the bench and went into the locker room, but would not return.

Second period

Early in the frame, Tyler Bertuzzi scored his 10th of the season to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The Hawks executed a perfect passing exhibition when Frank Nazar led the rush and fed Teuvo Teravainen, who dished to Bertuzzi for the finish at the 0:43 mark.

hey bert pic.twitter.com/mVIFc4w5Cq

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 21, 2025

That same line scored the Hawks’ second goal of the period. With the Hawks on a power play, Bertuzzi outworked a Kraken player and made a strong pass with one hand on his stick that went across the goal mouth and found Teravainen for his fifth of the season at 10:07 to put the Hawks ahead, 2-0.

a beautiful power play goal pic.twitter.com/HjxFzEmSrS

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 21, 2025

The Hawks took the two-goal lead into the locker room after 40 minutes. The Hawks outshot Seattle 13-6 in the second period and held a 20-15 edge after two.

Third period

Seattle got on the board when Tye Kartye scored his second goal of the season at 5:06. Brandon Montour fired a shot from the blue line that bounced in off Kartye to cut the Hawks’ lead to 2-1.

Seattle continued to control the period, and as a result, they tied it at 2-2 when Ryker Evans snapped a shot from the blue line through traffic and deflected in off Shane Wright and into the net. For Wright, it was his fifth of the season at 7:13.

Late in the third, Bedard had a partial breakaway and fanned on it and appeared to have been slashed. Bedard argued with the referee and pointed his stick in his face, which resulted in an unsportsmanlike penalty. On the power play, Jaden Schwartz scored his eighth of the season from in close and off a great pass by Montour at 17:42 to give Seattle a 3-2 lead. Seattle held on for the comeback win.

Analysis

It was a disappointing loss, as the Hawks completely folded in the third period. The story coming out of this contest will be the controversial no-call on Bedard’s breakaway, which led to his penalty that Seattle converted. However, before that happened, the game was tied and it was all Seattle in the third as the Hawks struggled to find their legs. It is possible the team ran out of gas after playing most of the game with just 10 forwards following the Burakovsky injury in the opening period. The Hawks need to forget about this one quickly as they head to New York for a Friday night game against the Buffalo Sabres. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CST on CHSN with the radio call on 720 AM WGN.

The post RECAP: Kraken beat the Hawks 3-2 as Seattle scores three in the third appeared first on The Rink.

Blackhawks lines in warmups in Seattle:

Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Teravainen-Nazar-Bertuzzi
Moore-Donato-Mikheyev
Dach-Foligno

Vlasic-Rinzel
Kaiser-Levshunov
Grzelcyk-Murphy
Crevier

Soderblom

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) November 4, 2025

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First period

The first period had some chances for both teams. The Blackhawks and Kraken both got 10 shots on net apiece, with Colton Dach getting the Blackhawks’ best chance of the period. Alex Vlasic skated all around the back of the Kraken net, putting the puck right on the stick of Dach. He got a one-timer off that led to a mad scramble in front of the Seattle net, with the puck managing to stay out. The period would end just as it started, with both teams scoreless.

Second period

The second period did not go nearly as well as the first. Less than three minutes in, the puck found its way back to Jamie Oleksiak at the blue line. He put a quick snap shot on net that fooled Soderblom, and Seattle was up 1-0. Matt Grzelcyk was a better door than a window and screened his goaltender from really seeing the puck as it went right through his legs.

Unfortunately, that was not all the damage that would be done. About four and a half minutes later, Seattle was on the power play. Jordan Eberle got the puck behind the Blackhawks’ net from the point. He fed it in front to a wide-open Matty Beniers, who burried the shot to make it 2-0 Kraken.

The Kraken got one more huge chance before the period would end. Once again it was Beniers and Eberle, with Eberle getting a great shot on net. Soderblom fully extended his left leg to make the stop, trapping the puck between his skate and the post to keep the puck out and keep the score 2-0 heading into the third.

Third period

The third started off relatively quiet, with both teams not getting a lot of quality chances. With about eight and a half minutes to go in the period, Soderblom made some big stops on the defensive end to keep the puck out of the net, with the puck then going the other way. Connor Bedard beat Vince Dunn along the boards and got the puck to Andre Burakovsky in front. He buried a wrister past Joey Daccord to make the score 2-1 Seattle.

Andre Burakovsky has goals in three straight games pic.twitter.com/YLxcscgDHn

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 4, 2025

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Four and a half minutes later, the Kraken stole the puck from Frank Nazar in the center-ice circle. Eberle once again got a great chance and did not miss this time, burying the wrister past Soderblom to put this game out of reach, 3-1 Seattle.

Analysis

The Blackhawks really looked lethargic at points in this game. They got caught defensively lapsing several times, and were bailed out more often than not by Soderblom in net. He was hung out to dry on all three Seattle goals. The team around him seemed to lose their defensive assignments at times, leading to great chances for the Kraken. That team is far too offensively gifted to let things like that happen and be able to get away with it. Then, there was the offense. There were not many great chances in this one, and it did not appear to me that Daccord was really tested. Yes, the Blackhawks outshot the Kraken which is good, but you do need to have guys moving around more and trying to get different looks in front of the net.

