Kraken top Blackhawks in shootout, end skid at nine

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Kraken got their first win in 10 games with a 3-2 shootout victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at Climate Pledge Arena on Monday.

Ryan Donato scored in the third period and had a goal in the shootout for Seattle (11-23-4), which was 0-8-1 since Dec. 14. Philipp Grubauer made 25 saves.
"You get a choice, you can either find frustration or you can find a little resolve and go back to work," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "I believe our group has continued to do that. Some tough mornings that we need a little bit of time to regroup and kind of gather ourselves. Always come back renewed. Whether it's coming back to practice, getting good rest, or coming back on the next game day. That's a real credit to our players."
Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves, and Dominik Kubalik had a goal and an assist for Chicago (15-18-6), which had won four straight.
"We'll take the point and get on that plane to get out of here before they change their mind," Blackhawks coach Derek King said. "It was probably a good thing that [Fleury] was on his game, because he got us a point tonight. We were sloppy. We had moments where we looked good, but then there were moments where [we made] tired mistakes."

Donato tied it 2-2 at 2:02 of the third, shooting in his own rebound on a 2-on-1 after Caleb Jones slid into Fleury and knocked him down.
"It's very relieving," Donato said. "I've said this quite a bit, we're waiting for a win for a long time and sometimes things get tough that you kind of forget what it feels like. Things happen like that. Things are great, and hopefully we can get some steam off of that and keep rolling."
Fleury made two saves on Jared McCann to keep the game tied. He got across his crease and made a lunging glove save on the forward's one-timer during a power play at 7:33 before stopping him with his blocker on a penalty shot at 13:34.
"It's unbelievable sometimes, and today I was just sitting on the bench watching the replay," Kubalik said. "What is he doing up there? I'm expecting it's already going in and somehow he always makes the save, so he gave us the point."
Alex Wennberg had a chance to win it late in overtime for Seattle, but his shot from the slot hit the crossbar with 3.9 seconds remaining.
"We earned it today, going through the 60 minutes, through overtime and then just poise to make plays with the guys in the shootout," Hakstol said. "… The win tonight comes from the full body of work to the small areas of the game."
Kubalik gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 12:06 of the second period. After Erik Gustafsson poked the puck away from Donato, the defenseman sent a stretch pass to Kubalik, who beat Grubauer blocker side on a breakaway.

Vince Dunn tied it 1-1 at 15:01 when his point shot deflected off Chicago defenseman Riley Stillman in front.
Brandon Hagel put the Blackhawks back in front 2-1 with a power-play goal at 17:06, jamming in a rebound in the crease after Grubauer made a pad save on Kubalik.
"My approach is it doesn't matter who's on the other side, get the two points," Grubauer said. "It doesn't matter if its Marc-Andre Fleury, who's having a great game. … He played unreal for them today. The saves he made, that's what you're going to see from him all year. He made it tough for us to score. It was a big battle."
NOTES:Kubalik's assist on Hagel's goal was his 100th NHL point. He has 56 goals and 44 assists in 163 games. … Grubauer won for the first time since Dec. 3 (0-6-2 in previous eight starts) and allowed fewer than three goals for the first time since Nov. 24 (12 starts).