It was a win/loss kind of night for the Seattle Kraken, who won 3-1 over the Chicago Blackhawks but lost their captain, Jordan Eberle, to a lower-body injury.
The Kraken had a much better first period than in previous games, dominating play for most of the first 40 minutes before the Blackhawks pushed back in the third. Matty Beniers and Jaden Schwartz scored key goals, while Brandon Tanev added an empty-netter—his fourth goal in three games.
“The mindset with which we came out to execute was we made hard plays, we made north plays, and the result was getting to play in the offensive zone,” coach Dan Bylsma said.
Here are Three Takeaways from the Kraken’s 3-1 win over the Blackhawks.
Takeaway #1: Concern for Eberle
While the win marked Seattle’s third consecutive victory since snapping their recent four-game skid, the biggest storyline from this game was Jordan Eberle’s injury. The Kraken captain hobbled down the tunnel with assistance from the medical staff after an awkward crash into the boards.
Eberle was racing for a puck with Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy when the two became tangled, sending Eberle hard into the boards. Though he got up quickly, he was hunched over on his way to the bench and appeared to struggle as he headed to the dressing room.
Uh oh. Jordan Eberle with a VERY hard slam into the end wall.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 15, 2024
He ended up getting helped down the tunnel. That didn’t look good. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/E1rvVGLe8j
The injury caused lineup shuffling for the Kraken, who rotated players on different lines, even experimenting with Shane Wright as a winger alongside Beniers at times.
“It created a situation where we used a couple different wingers, and as we saw, Wrighter stepped in and did a great job with Matty for a couple shifts there,” Bylsma said.
Whether Eberle will miss significant time remains unclear. Bylsma noted postgame that Eberle was still being evaluated. Interestingly, the Kraken announced during the game that Eberle was “unlikely to return” due to a lower-body injury, rather than immediately ruling him out entirely—a potentially encouraging sign. Could there have been some thought that he might return? Or maybe I’m just reading into that too much.
If Eberle does miss games, the timing is notable. Daniel Sprong, acquired in a trade with Vancouver but delayed by work visa issues, could debut in the upcoming games against the New York teams. A scoring winger stepping in as another scoring winger goes out? That might be fortuitous, albeit bittersweet.
Still, you hate to see anyone get hurt, especially a captain who’s been central to the Kraken’s success this season. Here’s hoping for good news on Eberle.
Takeaway #2: Ryker Evans was excellent
Flying under the radar in this game—though the broadcast gave him due credit—was Ryker Evans, who had the second assist on Jaden Schwartz’s game-winning power-play goal early in the third period.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE SCHWARTZ! 🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 15, 2024
Great setup off the zone entry by Stephenson, career goal No. 200 for Jaden Schwartz.
PPG. 2-0 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/vaPBU2qa59
I’ve been impressed with the young defenseman all season and believe he could develop into a top puck-moving blueliner for this team. On Thursday, Evans was especially sharp in all three zones and led all Kraken skaters with 24:33 of ice time. In those minutes, he remained calm, cool, and collected, making no noticeable mistakes.
It’s amusing to recall the criticism Seattle faced for drafting Evans as an over-ager in 2021, with pundits calling it an “off-the-board” pick. While there were other strong players available (Logan Stankoven comes to mind), Evans’ development into an every-game player suggests the Kraken’s drafting and development strategies are paying off.
Takeaway #3: A 60-minute effort
The Kraken have hung some crooked numbers on the Blackhawks in the past, but this Chicago team is improved, and goalie Petr Mrazek has been stellar in the first quarter of this season.
Though the score remained close, Seattle controlled the game from the start, something they’ve struggled with on several occasions this season. The Kraken outshot the Blackhawks 20-9 through two periods and held Chicago to just 19 shots overall. Old friend Ryan Donato’s fluky third-period rebound goal tightened the score (his eighth goal of the season—good for him!), but Seattle never gave up much defensively.
It’s not delivery, it’s Donato. 😔
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 15, 2024
2-1 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/IQVKHwuLJ0
“The focus has been on our starts the last few games,” Bylsma said. “I thought the guys did a great job of coming out and—really, led by Matty’s line—they had the first couple shifts in the offensive zone.”
Seattle finished the night with 73 percent of the shot quality according to Natural Stat Trick. It was a solid, top-to-bottom effort that showed the Kraken are capable of taking care of business against inferior opponents.
Kraken’s current win streak is now longest in the league!
They are also back at fake .500 for the first time in November.
Additionally, they have a positive goal differential, which less than half the league can claim.
Go Kraken!!!
What does “fake .500” mean?
They’ve actually lost more than they’ve won… but because of the “loser point” their points percentage is .500.