The Blackhawks try to get back to winning some games again against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night. That game will be at 9 p.m. CST.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks stopped in Seattle, lose 3-1 appeared first on The Rink.

First period

The Blackhawks opened the scoring with a power play goal from Connor Bedard. Artyom Levshunov made an off-balance play to keep the puck in the zone and fed Bedard on the right half boards. From a sharp angle, Bedard snuck one past Daccord off a deflection for his 18th of the season at 3:46.

BEDSY AND ARTY pic.twitter.com/eXsixDtiaC

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 19, 2025

Tyler Bertuzzi ended his 21-game goal-scoring drought with his 18th of the season to give the Hawks a 2–0 lead. Lukas Reichel won an offensive zone faceoff back to Alex Vlasic, who fired a shot on goal that was tipped in by Bertuzzi at 17:13.

Adam Larsson cut the Hawks’ lead to 2–1 with his sixth of the season. From behind the goal line, Matty Beniers found Larsson in the left circle and he slapped a shot over the shoulder of Knight at 17:44. The Hawks would take a 2–1 lead into the locker room after one.

Second period

After a strong opening 20 minutes, the wheels fell off for the Hawks in the second period. At 5:55, Jordan Eberle tied it at 2–2 with his eighth of the season. Chandler Stephenson made a perfect saucer pass from behind the goal line to Eberle, who was alone in the slot and buried a one-timer.

Just 26 seconds later, Seattle took the lead on Jared McCann’s 17th of the season. Off the rush, McCann fired a shot from the right circle past Knight at the 6:21 mark to give Seattle a 3–2 advantage.

Beniers scored his 17th of the season to give the Kraken a 4–2 lead. Seattle had some zone time and Larsson made a cross ice pass to a wide-open Beniers, who fired it past Knight at 12:53.

Shane Wright scored Seattle’s fifth unanswered goal at 15:13. After a few good saves by Knight, Wright jumped on a rebound for his 16th of the season to give Seattle a 5–2 lead after 40 minutes.

Third period

Wright extended the Seattle lead with his second of the game and 17th of the season. Larsson made another sweet cross-ice pass but this time Wright one-timed it for the goal at the 6:55 mark to make it 6–2, which stood as the final.

Analysis

A promising start for the Blackhawks after taking a 2–0 lead quickly evaporated and became another disastrous loss. The Hawks had too many defensive breakdowns which left several Seattle players wide open for easy scoring chances, some of which led to goals. Knight has struggled since his spectacular first two games as a Blackhawk, though many of those goals can be blamed on the poor play in front of him.

The Hawks look to get back into the win column on Thursday night when they host the Los Angeles Kings at the United Center. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. CDT on CHSN with the radio call on 720 AM WGN.

The post RECAP: Seattle scores six straight in 6–2 win in Chicago appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Chicago would play very well in the first period of play and a tic-tac-toe early in the period with forwards Connor Bedard and Ryan Donato was turned aside by Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord. Forward Tyler Bertuzzi would hit the post a few minutes later and Chicago had nothing to show for on the scoresheet when it could have easily been a two-goal lead.

Forward Taylor Hall would find himself in a 3-on-1 and fired a shot into the shins of Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson and Daccord would slam the door on a rebound. Chicago continued to put the pressure on early with nothing to show for their excellent efforts when Allan dinged another shot off the post.

Good things happened for the Chicago offense and one could argue they completely outplayed Seattle even though the 0–0 score would not indicate as such.

Second period

Chicago would take that momentum into the middle frame and finally found the back of the net when Mikheyev scored his fifth of the season on a goal assisted by Teravainen at the 10:54 mark. After a terrible turnover by Seattle in their own zone, the puck found the stick of Teravainen, who took the puck to the net and made a nice pass to Mikheyev for an easy deflection while the forward slid on one knee. The goal gave Chicago a 1–0 lead and also gave Mikheyev three straight games with a goal.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Ilya Mikheyev with 09:06 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Teuvo Teravainen.

Chicago: 1
Seattle: 0#SEAvsCHI #Blackhawks #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/ha1fvcSFdT

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 20, 2024

Third period

Mikheyev scored his second of the game and sixth of the season at the 6:06 mark of the third period to give Chicago a 2–0 lead. Bertuzzi found a streaking Teravainen with a nice pass in the neutral zone and dumped a pass back to Mikheyev, who beat Daccord with a wrist shot glove side.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Ilya Mikheyev with 13:54 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi.

Chicago: 2
Seattle: 0#SEAvsCHI #Blackhawks #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/zSrZOXzCHX

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 20, 2024

Seattle would finally crack the Soderblom code with a snap shot from forward Ryker Evans at the 11:26 mark of the period. The goal, Evans’ fourth of the season, looked like the momentum Seattle needed to turn things around, but Chicago would answer a few minutes later to take back the two-goal lead.

