Kraken Rally in Third Period Falls Short

In what was overwhelmingly deemed as a must-win game, the Kraken couldn’t muster the goals necessary to take down a visiting Chicago team destined to finish last in the Central Division. On a night when goaltender Philipp Grubauer deserved a better fate, Seattle fell, 4-2, on a night when several Western Conference wild-card contenders earned standings points.

No doubt Lane Lambert and his Kraken coaching staff will consider Saturday’s matchup to be a low-event game. Seattle was outshot 10-4 in the opening 20 minutes, then narrowed the margin to 14-11 in a middle period in which Chicago built a two-goal lead. The Kraken did outshoot and out-chance the visitors in the third period, but to no tangible avail.

Jaden Schwartz did tighten up matters mid-third period to make it 2-1 with his first goal in the four games he has been back in the lineup upon returning from three weeks on the injured list due to a scary collision back on March 7. But two-and-a-half minutes later, Chicago forward Sacha Boisvert, a 2024 first-round draft pick,  scored his first NHL goal in his fifth game up with the big club to regain the two-goal margin. By the way, Boisvert is one of 16 players on the Chicago roster who were drafted by the Original Six franchise.

Seventy seconds later, Schwartz, Berkly Catton and Kaapo Kappo gave the Climate Pledge Arena fans a thrill when Schwartz sent an elite pass to Catton in the slot of the Chicago zone. Catton made his own elite play, pulling back a bit to create time and space. His shot required a spectacular save by Chicago goalie Arvid Soderholm, who couldn’t corral the rebound. Kakko zoomed in to power a shot into the Blackhawks' net to narrow the game to 3-2.

That was how it ended despite some pressure from the Kraken. With a minute, 12 seconds left, Chicago put the game out of reach with an empty-net goal. Seattle “won” the shots on goal count in the final period, but fell short, 4-2. The Kraken are now 32-32-11 on the season and sit six points out of the second wild-card spot and seventh overall in the West wild-card race.

Low Volume of Kraken Shots in First Two Periods

The Kraken didn’t get a fast start Saturday. The visiting Blackhawks, arriving with a predominantly young and homegrown squad, were the more active group in the game’s first 10 minutes, outshooting Seattle seven shots to one. Starter Philipp Grubauer stood his ground over the first period to finish with 10 saves, including turning away three quality attempts from former Kraken forward Ryan Donato. In the middle period, Grubauer made another big stop on Donato during a mini-breakaway.

The first half of Period 2 saw the home squad much more forthcoming with shots on goal and scoring chances. Seattle notched just 12 shots in the game's first 35 minutes, including one by fourth-liner Ben Meyers on a shorthanded chance at the start of a mid-period penalty kill with D-man Vince Dunn whistled off for tripping CHI star Connor Bedard.

Problem is, Chicago opened the scoring on that power play. Bedard picked up the primary assist with a mid-zone pass to veteran winger Teuvo Teravainen, who skated toward the net to muscle a shot that slipped through Grubauer’s leg pads on the near post. It marked Bedard’s 40th assist of the season to go along with 30 goals for 70 points in 64 games.

The second period took another wrong turn in the final minute when veteran forward Tyler Bertuzzi cleaned up a rebound at the crease, finding an open and unencumbered path to the right post. Kraken coach Lane Lambert called out Bertuzzi as perhaps the best NHLer in terms of getting to the netfront, a big reason why Bertuzzi now has a career-high 32 goals on the season.

Per Natural Stat Trick, Grubauer faced seven high-danger scoring chances in the first 40 minutes compared to two garnered by the Kraken against Chicago backup goaltender Arvid Soderblom, who started the night with a 7-12-3 record with an .880 save percentage. The period finished with a 24-15 shots on goal advantage for the visitors.

Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour never stands down from being candid, win or lose. Saturday night's post-game was another example, with the caller calling the team’s effort “flat.”

“Again, kind of loss for words,” said Montour. “We lose another one, an important one, against a team that is behind us in the standings. Unacceptable, mental mistakes, little mistakes ... We'd get a little push late in the game. But we dug ourselves into a hole, and that's on us.

The first two periods represented the hole dug.

“You’ve got to give it to them, they're coming out with young legs and have some buzz,” said Montour. “I don't know if we're [holding] sticks too tight or just not playing fast ... I said it numerous times. You're going to get the best from [other teams]. It doesn't matter who you're playing, Chicago or Colorado, you've got to be playing your best hockey. If you're not showing up tonight or each and every night, results are going to end up how they've been going since the [Olympics] break.”

For his part, Kraken coach Lane Lambert succinctly assessed the game, making it clear he was “disappointed” and unhappy about another night when his team was battling in corners and not coming out with the puck in those 50-50 battles.

“Not enough desperation,” said Lambert to begin a list in his opening remarks.

“We didn't start the game well. Our goaltender played fantastic for us. Too many quality chances from them. Our power play didn't give us anything. Our penalty kill got scored on. So not a really great assessment of the game we needed. It just wasn't good enough.”

 Lambert wasn’t done, adding “there's not a lot of confidence” among his players right now and “it's inexcusable to lose all these games at home.”

“We're making mistakes we shouldn't make,” said Lambert,  “We're not moving pucks quick enough, certainly not through the neutral zone anyway. Then that doesn't allow us to establish our forecheck. From a coaching standpoint, I have to be better. That's all there is to it."

Checking In on Ryker Evans, Berkly Catton

Young defenseman Ryker Evans is averaging nearly 22 minutes of ice time of ice over the Kraken’s last three games, entering Saturday’s matchup against Chicago. That total is four-and-a-half minutes more than the 24-year-old season average. After Saturday’s morning skate, Kraken coach Lane Lambert provided some rationale for the big jump in ice time.

“Ryker has been playing harder,” said Lambert about Evans’ last 10 games. “He’s been more physical, and he’s using his legs off the rush. That’s a gift he has, and he needs to use it.”

Kraken 2024 first-rounder Berkly Catton was back at his natural center position versus the visiting Blackhawks. Catton was working between veterans Jaden Schwartz and Eeli Tolvanen. Kraken broadcaster Eddie Olczyk said fans should look beyond the 19-year-old’s point total (six goals, nine assists).

“His offensive instincts are what to look at,” said Olczyk. “He is capable of making quick-strike plays. It’s less about the point total and more about him making positive strides in his game. “

Saturday Scoreboard Watching Not Entirely Fruitful

Winning games is the most direct route for the Kraken to stay in the Western Conference wild-card hunt. Kraken Hockey Network Eddie Olczyk ventured Seattle “might have to run the table to make the playoffs.” But, certainly, getting some help from other NHL clubs not in the wild-card race would be most welcome. That support did not materialize in Saturday's action across the league. Toronto rallied against Los Angeles but lost in overtime. The Kings now have 81 standings points. Winnipeg edged Columbus for a 2-1 road win to move to 78 points.  Nashville outlasted San Jose for a 6-3 road win to join Los Angeles with 81 points in a tie for the second wild-card spot, while San Jose remains at 79 points.