That was a big-time win by the Seattle Kraken, clawing back from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to steal a 3-2 result from the Blackhawks in the Windy City on Thursday.
Seattle didn’t have its best for two periods, but Joey Daccord was sharp and held his mates in the game long enough for them to finally find a late offensive spark.
“We didn’t have enough shot attempts in the first two periods,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Our D did a way better job in the third period.”
Here are Three Takeaways from a big 3-2 Kraken win over the Blackhawks.
Takeaway #1: The Ryan Lindgren game
We always knew Ryan Lindgren would be a guy who flies mostly under the radar, quietly going about his business as a responsible, stay-at-home defenseman. On this night, Lindgren made a couple of massive plays that directly impacted the outcome of the game.
“He’s just all heart, all the time,” Lambert said. “Huge block at the end, that’s what he does for us. He defends hard, and he gives us everything he has.”
First—and this one was unfortunate to see—he made his presence known late in the first period when former Kraken Andre Burakovsky barreled over the blue line and was off balance as he fought for the puck with Jaden Schwartz and Adam Larsson. Lindgren stepped up and lowered his shoulder, and Burakovsky went face-first into Lindgren’s shoulder pad.
Andre Burakovsky got lit up by Ryan Lindgren just before the end of the 1st period and went down the tunnel.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 21, 2025
1st is in the books, 0-0.
Solid frame, but Joey Daccord has had to be sharp. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/0YT9uJ3x0n
Burakovsky left the game after the hit and did not return. The NHL will surely take a look at this hit, because the main point of contact is Burakovsky’s head. I’m guessing Lindgren avoids any kind of discipline, though, because of the way Burakovsky was leaning forward into the hit, but we shall see.
The next memorable Lindgren play in the game ended up being a game-changer. Although he was the one who created the Chicago opportunity by flubbing a shot at the blue line and handing it to Connor Bedard for a breakaway, his recovery indirectly led to Seattle getting the win in the game.
After turning it over, Lindgren chased down the young superstar, and just as Bedard was about to pull the trigger, Lindgren hit him with a perfect love tap of a slash on the shaft of his stick.
Andre Burakovsky got lit up by Ryan Lindgren just before the end of the 1st period and went down the tunnel.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 21, 2025
1st is in the books, 0-0.
Solid frame, but Joey Daccord has had to be sharp. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/0YT9uJ3x0n
Now, there are folks out there who thought both of the aforementioned plays should have resulted in penalties, and they may have had a case.
I recognize I may have a slight bias, but watching Lindgren’s defensive play on the Bedard breakaway in slow motion shows it should not have resulted in a penalty or penalty shot. It wasn’t an egregious chop, he got him on the shaft of the stick (not the glove), and it was just enough to disrupt the shot. That said, when a shooter is in alone like that and the stick play comes from a chasing defender, those do get called most of the time. So had it been called, I also would have understood.
Ryan Lindgren thwarts a Connor Bedard breakaway and avoids taking a penalty.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 21, 2025
Bedard barks at the ref long enough that he earns an unsportsmanlike penalty. #SeaKraken to the PP. pic.twitter.com/w7wMdkWenE
You know who did think it should have been a penalty? Connor Bedard. And he was so sure of this, he screamed at the ref until he earned himself an abuse of officials penalty that ultimately cost the Blackhawks the game (more on that in Takeaway #3).
Lindgren also helped Seattle seal the deal after it had taken a 3-2 lead by blocking a wide-open Bedard look with a minute left in the game. He did so in painful fashion, catching Bedard’s rocket one-timer in the open palm of his glove.
Bedard will be seeing Lindgren in his nightmares for a while.
Takeaway #2: Kraken woke up in the third
Give some credit to the Blackhawks for how the first two periods went; they came into the game red hot, posting a 5-0-1 record over their previous six games. Ironically, the last time they had lost in regulation was a 3-1 loss to the Kraken on Nov. 3, so that streak got bookended by Seattle wins.
All that said, the Kraken didn’t have it for the first 40 minutes of this game, especially in the second period. They stayed relatively close, but like the game Tuesday in Detroit, things went sideways in the middle frame.
Two poor plays by Jordan Eberle (a weak dump-in that led to a 3-on-1 the other way) and Jamie Oleksiak (a lackadaisical race for a loose puck in the corner) led to the goals against and meant Seattle would be chasing in the third period.
And chase they did.
“[It was] compete and shooting pucks,” Lambert said. “In the first 40 minutes, I thought that we were slow to do things. Give our players credit. They got the message and took charge and got the job done.”
The second Montour’s one-timer pinballed in off Oscar Fisker Mølgaard and then Tye Kartye, you could sense the floodgates had opened. Lo and behold, Shane Wright tipped a Ryker Evans shot just over two minutes later to tie it 2-2 and set up Jaden Schwartz’s late-game heroics.
WRIGHT AS RAIN! 🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 21, 2025
Tie game, 2-2. Ryker Evans with the shot, Shane Wright with the tip. Evans currently has credit, but that's Shane's goal. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/DpuOZIKF4y
Takeaway #3: Jaden Schwartz wins it
While Bedard was sitting in the penalty box for whining, Chicago’s PKers were doing their damndest to bail him out. But as the power play was ticking down, Brandon Montour saw a lane down the left half wall.