Allan made a great cross-ice pass to Donato and snuck behind the defense and buried home a wrist shot behind Daccord. An excellent read by Allan and an even better feed by Donato was exactly what Chicago needed as the Kraken were starting to put the pressure on Chicago.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Nolan Allan with 04:49 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Ryan Donato and Connor Murphy.

Chicago: 3
Seattle: 1#SEAvsCHI #Blackhawks #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/QWwcwzzkjM

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 20, 2024

Chicago would be outshot 28–24 for the night and lost 57.4% of the draws but would ultimately go home with the 3–1 victory.

Chicago hits the road for a three-games away from home ice with a 3 p.m. CST game against the Calgary Flames on Saturday that can be seen on CHSN.

Analysis

Mikheyev has scored in three straight games after being a ghost on the scoresheet to start this season. The 30-year-old Russian forward now has six goals and five assists in 31 games played this season. The veteran of now 301 NHL games played will not kill you in his own end and will not give you a ton of chances but when he is scoring you know things are going Chicago’s way.

Soderblom stopped 27 Kraken shots for his fifth win of the season. The 25-year-old Swedish-born goaltender has been a pleasant surprise this early part of the season and has won four of his last five starts.

Chicago outplayed Seattle for most of the first half of the game and found themselves with a two-goal lead and weathered the Kraken storm when it looked like the home team was ready to make a mistake and find themselves tied before Allan’s goal in the third period, and in the postgame interviews, captain Nick Foligno probably said it best:

“I think it’s the first one since I’ve been here. It’s a good feeling. It’s a credit to the guys and believing in what we’re trying to do here and knowing there’s more to give and expecting more of ourselves. I think we’re excited [with] the direction we’re going with Anders here, and he’s done a great job of coming in and solidifying some things, but it’s a credit to the group.”

The post RECAP: Mikheyev and Allan help Chicago sink Seattle 3–1 for third straight win appeared first on The Rink.

No real lineup changes to speak of, except for Alec Martinez coming back into the lineup after being activated from injured reserve, with Nolan Allan coming out to create space.

First period

The first period was mostly driven by the Kraken, as they managed 10 shots on goal to the Blackhawks’ three. There were not any really close calls. Though a couple of pucks rang off the post by Mrazek, nothing was too close to getting past him and into the net.

Second period

The second period was all Seattle. After a rebound came right out front to Seth Jones, he fanned on the clearing attempt, turning the puck over for a shot that Mrazek saved off of the shoulder. A couple minutes later, Philipp Kurashev turned the puck over in behind the Seattle net. The Kraken quickly moved the puck up ice, giving them a 2-on-1 opportunity. Teuvo Teravainen tried to dive back to help, but the puck was slowed down by his stick, setting up Matty Beniers to put it home, 1–0 Kraken. Jason Dickinson had a chance that rang off the post on a 2-on-1, but the puck stayed out, keeping the score 1–0 Seattle going into the intermission.

Third period

Seattle had ended the second period on the power play, with Jones getting called for interference with 20 seconds left in the frame. They used almost all of their time, but converted on a Jaden Schwartz shot in front on a beautiful feed from Chandler Stephenson, making it 2–0 Seattle. About two minutes later, Ryan Donato got the puck in the middle of the ice. His first shot through the defender’s legs was saved, but he followed up and tucked in the rebound, bringing the Blackhawks within one at 2–1.

goal #⃣8⃣ for #⃣8⃣ pic.twitter.com/2R2qImZSqq

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 15, 2024

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A few minutes later, Lukas Reichel got a great chance off a feed from Tyler Bertuzzi, but Daccord saved it off of his mask. Brandon Tanev would tuck in an empty-netter, as the Kraken took this one by a final score of 3–1.

Analysis

The Blackhawks played some good hockey even in a losing effort. They do, however, need to do a much better job of staying out of the penalty box. Jones in particular takes some brutal penalties, as he is getting beat badly in some games, just like this one with some brutal turnovers and bad defensive zone play. Mrazek did all that he could to keep pucks out, but when you are hung out to dry, there is only so much that you can do.

This team also cannot keep getting beat in every statistical category and expect to win hockey games. They take stupid penalties and cannot kill off all of them, are not converting on the power play themselves and tend to lose more faceoffs than they win. If these categories in particular do not turn around, they are going to continue to be on the receiving end of losses.

The Blackhawks play next on Saturday night in British Columbia against the Vancouver Canucks. Of note, it will be Connor Bedard’s first opportunity to play an NHL game in his hometown. That game will be at 9 p.m. CST on CHSN.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks downed by Kraken in Seattle 3–1 appeared first on The Rink.

Soderblom starts tonight vs Kraken. That means Mrazek will probably start tomorrow at Oilers.

Tinordi replaces Phillips. Rest of Blackhawks’ lineup the same, so Reichel remains scratched for second straight game.

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 24, 2024

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First period 

After a few minutes of back and forth to open up the game, the Kraken got the first goal of the game. Soderblom got caught staring down Jordan Eberle behind the net, even after he skated up a bit. Jared McCann got a wrist shot off that went right over the glove, putting the Kraken up 1–0. Just under three minutes later, the Kraken struck again. This time, Andre Burakovsky put a shot toward the net that was going way wide. Jaden Schwartz positioned himself right by the side of the net, and it deflected in off of his leg to make it 2–0 Seattle.

