NEWSLETTER
The first period of this game was an all-time debacle. Literally! Seattle scored five goals in 3:41, which is the third-fastest stretch for a road team to score five goals in NHL history.
The Blackhawks made a goalie change after Seattle’s fourth goal and it didn’t help. Alex Stalock allowed a goal on the first shot he faced. And on the first shot after the Blackhawks used their timeout to get yelled at for being bad. In total, 13 different Kraken players had a point in the opening 20 minutes.
Chicago crept within three early in the third period, but Seattle responded by scoring twice in 43 seconds to extend the lead back to five with a cold dose of reality.
Star 1: Isaak Phillips
When your team fully craps the bed but you score your first career NHL goal, you get to be one of my three stars. As I wrote, he had a tough first period (he was minus-three) but bounced back with an improved second and the jump on this rush was impressive.
Star 2: Whoever planned the United Center bar crawl
Yeah, there was a bar crawl in the United Center that started hours before the game started. And the Blackhawks sold hundreds of tickets for the event, and based on what I saw walking around the concourse an hour or so before the puck dropped the folks who came early had a goooood time. I’m sure the first period was even more entertaining for them.
Star 3: Kyle Davidson
That little three-game win streak pushed the Blackhawks ahead of/below (depending on your perspective) the Columbus Blue Jackets for dead last in the NHL in point percentage. But this loss, coupled with a Blue Jackets win, would assure the Blackhawks of the cellar spot at the half-way mark in the season.
