SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 14: Matty Beniers #10 of the Seattle Kraken skates against Connor Bedard #98 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the first period at Climate Pledge Arena on December 14, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
They had a win two nights prior. They had watershed night on Thursday evening.
The Seattle Kraken used point production from 14 players to score seven goals in a game for the third time this season, routing the Chicago Blackhawks 7-1 at Climate Pledge Arena before a sellout crowd, climbing back to within two points of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Just like the Tuesday night win at Chicago, the fourth line of Devin Shore, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Kailer Yamamoto shined all night. Yamamoto had a pair of goals before the first intermission, Shore added an assist, and Bellemare capped off the blowout with the final goal with 16:32 left in the game to chase starter Arvid Söderblom for Petr Mrazek.
Joey Daccord, appearing in his fourth straight game, made 21 stops and has allowed two goals or less in six of the last seven starts.
Takeaways from the win:
1. That fourth line damage: Shore, Bellemare, and Yamamoto were terrific in the Tuesday night win and were excellent again on Thursday. Yamamoto is clearly moving the puck and making decisions with an elevated sense of confidence, while Shore and Bellemare combined to go 7-of-12 at the face-off circle. They had played a heavy hand in the awakening of a Kraken offense that has exploded for 11 goals over the last two games, and are showing signs of returning to a playoff identity of four-line depth.
"It gives the other guys energy," said Yamamoto.
"We're not scoring every game, so being able to contribute helps the team out."
By the way, Yamamoto bested former Spokane Chief Tyler Johnson, who was playing in his 700th career game. The Spokane guy beat the Spokane guy. And perhaps, many in Spokane will be talking about it.
2. Another Ryker Evans building block: Might be time soon to start thinking about long-term living solutions if you're Evans. It's not every day a defenseman in his fifth NHL game gets two assists. It's not every day he's got three points in that overall span. It's not every day a player, still yet to ripen, earns 20:23 of ice time and blocks three shots.
This was Ryker Evans on Thursday night, who looked as smooth and polished as ever. He got the message.
"Things happen quick, especially in this league," said Evans. "You've just got to move your feet and move the puck."
3. Good night Bedard: Matty Beniers was held off the scoresheet again but his line with Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle played a pivotal role, frequently matched up with Connor Bedard on ice, especially in the first and second period. Defensively, they locked up Bedard, who was held scoreless with a minus-1 rating, while going 3-of-8 at the face-off circle and held to one shot on goal through the first 40 minutes. By the third period, the game was out of reach. Beniers, though he took more draws, went 6-of-11 at the dot.
"We had an idea of some basic matchups we wanted," said Hakstol.
"In terms of matching up against great, young player like Bedard, we had a couple in mind up front - and the same thought process on the back end, and just wanted to make sure guys were alert and aware of the special abilities he had out there."