The Blackhawks were able to get one back, though, toward the end of the frame. After a couple of chances in front, the puck found its way back to Seth Jones at the point. He put a shot on net that redirected off of Joey Anderson in front, making it 2–1 Seattle to end the first.

JOEY ANDERSON GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL pic.twitter.com/ppHsKPB6Lt

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 25, 2024

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Second period

Sixteen seconds into the second, the Blackhawks let in perhaps the ugliest goal of the season. Jones attempted to get the puck out of harm’s way by passing it up to one of his forwards. Instead, the puck deflected off of Alex Vlasic’s skate, and went right past Soderblom, 3–1 Seattle. With two and a half minutes left in the frame, the Kraken would strike again. Brian Dumoulin passed the puck across the ice to Brandon Tanev in the right circle. He deflected the puck toward the net, and it just snuck it past Soderblom’s skate. The period would end with a 4–1 lead for Seattle.

Third period

The Blackhawks started off the period with a power play, as Burakovsky got called for a hold. Philipp Kurashev set up in the right circle. He got a pass across the ice to Nick Foligno, who tipped the puck into the back of the net, 4–2 Kraken. The Blackhawks got another huge opportunity with just under 16 minutes left in the frame. Rem Pitlick got the puck over to Ryan Donato on the breakaway. He went forehand to backhand to try to beat Joey Daccord, but could not slip the puck past him.

Seattle came roaring right back with a breakaway of their own. Tomas Tatar got the puck from Eberle at center ice. He skated right in, and tucked the puck past Soderblom, 5–2 Seattle. With just over three minutes to go in the period, Tatar would get another one. Will Borgen took a shot off of Soderblom’s pad that bounced right out to Tatar. He one-timed the puck into the back of the Blackhawks’ net, putting the Kraken up 6–2. That is how this one would end, giving the Blackhawks an 0–2 start to this road trip.

Analysis

This was another weird game, if you are just going by the statistics. The game on TV did not match up with what the statistics would have you believe. The Blackhawks outshot the Kraken, killed off all power plays against them, got more takeaways, blocked more shots and laid more hits on their opponents.

It just goes to show you that a bad goaltending performance can cancel out all the good that the rest of the team may have put together. Soderblom was bad in this game, and in my opinion has been brutal all season. He should not be playing in the NHL right now, as it is clear to anyone watching that he needs more seasoning. I am not suggesting that the Hawks give up on him just because he has early-career Craig Anderson statistics to this point, but he really should not be the backup on this team right now.

The Blackhawks’ next game is on Thursday night against the red-hot Edmonton Oilers. That game will be at 8 p.m. CST on NBC Sports Chicago.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks crushed by Kraken, dropped 6–2 appeared first on The Rink.

First period

The game got off to a rough start for the Blackhawks, as, just over three minutes in, the Kraken would light the lamp first. Kailer Yamamoto took the puck in the neutral zone, skated in and fired a shot glove side of Soderblom, 1–0 Kraken. It was an ugly goal to give up, and that would not be nearly the end of those goals in this game. After some back and forth, late in the period, Yamamoto would strike again. Vince Dunn put the puck on net, which Soderblom fought off. He lost the puck completely, and it came down right at the feet of Yamamoto, 2–0 Kraken. The period ended with the Kraken leading by two.

Second period

The Blackhawks looked like they might claw their way back into the game early in the second. At almost the same time stamp as Yamamoto’s first, Taylor Raddysh would get the Blackhawks into the game. Anthony Beauvillier stole the puck at the blue line, and got it down to Raddysh, who snapped it on net, 2–1 Seattle.

raddy pic.twitter.com/LpdOOMXbIo

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 15, 2023

Unfortunately, that would be the end of the excitement for Blackhawks fans in this one. Seattle got their two-goal lead back just 1:20 later. Oliver Bjorkstrand threw the puck across the ice. It went off of Jason Dickinson’s skate and into the back of the net, 3–1 Seattle. Then, 10 minutes later, Will Borgen took a shot from the point. Tye Kartye was right in front and redirected the puck home, 4–1 Seattle. It only took three minutes for them to add to that lead. Bjorkstrand got the puck over to Yanni Gourde, who put it back across to Eeli Tolvanen. He tapped the puck home to put the Kraken up 5–1.

Third period

Like a broken record, at the 3:07 mark of the period, yet another goal found the back of the Chicago net. The Blackhawks gave up the power play to the Kraken on a Connor Murphy high stick. The Kraken took advantage, with Jared McCann bombing a slap shot from just outside the left circle, making the score 6–1 Kraken. To add insult to injury, and to make the extra point, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare would score 21 seconds later. He got the puck from behind the net on a feed from Devin Shore and tucked it past Soderblom, 7–1 Kraken.

Petr Mrazek replaced Soderblom for the rest of the game, but it did not make any difference, as the damage had already been done, making this a 7–1 Seattle victory.

