Kraken join Seahawks in first

 

For one night at least, the Seattle Kraken can say they stand atop the Pacific Division of the National Hockey League. With most of the NHL idle, the Kraken leapfrogged over four teams with a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks last night at Climate Pledge Arena.

The Kraken with a 6-2-4 record, good for 17 points, lead Anaheim, Vegas, Los Angeles and Edmonton by one point in the standings. Last night’s contest was a rebound of sorts, as Seattle comes off two consecutive overtime losses to the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers.

Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle assisted on one another’s goals and Joey Daccord stopped 29 shots as the Kraken ride the wave that started with the Mariners’ long playoff run, followed by the Sounders current playoff push, and the Seahawks, who also reside in first place.

Against the Rangers on Saturday night, the Kraken managed a paltry 13 shots on goal. Last night they came out shooting, recording the first six shots on goal. But Chicago netminder Arvid Soderblom turned aside the Seattle forays and the teams ended the first period scoreless.

In the second period, Jamie Oleksiak, not known for his scoring prowess, took a page from fellow defenseman Brandon Montour by firing a shot from the point. Oleksiak fired a wrister (as opposed to Montour’s booming slap shot) that made its way through a cluster of players, giving the home team a 1-0 lead.

Seattle added a power play goal at 7:36, with former Kraken, Ryan Donato, off for tripping. Eberle dropped a pass to Beniers in the slot, who fired home his second goal of the season.

However, much of the second period belonged to the Blackhawks (5-5-3) as they recorded 15 shots in the frame.

``We were killing some penalties and they got some shots on goal,’’ said Kraken first-year coach Lane Lambert. ``So you have to keep things in perspective. We played solid in the third period and when they scored, we didn’t sit back.’’

The Blackhawks only goal was scored by none other than Andre Burakovsky, off a pass from former number-one draft choice, Connor Bedard. Burakovsky played well in his first season with the Kraken- but struggled the next two years with injuries. Burakovsky, who was taken out to eat by some of his former teammates the previous night, was sent to the Blackhawks in the off-season; basically a salary dump.

The Kraken regained their two-goal lead five minutes after Burakovsky’s goal, when Beniers pounced on an errant pass at center ice and sent Eberle in for the score

``I had a feeling before the season that we were going to get off to a good start, ‘’ said Beniers the 2022-23 Rookie of the Year. ``I think we have a lot of belief in our room here. We have a good group. Coaching staff, all the guys, everyone has been really dialed in to start the year.”

Daccord gave the crowd a little bit more excitement after the Hawks pulled Soderblom in the final minute. Daccord, who hopes to score an NHL goal someday, fired the puck down the ice but the puck was blocked by defenseman Artyum Levshunov at the red line.

``We want to make it tough for teams to play against us,’’ said Lambert in a post-game press conference. ``I’m looking forward to seeing us continue that progression.’’

The Kraken who have yet to lose a home game in regulation this season (3-0-2) host the San Jose Sharks, one of only two teams (Calgary’s the other) with a below .500 record in the Pacific Division.

Scoring Summary

First Period

No scoring

Second Period

S- Jamie Oleksiak 2 (unassisted) 2:57.

S- Matty Beniers 2 (Jordan Eberle 5, Eeli Tolvanen 4) 7:36.

Third Period

C- Andre Burakovsky (Connor Bedard) 11:57.

S- Eberle 5 (Beniers 6) 16:05

Three Stars- 1. Matty Beniers 2. Jordan Eberle 3. Jamie Oleksiak.