It’s a way for people to sound smart when the only thing that matters is points percentage which is real .500
I think the only thing that really matters is points, but I usually say “fake .500” not to sound smart, but to help quantify the loser points. I’m not a fan of the loser point, but as long as it’s around, to me “real” points percentage actually doesn’t really matter. I guess it just comes down to how you want to look at it. I think even more important than either is regulation wins, and there the Kraken aren’t doing all that well… but we’re still under twenty games.
The reason people call it fake is because people accustomed to records in other sports assume NHL .500 means you are an average team, treading water. But it doesn’t mean that. It means you kinda suck. It’s fine for you to consider .500 points percentage “real” as long as you understand that two-thirds of the league are still better than you.
Baby steps!
Home stand has been great so far.
Keep it rolling…
Go Kraken!!!
Such a fun game! I was bummed they couldn’t capitalize on the goalie flub by Mrazek! That was really exciting.
A game like this was needed. Not just beating an opponent you’re better than, but beating them for the entire game.
Hope it’s nothing too severe for Eberle, although I’m sure he feels like he got hit by a car. Best case scenario is no structural damage, but I doubt they’ll have him play both of (if either) of this weekends back to back games. One the bright side, this appears to solve the question of where Daniel Sprong fits in for the immediate future.
With Evans really breaking out while Dunn is on the shelf, it makes me wonder who will be next year’s Ryker Evans? Lots of potential candidates like Firkus, Sale, and Winterton in the AHL or Catton and Rehkopf in the CHL. Who is your 2025-26 Ryker Evans “take me to the show” award candidate?
@ Chuck.
Great question. Assume (maybe incorrectly) that whoever it is would be a 4th liner? Winterton because he has the most experience (idk)? My (very) dark horse candidate would be Lleyton Roed -seems like the perfect 4th line kind of guy. But it could be any of the above – unless of course the accursed NHL-CHL transfer agreement impacts the Kraken’s decision making process.
Way, way, way too early prediction on player (not mentioned above) – to have impact at NHL level: Julius Miettinen (Everett Silvertips).
TFL, I almost included Roed in my 2025-26 candidate list but I am not sure he is a future full-time NHLer. It could go either way.
BTW, I forgot to follow up on your prior response. You said you started with the Totems, was it the 1966-67 season, when they won the LP Cup in Seattle or the 1967-68 season, when the won the Cup in Portland?
It was 67/68 when they beat the hated Buckaroos (Mad Dog Madigan, etc.). Still love that name though…
Makes one wonder how Paul Newman ever found Connie Madigan for an acting role he was born to play. Of course, he could have included Red-Eye Hay from the Buckaroos as well.
Red Eye Hay. Wow good memory. I remember Art Jones and Bill Saunders being “Totem Killers.” And in later years Portland’s had the memorable defensive pairing of two gigantic players in Rick Foley and Jerry “King Kong” Korab.
Many years back an acquaintance of mine attended (I think) a Winterhawks game. Two fans showed up with tickets in the row in front of him – with tickets for seats 5 & 7. The fans asked the older gentleman in seat 6 if he would switch with them so they could sit together. The older gentleman was Connie Madigan, and he of course responded with an angry emphatic “NO!”
Maybe Paul Newman asked three random “hockey people” about the meanest, nastiest player the ever knew (who could play the same roll in Slap Shot) and all three answered “Connie Madigan lol. In 68/69 he had 175 penalty minutes, which seems incredulous even by 70s standards.
My pick is Mellanson. Plays a simple game that translates to the pro level. He also looked the most NHL ready during the pre-season.
After that probably Winterton and/or Morrison. Would love Nyman to get some time on the big club but power forwards tend to need some time to develop.
I love these questions. Put me down for Eduard Sale. He is currently a point-per-game player in the AHL. Does a first-round pick qualify, though?
As excited as many seem to be, I am not. Most of the teams wins are against teams that will not be Cup competitive teams or teams that make very few mistakes. In this, I call the Kraken a “Fake” .500 team as well. Seeing Donato score his 8th goal, only reinforces my feelings about Francis’s free agent decisions.
At least you’re not harping on Carson Soucy and Jeremy Lauzon anymore.
SOH guys, this comment isn’t about the Hawks game, it’s about the podcast, but I too am irritated when the sound is ahead of the picture on telecasts but it’s not a KHN problem. I watched Pens Red Wings on TNT this week and the sound was WAY ahead of the picture. So much so that on one of the goals they called it before the scoring player even received the pass. Super frustrating. Not sure why it happens but you’re not alone. Hey too early sound on telecasts, GET OFF MY LAWN!