Analysis

This game was just a masterclass in how not to play hockey. Watching every goal that was scored, something was done wrong by a Blackhawk on the ice. Soderblom was horrid, as he has been in his last few starts. His save percentage and goals allowed are higher than even last year, and some fans would argue that was an even worse team than this year’s version. This whole team did not play well, though, as evidenced by the impact card for each player.

#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Chicago Blackhawks on 2023-12-14:#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/G88mg18ea4

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) December 15, 2023

Filip Roos looked lost on the last goal the Kraken scored, Dickinson should not have kicked the puck toward his own net, but above all else, you cannot let the other team screen your goalie for the entirety of the game and expect to win hockey games. He may have looked like Swiss cheese in this game, but the team in front of him could have done a lot more to help him out.

The Blackhawks are back in action on Sunday afternoon against the Vancouver Canucks. That game will be at 2 p.m. CST on NHL Network and NBC Sports Chicago.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks drop third straight, shellacked by Seattle 7–1 appeared first on The Rink.

#Blackhawks projected lineup vs. Kraken:
Foligno-Bedard-Kurashev
Reichel-Guttman-Raddysh
T. Johnson-Dickinson-Anderson
Katchouk-Donato-R. Johnson

Vlasic-Jones
Korchinski-Murphy
Kaiser-Phillips

Mrazek
Söderblom

Extras: Entwistle
Not skating: Perry, Zaitsev

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 28, 2023

First period

The Blackhawks started off strong, getting the first major chances. With almost half of the first period gone, Seth Jones put a shot on net that went right off of Philipp Grubauer’s pad and right to Boris Katchouk, who potted his second goal of the season, making it 1–0 Blackhawks. A minute and a half later, Jason Dickinson took a pass from Isaak Phillips and put a slap shot past Grubauer, 2–0 Blackhawks. The Kraken would start to answer late in the period, however, with Matthew Beniers taking a pass from Jared McCann, and cleaning up his own rebound to make it 2–1 Blackhawks. The Blackhawks let up a brutal shorthanded goal to end the period, allowing Alexander Wennberg to skate around the entire defense and put the puck around Mrazek, knotting things up at 2–2 to end the frame.

Second period

The Blackhawks would regain the lead in this game about four and a half minutes into the second. Tyler Johnson put a wrist shot over the glove of Grubauer to help the Blackhawks regain the lead 3–2. Later, Joey Anderson got his second assist of the night, attempting to take the puck all the way around the net. He got the puck through the crease to MacKenzie Entwistle, who put the puck in the back of the net, making it 4–2 Chicago.

lukas tyler pic.twitter.com/LWzALMlPh5

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 29, 2023

The only other thing that happened in the remaining part of the second period is penalties, lots and lots of penalties. There was a skirmish in the last two minutes of the period that sent four players to the penalty box, as Ryan Donato, Nick Foligno, Yanni Gourde and Grubauer all got called for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Third period

The third period was relatively uneventful on one end, as the Blackhawks only managed three shots on goal for the entire frame. However, Seattle attempted to work their way back into the game, getting 12 shots on goal. Almost seven minutes into the period, the Kraken got back into the game. Beniers got the puck across the ice to Tye Kartye, who wristed the puck past Mrazek to make it 4–3. The Blackhawks managed to kill off two more penalties, bringing the penalty kill to a perfect 5 for 5 for the game. The game would end with a Blackhawks victory, pulling out the 4–3 win.

Analysis

While the Blackhawks looked good getting a victory, there were areas that need improving in their game. Giving your opponent five chances to score on the power play is ludicrous, and does not tend to win you many games. The Blackhawks were lucky to be able to kill off all of those, and even with that only squeaked out the narrowest of victories. As a team, they have to figure out a way to be better defensively. They are blocking a lot of shots, but when you still get out-shot significantly despite a lot of blocks, you still have a lot to improve upon.

Anderson has looked good in the three games he has appeared in this season. He is doing a lot of background work, but is looking like he knows the strengths in his game now. Dickinson has been absolutely on fire this month, recording five goals in his last five games played. He is already looking like he will surpass his point total from last year in half of the games it took him to get there last season. Mrazek continues to keep this team in games single-handedly. He has not been great every night, but he has been far better than last season, which goes a long way to having a successful team. Hopefully, this continues through the remainder of the season, as the Blackhawks need good goaltending behind this young team.

The Blackhawks’ next game is in Michigan against the Detroit Red Wings. All eyes will be on Patrick Kane to see if he will make his season debut against his longtime former squad. Puck drop will be at 6 p.m. CST and can be watched on NBC Sports Chicago.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks vanquish Kraken, win 4–3 over Seattle appeared first on The Rink.

• In the game, Seth Jones notched his 12th goal of the season to tie the game early in the first period, however the tie was short lived, as Seattle ended the period up 3–1.
• Jones notched his second goal of the game in the second period to cut the Kraken lead to 3–2 with a one-timer on a 5-on-3 power play.
• Adam Larsson added a goal to give the Kraken a 4–2 lead and Daniel Sprong added another goal 55 second later. With the Kraken lead at 5–2, Reichel cut into the lead again with his seventh goal of the season, redirecting a Vlasic point shot for the goal.
• In the third period, Seattle cemented the victory with goals from Jared McCann and Morgan Geekie to win 7–3.
• In the loss, head coach Luke Richardson, said it was Reichel’s best performance of the season and his talents were on full display in the third period.

