ANALYSIS: Fleury Backstops Blackhawks to Point in Shootout Loss to Kraken

Marc-Andre Fleury earned his paycheck on Monday afternoon, despite a 3-2 shootout loss for the Blackhawks against the Seattle Kraken.
"We'll take the point and get on that plane, get out of here before they change their mind," interim head coach Derek King said in jest after the game. "It was probably a good thing that Flower was on his game because he got us a point tonight."

POSTGAME LINKS
GAMECENTER: CHI at SEA
RECAP: Blackhawks Fall to Kraken in Shootout, 3-2
HIGHLIGHTS: Blackhawks at Kraken
GALLERY: Blackhawks at Kraken
"He gave us the point, 100%," Dominik Kubalik echoed.
While Chicago led 1-0 and 2-1 on the night, much of the game was controlled by the home team at Climate Pledge Arena, outshooting the Blackhawks, 37-27, leading in attempts, 74-44, and 5-on-5 high-danger chances 11-3.
"We were sloppy," King said. "We had moments where we looked good, but we had moments we were just -- tired mistakes, I think we were tired. I think the travel was a little bit crazy for us. We're going to have to get these guys a little bit of rest."

WALL OF FLOWERS

Coming off his third shutout of the season, Fleury did Fleury things throughout the afternoon yet again on Monday, but no save was bigger than the highway robbery he committed on Jared McCann in the third period to keep it a 2-2 score.
Just watch for yourself. And peep the reaction from Seattle's Jordan Eberle behind the net.

"That had to be one of the saves of the year," Jake McCabe said. "I thought it was in the back of the net. He makes those saves every night and keeps us in it. That's what you need."
"I was sitting on the bench, watching the replay and I was like 'What is he doing out there?'," Kubalik added. "It's unbelievable."
He added a penalty shot stop to his repertoire later in the frame as well, denying McCann again all alone.
In the end, Fleury's heroics could only go so far, beaten twice in three attempts in the shootout while the Blackhawks were stifled by Philipp Grubauer at the other end. Fleury had been a perfect 9-for-9 in shootout attempts before the two goals, including a denial of Jordan Eberle in the first round in Seattle.

8 AND 88

Just last week, Patrick Kane and Dominik Kubalik were fielding questions about their offensive struggles. Kane, who was still contributing almost nightly with helpers, hadn't scored in 13 games. Kubalik, on the other hand, was point-less in six straight after logging a four-game point streak before the holiday break. The frustration was growing with both of them as the Blackhawks offense overall had sputtered.
Both found the back of the net in each of Chicago's last two games before the Seattle excursion, and Kubalik pushed his goal streak to three games, a season-high, with the opener on Monday against the Kraken. Kubalik was a driving force on Brandon Hagel's tally a few minutes later as well, driving the net on the power play and putting two quick chances on Philipp Grubauer, the second of which Hagel tapped home on the rebound.
"Trying to not be that high, not be that low," Kubalik said. "Trying to keep my confidence high, but you've still got to work. I'm happy it's going in, but we've just got to keep going."
"He's doing all the things we talked about before, playing without the puck," King said. "He still continues to do that, he's going to the net a lot more and he's starting to shoot the puck. I was really happy that he found the net on that breakaway there. He's just got to continue to build on that. His confidence is coming back. You get him scoring, maybe a couple other kids scoring more, and we'll be alright."

Kane sent the pass to Kubalik in front on Hagel's goal, extending his point streak (2G, 8A) to eight games as well in the process. No. 88 didn't score on the night, but did lead the team with five shots on goal and 25:24 of ice time.
"When Kaner gets going, he's a special player," Stillman said on Saturday of Kane's confidence building. "When he gets hot, no one can stop him."
Hagel snapped a 10-game goal drought of his own on Saturday night with the game-winner against Anaheim and logged his second in as many games on the afternoon. His season-best was three straight games with a goal from Nov. 21-26.

FULL-STRENGTH BLUE

The Blackhawks saw McCabe return from COVID protocol on Monday afternoon in Seattle. They will also soon regain the services of minutes-leader Seth Jones, who cleared protocol on Monday morning in Chicago and should be back in action in time for Friday's game against Minnesota.
"I felt alright, all things considered, taking a week off," said McCabe, who skated 19:09 in his return. "Just a little rusty here and there on some plays... I think it was more so just sharpness on my reads and whatnot."
"It looked like he was off for a little bit, but still, he battled, he made some good plays," King said. "It was good to have him back."
While the offense still awaits the returns of Kirby Dach, Dylan Strome and Brett Connolly from Chicago's most recent bout with COVID, the defense will be back to full strength when Jones returns. McCabe and Jones had missed three straight games before Monday's tilt, while Erik Gustafsson also missed a trio of games in protocol himself.