In Chicago, Philipp Grubauer made 29 saves and the Seattle Kraken defeated the Blackhawks, 2-0, on Thursday. 
“You’ve got to be comfortable in those tight games,” Grubauer said. “You’re not going to score six goals every time. … Do the right things offensively and defensively. It was a really good team effort today.”
It was Grubauer’s second shutout of the season.
Alex Wennberg hit for a goal in the middle frame to give the Kraken a 1-0 lead.
“I had it in my toolbox,” Wennberg said of the deke. “I’m happy it worked out. How the play developed, I got a little speed, so I was going to fake the shot and see if I could get the space, and [I felt] like I could beat him around. It goes fast. You trust your instinct.”
Seattle moved to 23-42-6.
“Early in the year, we took the easy way out on a couple of back-to-backs, just being honest,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “Our effort wasn’t what it needed to be. … It’s a hockey game. Yeah, we traveled, but everybody has back-to-backs. Everybody’s got probably between a dozen and 15 this year.
“They’re a fact of life. You show up and play, or you don’t. It hasn’t been a topic of discussion for us. It wasn’t today. We all know it’s a factor at different times of the games in terms of energy, but it’s how big of a factor you allow it to be.”
Jordan Eberle scored with less than two minutes left on the clock in the third period for the 2-0 final.
The Blackhawks were scoreless in three chances on the power play.
“Huge part of the game,” Grubauer said. “We did the right things. We pressured at the right times, we blocked some shots in the lane, clear the puck when we had an opportunity to. … PK, a [heck] of a job today.”
Chicago fell to 24-36-11.
“We should’ve had a couple of goals, obviously, but we didn’t,” Blackhawks coach Derek King said. “No urgency. I mean, too many passengers. Simple. That’s it, in a nutshell. ‘Lanks’ played a great game. He had no support, and I’m going to have to address that.”
The Blackhawks have lost six straight.
“It’s unacceptable,” the Blackhawks’ Alex DeBrincat said. “Even though we’re out of the playoffs, we want to win games. It [stinks] losing. It’s no fun. We’re battling hard for two of three periods, but it’s not enough, obviously. We’ve got to find a way to score some goals and play a full 60 (minutes). That’s been our downfall most of the year, and that’s why we’re in the position we are. These last 11 games, we’ve got to come out hard and really work on playing a full 60, get ready for next year.”
Kevin Lankinen made 29 saves in the Chicago loss.
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