Reichel update

With the Rockford IceHogs’ offense struggling, the Blackhawks have decided to send Reichel along with Vlasic to bolster the roster. Before rejoining the Blackhawks, Reichel has 17 goals and 29 assists for the IceHogs this season. He currently ranks fourth on the team in points while only appearing in 51 AHL games. With the playoffs hanging in the balance, this will get both Reichel and Vlasic pressure game experience and hopefully a long playoff experience.

The IceHogs currently hold the fifth spot in the AHL’s Central Division with four games to play, but they are only one point ahead of the Chicago Wolves for the final spot. The IceHogs and Wolves square off on Tuesday at the BMO Center.

Toews update

NHL.com is reporting that Jonathan Toews is treating these last two games as his last two home games with the Blackhawks. The 34 year-old center has not decided on his future in terms of playing in the NHL, but believes this will be the end with the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks’ next game will be at home against the Minnesota Wild on Monday at 8 p.m. CDT.

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• Goaltender Petr Mrazek surrendered four goals on five shots before being pulled midway through the first period of action. Alex Stalock did not stop the bleeding, allowing two quick goals himself as Chicago entered the first intermission trailing the Kraken 6–1. With the game out of reach early after forward Jonathan Toews’ only Chicago goal, the Blackhawks were playing for pride the rest of the night.
• Isaak Phillips scored his first career goal on a nifty backhand after jumping up on the rush from his defensive position to beat Seattle goaltender Martin Jones top-shelf. Phillips’ goal was the only highlight of the second period of play as Chicago saw the Kraken slowdown their attack. As fans look to the future, Phillips struggles in the defensive end with the speed of the NHL level but has a sense of when to jump into the offensive action.
• Seattle forward Jared McCann finished off his hat trick in the third period of play which garnered two lonely fans heaving their hats onto the ice. In something of a highly unusual scenario, the referee skated over to one of the hats and threw it back over the boards to its rightful owner. I guess when a new franchise like Seattle scores a hat trick on the road in front of a crowd that spent most of their time on their phones in the final frame.
• Chicago scored three goals in the third period, two on the power play, to make the game appear closer in the end. Max Domi scored the first goal of the period, only to have Seattle score two quick goals and take an 8–3 lead. Two late goals by the home team was the final action of the night as most fans were already in their cars on the way home.

Chicago has Sunday off of all activities before practicing on Monday to prepare for the Buffalo Sabres skating into town for a 7:30 P.M. (CST) puck drop on Tuesday night.

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• The Hawks have scored three shorthanded goals in their last three games. This is the first time since 2009 and the seventh time in franchise history. Jujhar Khaira scored the shorthanded goal today in a wild opening period.
• Tyler Johnson scored his first two goals the season with his second goal being the game-tying goal late in third period.
• New faces continue to score goals: Max Domi scored his third goal of the season and Jason Dickinson netted second of the season. Dickinson’s second tally was the game winner.

The 3–2 Blackhawks will return to action when they take on the Florida Panthers on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. CDT puck drop.

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To add a little excitement for the evening, the Blackhawks had a ceremonial one-day contract signing so that Marian Hossa could “officially” retire as a member of the Blackhawks. From the Blackhawks’ perspective, it was nice to see that familiar face once again. Following the pre-game ceremony, the Blackhawks also announced that Hossa’s number will be retired next season.

Marian Hossa’s first ballot Hall of Fame legacy is worth more than one night of recognition. It’s a legacy worthy of eternity. pic.twitter.com/JCnQh5SRxW

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 8, 2022

There was a game to be played, though (allegedly).

The Blackhawks had some jump in their step following the opening face-off, but that soon ended. After going up early in shots 2–0, the home team ended up surrendering 16 straight to the Kraken. Heading into the first intermission, the score remained 0–0 thanks to some heroics by Chicago goaltender Kevin Lankinen. The final first period tally was 17–3.

Before most of the fans were able to make it back into their seats, Kraken center Alexander Wennberg faked Jake McCabe out of his skates then went around Lankinen to give the Kraken the only goal they would end up needing for a 1–0 lead. This was Wennberg’s 10th goal of the season.

The rest of the second period (and essentially the game) was the Philipp Grubauer show. Chicago came out and peppered the Seattle netminder with 15 shots, but none reached the back of the net. When the second period horn went off, the Blackhawks had almost erased the 14-shot deficit from the first period, but the Kraken still led by a much slimmer margin, 21–18.

The third period was a much more even one. The Blackhawks sent 11 more shots Grubauer’s way, but never got that elusive first goal, while the Kraken got a late goal from Jordan Eberle, who sent a wrist shot through three Blackhawks defenders and past Lankinen to double the gap to 2–0. The goal came with only 1:39 left in regulation, and immediately send the Chicago crowd heading for the exits.