As Montour walked down the boards, Schwartz pivoted from the top of the crease and backed himself right onto the far post. Montour threaded a perfectly placed shot-pass through Wyatt Kaiser’s legs and onto the tape of Schwartz, who redirected it through Spencer Knight’s five hole.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE SCHWARTZ! 🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 21, 2025
With Bedard serving his unsportsmanlike penalty, Brandon Montour finds Jaden Schwartz at the net mouth.
3-2 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/VM9p92Ma8Y
“[Schwartz] shows [younger players] how the game is played, how the game is supposed to be played,” Lambert said. “The importance of the little details and winning battles in hard areas. Great goal by him to cap off the comeback.”
It was a heck of a play by both Montour—who earned his second assist of the night—and Schwartz, and it was an outstanding and unlikely comeback victory for the Kraken.
Bonus Takeaway: Oscar Fisker Mølgaard’s NHL debut
Huge shoutout to friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, on making his NHL debut and recording a point on Tye Kartye’s goal that got Seattle on the board at 5:09 of the third period.
“It was pretty surreal,” Mølgaard said. “It’s a childhood dream coming true, so yeah, I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life, and it’s good to get the first one out of the way.”
We are huge Mølgaard fans for a lot of reasons, but mostly because he’s just an incredibly likable young man.
His family made the trek from Denmark to see his first game in the show.
“It’s unreal. It’s a proud moment for all of us. They’ve been there my whole life, and they were just as big a part of it as I was out there. So I’m really proud to have them here, and I’m glad they came.”
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Darren, full credit to you for getting this out in short order. I was smoking a cigar, drinking two more beers and re-watching the 3rd period.
Regarding the whole shift when Shane scored…that was amazing. We are on to something with Shane and Berkly. Can’t wait to see how this develops.
Despite an uninspiring 40 minutes where it didn’t look like anyone wanted to score, the boys came out in the 3rd and did the work. That’s Kraken hockey, baby!! Next step is playing that 3rd period hockey for 60 minutes.
Go Kraken!
When Burky left the ice I said, he’s out for the season! Jokingly of course. If he’d still been playing
For Kraken then he would have been!
(Too quick on the reply!)
So frustrating that the team can’t play like that 3rd period for what feels like at most 20 minutes of a game right now. I can watch that 3rd period 7 days a week and twice on Sundays.
Kraken hockey gets a little better when we’re down in the third, LL is forced to tweak his system a little and the team gets more aggressive on offense.
I completely agree I wish we played that way the whole game. Defensively responsible hockey doesn’t have to equal the lowest shots per game in the entire league.
This town won’t get frustrated with is if we’re winning but if a loosing streak happens fans will get mad about boring hockey quickly.
In person, even the games where it’s been defensive back and forth, it’s been engaging. They really keep things moving this year – there really aren’t a lot of lulls in the play. TBH, the Power Play might be where the game slows down the most.
That is a huge distinction. In person these “low-event” games are crazy fun. The nervous energy in the stands is palpable. Guys are getting excited over defense. Random kids and drunk guys can get chants started that make their way around the arena. Watching on TV a lot of the experience is lost. If you cannot make it to the arena or want to have a beer that doesn’t cost twenty dollars during intermission, try watching with a group, maybe at a good bar.
It would be nice if they could simply play like that 3rd period all game, but hockey just doesn’t work that way. It’s not possible, because this team is just not that good. There is enough parity in the NHL that any team can have a great period here and there where they push extra hard and the other team is sitting back too much. This was yet another game this season where the Kraken got outplayed and outskated overall yet eked out a win with one big push and a healthy dose of luck (including very generous calls from the refs). It’s not sustainable, and everyone needs to be ready for the inevitable crash. They have no real first liners. They are dead last in the entire NHL in expected goals, scoring chances, and shots on goal of every kind. The only 2 players with more than 5 goals (they have a whopping 8 each) are Schwartz and Eberle, two old guys who are still very good players but who are likely to be gone at the trade deadline. In a year when the league is seeing all these very young guys breaking out with huge scoring totals (just look the Ducks and Mammoth forwards alone), the Kraken have no one doing that. The young guys have been OK overall, but no big breakout.
Hey a win is a win, and I will still enjoy them (especially the home wins), but I am still not penciling any playoff games into my calendar, and it is still hard to see any path to contender status on the horizon.
Debbie Downer ALERT!!!
Go Kraken!!!
Thanks for the heads up Foist. You must’ve been a little disappointed Burky didn’t get a chance to torch the Kraken… maybe in March.
So you celebrating the fact that Ryan Lindgren cheap-shotted and concussed Andre Burakovsky? FUCK YOU YOU MOTHERFUCKING COCKSUCKING FANBOY SYCOPHANT. You had better hope we never meet in person you balless PIECE OF SHIT.
I was not celebrating the injury of a player. I was responding to Foist posting:
“Anyway, get ready to watch Burky torch the Kraken tomorrow.”
