Kraken score 7 against Blackhawks, gain in Pacific race

The Seattle Kraken gained ground in the Pacific Division with a 7-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Saturday.

Seattle moved two points back of the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific. Los Angeles lost 4-3 to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Daniel Sprong had a goal and two assists, Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle each had a goal and an assist, and Jamie Oleksiak had three assists for the Kraken (45-26-8), who have won four straight.
Martin Jones allowed three goals on 18 shots before being replaced at the start of the third period by Philipp Grubauer, who stopped all 11 shots he faced. Jones appeared to hurt his catching hand while making a save on a shot by Boris Katchouk late in the second period. Kraken coach Dave Hakstol there would be an update "in a day or two."
"Our strength all year is our depth," Eberle said. "Every line, it seems like we're getting contributions from different guys, different lines, defense pairings, whatever it may be. That's obviously a big skill to have going into the playoffs and something that's tough to beat."
Seth Jones scored twice for the Blackhawks (25-48-6), who have lost two in a row and 10 of 11. Petr Mrazek made 24 saves.

"I think at times we were OK," Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. "Their [two] goals in the third period, we just turned pucks over in the neutral zone and at our blue line. They just fuel off that. They're good. We made mistakes. They're really a strong team skating, heavy on sticks, and they have some good shooters. We made some mistakes in crucial areas, and they capitalized. We're a team right now where we can't do that."
Eeli Tolvanen gave Seattle a 1-0 lead 4:48 of the first period, taking a drop pass from Jesper Froden and scoring glove side from the left circle.
Jones tied it 1-1 at 5:44 with a one-timer from the right hash marks.
Eberle put the Kraken back in front 2-1 at 8:55 when Oleksiak's shot from the left boards redirected in off his right shin from the edge of the crease.
Yanni Gourde made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 19:09, batting in a rebound near the right post after Eberle's initial attempt deflected to him off the stick of Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt Kaiser.
Jones got Chicago to within 3-2 at 10:39 of the second period with a one-timer from the high slot during a 5-on-3 power play.
Adam Larsson pushed it to 4-2 at 12:21, taking a stretch pass from McCann as he exited the penalty box before scoring on a breakaway.

"It was nice," Larsson said. "I think that's what every guy dreams of coming out of the penalty box. I knew right away what I was going to do, and (it) ended up pretty well."
Sprong scored 55 seconds later to make it 5-2 after Jarred Tinordi's clearing attempt deflected to him off the stick of Justin Schultz.
Lukas Reichel cut it to 5-3 at 15:02 when he redirected Alex Vlasic's point shot.
"I felt pretty good," said Reichel, who is going to be sent back to Rockford of the American Hockey League. "I felt more comfortable and more confident. It felt good playing with [Andreas Athanasiou]. We have kind of the same game, with speed and stuff. It was a good learning experience. I want to keep getting stronger, keep getting better for next season."
McCann made it 6-3 at 11:54 of the third period with a shot from the high slot, and Morgan Geekie scored at 14:51 for the 7-3 final.
"There were sloppy portions to the game," Hakstol said. "Some of that is inherent coming off of a big win the other night (a 4-2 victory against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs). You can talk yourself out of it as much as you want, but in reality, it looked like some of that maybe leaked into our game tonight."
NOTES: Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz (undisclosed) did not play. Hakstol said he is day to day. … Eberle is the fifth Kraken player to score at least 20 goals this season, joining Schwartz, McCann, Sprong and Matty Beniers.