Anchor points

It cannot be overstated that the Blackhawks were not only booed following a very bad 5-on-3 power play, but were booed as they left the ice. They are a bad team, but they have enough talent to not be whitewashed at home against an equally bad team. They were 0–4 on the power play against a team that has the 27th-ranked penalty kill. The Blackhawks should have feasted on that.

Blackhawks rookie Alex Vlasic suited up and played (allegedly), but I cannot recall one play he made on the ice. Highly touted rookie Lukas Reichel was slightly more noticeable for Chicago, but barely.

  On the other hand, Grubauer needed a big game and the team needed one to rally around their big-salary starter. Lately, Chris Driedger has been outplaying Grubauer by a significant amount. As much as I like Driedger, they cannot go into the offseason with a goalie controversy in which one of the players has played himself off the market.

Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn went down and into the end boards awkwardly in the second period. It originally looked like he would be out long term, but luckily, he returned to play in the third period.

The way the Kraken started the game, it should be no surprise that they led in most advanced possession stats.

5-on-5 Corsi (total shot attempts) 54%–46%
5-on-5 Fenwick (Unblocked shot attempts) 53%–47%
5-on-5 High-danger chances for 62%–38%
5-on-5 Expected goals for 60%–40%
Face-off percentage 56%–44%

The Kraken are off today and return to home ice to face the Calgary Flames on Saturday. The puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m. PDT.

The Blackhawks host the Dallas Stars on Sunday evening. The puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT.

The post RECAP: Kraken sink Blackhawks after Hossa retirement celebration appeared first on The Rink.

First period

In the first period, the Kraken controlled the early play against the Blackhawks. With two early penalties, the Blackhawks had to rely heavily on their defense and their goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury stopped all eight shots he faced in the period. In addition to Fleury stopping eight shots, the Blackhawks blocked eights shots, with Calvin de Haan leading the way with two.

Despite controlling the play early, Seattle was unable to score, but was able to hold the Blackhawks scoreless as well. For the Kraken this season, goaltending has been a huge issue, as the Kraken lead the league in goals allowed at 135. Despite their goaltending woes, Philipp Grubauer saved all five shots on goal in the first period.

The first period ended with the Blackhawks on the power play after Mike Hardman leveled Jared McCann with a clean hit. Seattle’s William Borgen fought Hardman after the hit and bought himself an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Second period

The second period began with the Blackhawks on the power play, but Seattle was able to stymie any offensive chances. After their penalty kill, the Kraken started to control the play once again.

The game was scoreless until midway through the second period when Erik Gustafsson broke up a Seattle rush and then connected on a stretch pass to Dominik Kubalik. Kubalik received the pass and beat Grubauer for the first goal of the game. For Kubalik, it was his third goal in the last three games. The Blackhawks desperately need Kubalik to start heating up in order to provide depth scoring.

KUBALIK BURIES THE BREAKAWAY pic.twitter.com/FkxwYA7JDW

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 17, 2022

The Blackhawks’ lead was short-lived, as with under five minutes to play, Seattle’s Vince Dunn fired a shot from the point that deflected past Fleury. The Dunn goal ended Fleury’s shutout streak at 119:09, just shy of two games’ worth of action.

Dunner’s 300th game:
100th goal in franchise history: pic.twitter.com/oaLyMOSiki

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) January 17, 2022

With less than three minutes to go in the period, the newest Blackhawk, Sam Lafferty, used his speed to draw an interference penalty on Seattle’s Jamie Oleksiak. On the power play, Patrick Kane found Kubalik in front of the net. Kubalik tried to stuff it home, but Grabauer fended off the attempt. In the mad scramble, Brandon Hagel found the puck and buried it in the back of the net for the Blackhawks’ second goal of the game.

Kane puts it on net and Hagel bangs it home! pic.twitter.com/mpFbjBRV7t

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 17, 2022

The second period ended with the Blackhawks leading 2–1.

Third period

In the third period, the Kraken came alive and took over the game.

Early in the period, Seattle’s Ryan Donato willed his way into the Hawks’ zone and beat Fleury with a great shot to tie the game at 2–2. The goal was caused by a defensive gaffe from Jake McCabe, who got caught flat-footed in the neutral zone.

it’s not delivery, it’s DONATO! pic.twitter.com/XOXQW22SUF

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) January 18, 2022

With more than 12 minutes left in the period, Caleb Jones committed a costly penalty. Jones was in the lineup despite being outplayed by teammate Jakub Galvas. Galvas had been good in his last two games for the Blackhawks. On the Jones penalty, Fleury made a potential save of the year candidate, robbing McCann at point-blank range on a cross-crease pass to keep the game tied.

Another day in the office with pic.twitter.com/F3wghxMifM

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 18, 2022

With 6:26 left in the period, Gustafsson could not clear the zone, which lead to a breakaway for McCann. McCann was tripped by Riley Stillman, which resulted in a penalty shot. Fleury rose to the challenge again and stopped the McCann shot with another great save.

For the third period, the Kraken had 16 shots to the Blackhawks’ six. Seattle also had nine high-danger chances while the Blackhawks had zero.

