Final Buzzer: Kraken Shut Out Chicago

• Kraken in control during first period, firing 17 shots on goal and generating 11 scoring chances, but CHI goalie Kevin Lankinen stops them all. On first shot of second period, Alex Wennberg scores on highlight-reel deke to make it 1-0.
• Bad news for Kraken fans: Defenseman Vince Dunn, who has been terrific on both ends for several straight weeks, crashes awkwardly into boards, is helped off by teammates. But returns for third period. Philipp Grubauer stops 11 middle-period shots to pick up his teammates, including Grade-A chances from superstar Patrick Kane and fellow German, rookie forward Lukas Reichel.
• Both goaltenders made big stops in the third period, notably Kole Lind robbed net-front once on a great feed from Yanni Gourde, then moments later Gourde was denied after a stellar pass from Lind. Jordan Eberle ices the game with late goal and Grubauer posts his second Kraken shutout. Seattle takes the season series, two games to one.

CHICAGO - When asked about which of his team's forward lines looked best against a rugged St. Louis Blues squad in Wednesday's opening game of a Midwest back-to-back, Kraken coach Dave Hakstol immediately talked about the "Wennberg" line. Hakstol no doubt liked what he observed from the trio of Alex Wennberg, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Donato Thursday in a 2-0 shutout over the Original Six Chicago Blackhawks.
After a dominant but scoreless first period for Seattle, Wennberg scored in the first minute of the middle frame with assists from Donato and Eberle. Wennberg's deke past veteran defenseman Jake McCabe was highlight-reel material and same for the Swedish centerman's move to beat Chicago goalie Kevin Lankinen.

It appeared Wennberg's goal would hold up as Phillip Grubauer was on his way to posting his second shutout in a Seattle uniform (even if he did lose his stick in the final minute). But Eberle nailed his 18th goal of the season late third period to seal the win.
The second period got scary a bit later when defenseman Vince Dunn crashed full-speed, legs-first into the defensive zone boards in the second period here in Chicago. He was helped off by teammates Morgan Geekie and D-partner Adam Larsson, then headed to the dressing room favoring his right leg.
Grubauer made 11 middle-period stops to pick up his teammates, including Grade-A chances from Patrick Kane and fellow German, rookie forward Lukas Reichel. It's likely Grubauer and Reichel would have been teammates for their national team if NHLers had played in the recent Beijing Winter Games.
Chicago totaled 15 shots in the third period to keep the pressure on Grubauer and the Kraken. Both of Chicago's top scorers, Kane and Alex DeBrincat, were stymied three times each by Grubauer, Kane on a point-blank shot on the first shift of the night and denying DeBrincat of his 40th goal of the season on a right-side rush.
"Grubi was good tonight, our penalty kill was good tonight, that's the difference in the hockey game," Hakstol said during the post-game media scrum. "Grubi didn't need to make a ton of saves on the penalty, but he made some real good saves 5-on-5 ... He looked real confident tonight."

Killing It - Again

After holding potent St. Louis power play units to one goal in six tries Wednesday night, the Kraken killed all four penalties in Thursday's win. At the end of the second period, Seattle had to kill two minutes of 5-on-3 then three more minutes of 5-on-4.
Hakstol complimented the PK overall and added Karson Kuhlman made "maybe the play of the game" getting his stick on a shot during a third-period power play - just enough to divert the puck to "hit the post and out." In fact, Chicago hit another post during the third period, but puck luck went the Kraken's way here to provide a season-series win (2-1) versus Chicago.

First Period Active but Scoreless

The Kraken turned in a dominant first period on the road against NHL dynasty-turned-rebuild Chicago, besting the Blackhawks 17 to three in shots and 11 to six in scoring chances. The Grade-A scoring chances were tighter: Five for the Kraken and three for CHI.
But it all added to no goals for either squad. Lankinen, a Finnish rookie sensation last season, struggled throughout this season and returned to a backup role with future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury on the roster until the trade deadline. Lankinen looked more the 2020-21 version of himself in the first period.