The Seattle Kraken are hot, the Chicago Blackhawks are not.
That much was true entering Saturday night’s tilt between the two teams, and quickly reinforced when Seattle scored a whopping six goals on its first seven shots.
Riding a seven-game win streak, the Kraken opened the scoring courtesy of Daniel Sprong just under three minutes in.
Though the Blackhawks briefly evened the score, the Kraken responded with five unanswered goals from Matty Beniers, Jared McCann (twice), Andre Burakovsky and Eeli Tolvanen to close out the frame.
Every single Seattle forward earned a point in the period, it’s also the first time Chicago has allowed six first-period goals at home in franchise history.
Who were the victims in net? First up, Petr Mrazek allowed four goals on five shots before getting the hook. Then Alex Stalock stepped in cold and let in the first two shots he faced 36 seconds apart.
Stalock managed to make a few saves, though, and his 17.14 goals-against average after the first just slightly bested his counterpart Mrazek, who posted an even 20.00.
The Kraken won this contest 8-5, and became the first team in NHL history to sweep a seven-game road trip.
After struggling in their first season, the Kraken are 26-12-4 so far this season.
Chicago, with an 11-26-4 record, is having a season to forget … unless it ends with a draft lottery win.
