4/4/2026
SEATTLE, WASH
The Chicago Blackhawks ended their five game losing steak by edging the Seattle Kraken 4-2, further deepening Seattle’s valley to climb in their playoff hunt. Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi, Sacha Boisverts, and Ilya Mikheyev scored for Chicago with Arvid Soderblom making 25 saves on 27 Kraken shots. Seattle saw goals from Jaden Schwartz and Kappo Kakko with Philipp Grubauer in the loss making 27 saves on 30 Blackhawks shots.
The first period saw Chicago outshot Seattle 10-4, with neither team scoring in the opening 20 minutes. With only four shots, Seattle knew they needed more traffic in front of Arvid Soderblom if they looked to garner the outcome they were looking for.
A Vince Dunn tripping penalty allowed the Blackhawks power play to break the ice. Teuvo Teravainen sneaked in a goal by Philipp Grubauer to give the Blackhawks the lead at 9:15 of the second period. Although the Kraken generated more chances in the second frame, it was the Blackhawks that struck again. Tyler Bertuzzi buried a Ilya Mikheyev pass coming off a Blackhawk rush to score with 22 seconds left in the second period. If Seattle was looking to stay within the playoff conversation an important third period was necessary.
10:48 into the third period Seattle kickstarted their push, Eeli Tolvanen’s centering pass found Jaden Schwartz on the doorstep for the tip-in to put the Kraken on the board. Seattle appeared to have life, but Sacha Boisverts scored his National Hockey League goal at 13:08 to restore a two goal lead for Chicago. Boisverts was the recipient of Landon Slaggert winning a puck battle against the wall to set up former Seattle Thunderbird Kevin Korchinski who delivered a pass to Boisverts who wristed his shot by Grubauer. Not to be fazed, Kappo Kakko scored off a loose rebound off a shot from Berkly Catton at 14:18 of the third, to put Seattle within one.
Seattle pulled Grubauer in the closing minutes for the extra attacker, but Ilya Mikheyev iced the game with an empty net goal at 18:48 to hand the Blackhawks a road win to end their five game losing streak.
Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour said the Kraken came out, “flat”. Head Coach Lane Lambert about the loss quipped, “In a game that we needed, it just wasn’t good enough”. Regarding the team effort Lambert bluntly remarked, “I’m disappointed.”
With the Nashville win over San Jose, Seattle stands six points out of the final wild card spot in the West with seven games left.
The Kraken continue their pursuit of a playoff spot on Monday night at the Winnipeg Jets before traveling to face Minnesota the next day.
Stay tuned on ESN for further updates on the Seattle Kraken.
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