It seems the Chicago Blackhawks and Seattle Kraken could both use some work on their 3-on-3 play.
The teams, who meet Monday night in Seattle, both suffered overtime defeats Saturday.
The Blackhawks dropped a 3-2 decision at Edmonton, while the Kraken lost by the same score at home against the New York Rangers.
Andre Burakovsky, who spent the previous three seasons with Seattle, and Tyler Bertuzzi scored for the Blackhawks, who are 1-2-1 over their past four games. Goaltender Spencer Knight stopped 27 shots.
“You look at it, you take the point, go back to the drawing board and look what you can do better, and just keep rolling,” Knight said. “I think we’re starting to realize that you have to show up every single day.
“So, it’s a good test for us just to keep coming in, day in, day out and trying to replicate a good game.”
Chicago’s Connor Bedard, the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft, had an assist to extend his points streak to four games (four goals, four assists).
Still, it wasn’t enough to avoid an overtime defeat, the Blackhawks’ third of the season – one of which went to a shootout.
“It’s tough, we’ve been in this position a lot and we’re just trying to figure out how to win games like this,” Blackhawks rookie forward Ryan Greene said. “I think it’s a good thing that we’ve been tight with some of the top teams in the league, but we’ve obviously got to find a way to get it done.”
The Kraken, who are riding a four-game points streak (2-0-2), are one of just five teams without a regulation defeat at home, though they’ve lost their past two in OT. They have three overtime losses and one shootout defeat. They’ve also won twice in overtime.
Chandler Stephenson had a goal and an assist and Brandon Montour also scored Saturday for the Kraken, who managed just 13 shots on goal.
“Pretty low-event game. Not a ton out there,” said kraken goalie Joey Daccord, who made 24 saves. “I thought we managed the way the game was going pretty well, and overtime is a coin flip with 3-on-3. So, you’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some, and it just sucks losing in overtime, honestly.”
First-year Kraken coach Lane Lambert would like to see his team create more offensive opportunities.
“We want them to shoot more,” Lambert said. “We thought we could do a better job of that, but there was a lot of battle to our game. I give our guys credit for that, for sure. It wasn’t an easy game by either team.”
Kraken forward Kaapo Kakko made his season debut after suffering a broken hand in the preseason. He started the game on the third line with Shane Wright and Mason Marchment, but finished the night on the top trio with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle, displacing rookie Berkly Catton.
“He’s so skilled out there,” Wright said of Kakko, the No. 2 overall pick by the Rangers in the 2019 draft. “He’s a really talented offensive guy, and a good guy to have back in the lineup.”
–Field Level Media