I said he must have been a little disappointed because he, like several other folks on this site, seems to have an odd interest in wanting see the Kraken fail. The fact that Burakovsky only played about six minutes didn’t really give him a chance to have his hopes fulfilled. I get that you don’t get it, but you don’t.
As for the rest of your nonsense… I don’t really think I need to bother.
…and the good news, sincerely, Blashill reported Burakovsky as “day to day” so it sounds like the worst will likely be avoided.
yikes dog
Is this for real?
I was sad for Burakovsky, for the record.
Inexcusable on my part – just sensitive about cheap shot head injuries – but no excuse. Will refrain from posting going forward
Individual players getting lots of points doesn’t equate to team wins or playoff success. There are plenty examples of stars on teams that suck.
We have young players who are playing great and getting a lot of ice time (witness the Catton/Wright/Gaudreau shift when Shane tipped off an Evans shot). I don’t think you’re being very fair to our players. We also have some good vets other teams would want to have. Hoping we suck so we can trade them at the deadline is just…weird.
You’re in love with the Ducks and San Jose. They also have some decent vets they would probably argue they need. In any case, we’ll see where these teams are after 50-60 games. A huge aspect of hockey is resilience over an 82 game campaign, and I don’t think the Kraken have even hit their stride yet. They are just getting used to a new system. McCann and Kakko have barely been involved.
Go Kraken!
Ryan Lindgren’s game does deserve the highlight. His mistakes have been noticeable , but his good plays usually do not get recognized. Last night, his good plays were front and center. It was an all around outstanding game by him, although I really did not like the hit on Burakovsky. I hope that Burky is not hurt too badly. Honestly, I would not oppose Department of Player Safety discipline for that hit, penalty or no.
Another oft-criticized guy who had a big game was Mason Marchment. He was huge, going net front for screens, winning one-on-one battles, and making tough passes. It looks like he, Eberle, and Beniers have finally discovered a chemistry where their skills fit together into a productive whole.
Speaking of Matty Beniers, was that long shift of his not the most manly, selfless performance you have seen on the ice in years? I was in awe watching. First he does the right thing by giving Oleksiak his stick after his broke. Then he spends a minute and a half as the high forechecker disrupting the offense and throwing his body in front of shots. Yeah, the shift ends with a penalty, but none the less it was magnificent.
Tye Kartye scored with his “stick.” Lel. That gave whole new meaning to the term “scoring.” They say that they don’t ask ” how,” just “how many,” and in this case that is a good thing. Good on Oskar Fisker Molgaard for stepping up and leading the fist bump line as I imagine that Kartye was feeling a bit slowed at that moment. Okay, that’s the last joke I have. Well, no it’s not, but I am going to stop anyway.
The Fisker Molgaard/Kartye/Winterton line looked effective, and not just on the goal. They did what an energy line should do. Likewise, kicking Freddy Gaudreau up the lineup to Shane Wright’s and Berkley Catton’s line also seems to have worked out well. Despite the sluggish first two periods, I think the team is onto something with these forward lines.
Alright, who else derived a certain measure of satisfaction from seeing that entitled prima donna superstar Connor Bedard get sent to the box for chirping the official for not giving him what would have been a soft call? It would have been even better to see it happen to another superstar named Connor who feels entitled to preferential treatment by the officials, but it still brought a smile to my face, especially when the resulting penalty kill cost Chicago the game.
I play a lot of golf and one thing I try to remind myself is; there’s more than one way to make a par. It’s not always a drive in the center of the fairway, on in 2 and then a 2 putt. When that’s your expectation, but you don’t perform like it, you can get really frustrated and kill your round. You have to take it one shot at a time.
I think it helps to remember that there’s more than one way to win a hockey game. If the Kraken can learn to win from all types of situations that only makes them a better team. They all said in the post game interviews, that they know they should be playing the full 60 like they did the last 15. So, they are learning too. Don’t give up, anything can happen.
Mølgaard has such a professional game already – just seems to be in the right spots, high hockey sense… such a great pick. Probably won’t be a superstar from a points scoring perspective, but being able to churn out NHL-level players from second and third rounds picks is a credit to the scouting and drafting of this team.
As noted by Edzo on the broadcast, Catton’s work on Wright’s goal was really nice – kept the play alive, protected the puck, got the puck to an open player…. Get that kid on the PP more often as his puck skills would be an asset.
Essentially one quarter of the season gone and the team has picked up 75% of the available points at home and 50% of points on the road (with McCann sidelined almost all year). This is never going to be a “flashy” or “high octane” team in its current iteration, and there are plenty of warts (the sloppy line changes the last couple of weeks have been really rough), but I enjoy watching this version of the Kraken a lot more than whatever the heck that was last year.
Thank you Mr Referee!!
That’s not the first time Bedard has gotten himself into trouble with the refs. I watched him get misconducts in back-to-back games last year for similar behavior. Don’t know for sure what he’s doing to get under their skin, but last night was not an isolated incident.
Maybe he fancies himself a prima donna already?