CHICAGO — As the NHL’s newest team, the Kraken are used to making history by just existing. On Saturday night, they graduated.
The Kraken became the first team in the NHL’s 105 seasons of play to sweep a road trip of seven or more games, going 6 for 6 on a swing through Canada and the Northeast before handling the Chicago Blackhawks, 8-5, on Saturday night.
In absolute fairness, alternate captain Jordan Eberle pointed out, it was a weirdly long stretch away from Climate Pledge Arena.
“I can’t imagine many teams have been on a seven-game road trip,” he said. “That in itself — I’m not sure I’ve had one in my career.”
Count it. Forward Jared McCann scored the first hat trick of his eight-year NHL career and Seattle’s first of the season. The rest of the scoring onslaught was balanced as usual.
The eight straight wins are a first for the young franchise. Six first-period goals were too. The speed with which they were scored them was up there in the league records as well — only seven teams have done it faster to start a game, and the Kraken were only 2:38 off the lead. The Toronto Maple Leafs scored six times in 10:33 in 1946.
The Blackhawks had their fun. Then they got out of the way and let history happen.
Just under two minutes after Daniel Sprong gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead, defenseman Carson Soucy dived to stop a breakaway chance and missed, leaving Martin Jones one-on-one with Chicago’s Max Domi. Jones gloved Domi’s shot. It was a temporary solution as Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews nicked one off Jamie Oleksiak’s stick and in during the next shift.
The rest of the first period was like shooting fish in a barrel. Kraken All-Star Matty Beniers kicked off a run of five unanswered goals in 3:41, on five shots on goal. McCann scored two of his three, giving him a team-high 22 on the season. Eeli Tolvanen collected his fifth goal in eight games since joining the Kraken.
Brandon Tanev was the only Seattle player to miss in the first 14 minutes and he nearly poked home his shot through Petr Mrazek’s pads. Mrazek was pulled after Andre Burakovsky made it 4-1. The shelling continued when Alex Stalock entered the Chicago net and immediately allowed a pair of goals 26 seconds apart.
The five goals in 3:41 ranks as the 15th fastest five goals by one team, according to NHL Stats.
The Blackhawks got within three on a power-play goal 51 seconds into the third period. The Kraken quickly put that idea to rest as McCann scored his third, sending a single hat floating to the Chicago ice, and teammate Oliver Bjorkstrand made it 8-3 just 43 seconds later.
Jones was coming off back-to-back shutouts, but that streak ended with Toews’ first-period goal. Jones has been in the Kraken net for seven of eight victories during this run. Seattle hasn’t lost in 2023.