Overtime and shootout

In overtime, the Kraken dominated the entire period. They controlled the play and created several chances. Fleury was excellent in the overtime, getting help from Connor Murphy and the crossbar in addition to making nice saves of his own.

In the shootout, Seattle was able to bury two goals, and the Blackhawks got nothing, sealing the 3–2 victory for the Kraken. The Blackhawks’ four-game win string ended and Seattle snapped its nine-game losing streak.

Analysis

Seattle dominated the third period of this game with strong play and good puck possession. The team still lacks an elite goal scorer, which hurts them in close games. Despite having a poor goaltending number coming into the game, Grubauer was good enough to win. Do not be fooled by their record, as Seattle needs better goaltending play and one elite scorer in the offseason to be a playoff competitor in the Pacific Division.

The Blackhawks did not play a complete game and did not show up for anything after the second period. Their winning streak might have been a bit of fool’s gold because two of their wins came against bottom feeders in Columbus and Montreal. They also got a win against Anaheim, who finished in the bottom four last season.

The Blackhawks return home to face the Minnesota Wild on Friday. Seattle’s next game is against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

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The opening period was slow for the Kraken. Chicago limited them to just three shots on goal, most of which were early on. In fact, Seattle was not able to get to Marc-Andre Fleury for the final 10 minutes of the first period. Fifteen minutes into the game, Blackhawks star wing Patrick Kane led a 3-on-2 rush which went tic-tac-toe from the stick of Kane to Alex DeBrincat and finally ended up on the open stick of defenseman Seth Jones. Jones, who was wide open to the left of the Kraken net, deposited the puck past Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer for his 300th NHL point and a 1–0 Chicago lead. This would be the only period that Chicago led in shots on goal, 8–3.

Having finally woken up during the intermission, the Kraken came out and peppered Fleury in the second period. As has been the problem all season, though, it was finishing that they struggled with. Just two minutes into the second, DeBrincat got his second point of the night, taking a stretch feed from Kirby Dach before out-skating Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak en route to the net. DeBrincat snapped a shot over Grubauer’s shoulder to give the Blackhawks a 2–0 lead. Despite the overall 19–15 shot advantage, the Kraken went into the second intermission down by two.

The Kraken once again fell victim to Kane five minutes into the third period. This time, the rush was led by second-year Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev, who ended up 2-on-3 with Kane. Kurashev dished a nice saucer pass to a surprisingly wide-open Kane, and Kane did what he has done over 400 times in his career, as he snapped the puck past Grubauer to give Chicago a comfortable 3–0 lead.

Seattle did give the home fans some excitement, albeit far too late. The Kraken took advantage of a late power play to try and break the shutout, which is exactly what happened. Jared McCann found a loose puck on his stick and shoveled it into the net to cut the Chicago lead to 3–1. Head Coach Dave Hakstol pulled the goaltender with just over three minutes remaining in regulation, and Yanni Gourde scored on a one-timer a minute later, which cut the Chicago lead to just one goal.

However, the comeback bid was still too little, too late, and Chicago finally twisted the dagger with a long empty-net goal from Jake McCabe to leave Seattle with their fourth win in a row and extend the Kraken’s losing streak to five.

Anchor points

This is going to sound like a broken record once again, but goaltending killed the Kraken on both ends of the ice. Grubauer saved just 15 of 18 shots while Fleury was sensational, saving 31 of 30 shots he faced. This game was won and lost in the crease.

DeBrincat finished the night with a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight). The fight should have been labeled a super flyweight bout with the generously listed 5-foot-7 DeBrincat facing the also generously listed 5-foot-9 Gourde.

Goal
Assist
Fight

Alex DeBrincat secured a Gordie Howe hat trick tonight for the @NHLBlackhawks pic.twitter.com/zGSZbK315Y

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 18, 2021

Has anyone seen Joonas Donskoi or Calle Jarnkrok? The normally reliable Donskoi is still scoreless after 16 games, and Jarnkrok has not been any better—without a point in 11 games this season. If the depth players are not producing, the Kraken are going to have a long and painful first season.

Again with the broken record. Analytics heavily favored the Kraken. They led 5-on-5 in shot attempts (Corsi 61%–39%), unblocked shots (Fenwick 58%–42%), high-danger chances for (HDCF% 64%–36%) and expected goal for (xGF% 62%–38%). Colin Blackwell and Haydn Fleury were the only two Seattle players without positive even-strength Corsi. The Kraken need to finish and they need a goalie to make a save. Just average numbers would have them at .500 or above. Seattle also crushed the Blackhawks at the face-off dots, 60%–40%.

The Blackhawks, on the other hand, were caved in most of the night. Only two players, Jones and Calvin de Haan, were above water in even-strength Corsi. Jujhar Khaira, Dominik Kubalik and Connor Murphy were all on the ice for 20 or more shots against.

Not all is lost, though. The Kraken scored a power play goal for the second straight game. They are improving somewhere.

The Kraken have a day off but things don’t get any easier for them. They face the juggernaut Colorado Avalanche at Climate Pledge Arena on Friday. The puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PST.