Blackhawks Win 3rd Straight, Defeat Kraken 3-1

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The Chicago Blackhawks and the Seattle Kraken faced off at the United Center on Thursday, Dec. 19, with the Blackhawks looking for their third consecutive win and the Kraken trying to avoid their third straight loss. Somebody was going to get their wish, and in the end it was the Blackhawks, who earned a 3-1 win. Let’s look at the highlights.

Blackhawks Can’t Capitalize on Multiple First Period Chances

It was a special night in Chicago as the Blackhawks celebrated former player Jeremy Roenick for his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He spoke in the Atrium before the game, rang the “goal horn” to start the contest, and was honored with a video at the first TV commercial break. Meanwhile, the Kraken welcomed new team member Kaapo Kakko, who was just acquired from the New York Rangers. Kakko lined up on the right wing of the second line, alongside Jared McCann and Matty Beniers.

The Blackhawks had three incredible chances in the first five minutes of the game. Ilya Mikheyev somehow missed a wide open net. Then Connor Bedard and Ryan Donato found themselves on a 2-on-1. Bedard thought the better play would be to feed it back door to Donato, but Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord wasn’t fooled. A few minutes after that, a Tyler Bertuzzi shot hit the goalpost.

Later in the period, Taylor Hall, Bertuzzi and Frank Nazar were stopped on a 3-on-1. Then Blackhawks’ defenseman Nolan Allan hit the post, and Joey Anderson was robbed by a shoulder block from Seattle’s Yanni Gourde, who missed the last three games with a lower body injury.

The Kraken had their chances too, but none were as high-danger as what the Blackhawks were able to generate. The Blackhawks had 10 shots to the Krakens’ five at the end of a high-spirited first period that nevertheless ended scoreless. The Kraken’s Shane Wright was credited with two of their five shots on goal, and the Blackhawks’ Nick Foligno was credited with three shots on goal.

Crazy Second Frame Nets a Goal for the Blackhawks

It looked like the Kraken were getting their feet under them in the second period. The Blackhawks were unable to capitalize on the game’s first power play at the beginning of this frame. Later in the period Chicago’s Jason Dickinson and Seattle’s Eeli Tolvanen collided hard and both were very slow to get up. They obviously both didn’t see each other. Dickinson immediately headed to the locker room, but he returned shortly thereafter.

At the 10:54 mark of the second period the Blackhawks finally broke through with the first goal of the game. Mikheyev was at just the right place in front of the net when he banked in a shot from Teuvo Teravainen.

These two are hot right now, playing on the Blackhawks’ third line. This was Mikheyev’s third goal in as many games, and Teravainen provided the primary assist on all three of them.

Finally, later in the frame Blackhawks’ defenseman Connor Murphy and the Kraken’s Chandler Stephenson were involved in some shenanigans. Murphy tried to drop the gloves with him, but Vince Dunn flew in and started throwing punches at an unsuspecting Murphy.

It was quite the eventful middle frame. The Kraken had a 11-9 advantage in shots, but they had nothing to show for it. The period ended with the Blackhawks leading 1-0.

Kraken Can’t Overcome in the 3rd Period

It was the Kraken’s chance for a power play at the beginning of the third frame, but they were unable to capitalize. That was the Blackhawks’ 31st straight penalty killed over the last 11 games. That’s quite a streak.

Lo and behold, Mikheyev scored AGAIN at the 6:06 mark of the third period to make it 2-0.

That’s four goals in three games for Mikheyev, and all four have been assisted by Teravainen.

But the Kraken weren’t done yet. They cut the lead in half at the 11:26 mark to make it 2-1. Ryker Evans did the honors, assisted by Oliver Bjorkstrand and Brandon Montour.

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t the Kraken’s night. D-man Allan scored his first NHL goal at the 15:11 mark to make it 3-1.

The Kraken emptied their net with about 3:15 to go in the game, but they just couldn’t find the back of the net. When the buzzer sounded, the Blackhawks had won their third game in a row for the first time since February of 2023. They improved their record to 12-19-2 (26 points). The Kraken lost their third contest in a row, and fall to 15-17-2 (32 points).

Related – Blackhawks Big Third Period Leads to 3-2 Win Over Capitals

Kappo finished his first game with the Kraken with two shots on goal, one missed shot and one giveaway om 13:15 minutes of ice time. He’ll look to improve on that performance when the Kraken face the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday (Dec. 21).

The Blackhawks will take their three-game winning streak and their 31 straight penalty kills to Calgary where they meet the Flames, also on Saturday.

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