The Kraken surged in the third period and beat the Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout. | AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Jones tested out of COVID-19 protocols Monday but missed his fourth straight game, and the Hawks’ undermanned defense cracked without its biggest minutes-eater in a 3-2 shootout loss.
SEATTLE — For three games, Seth Jones’ absence didn’t seem to be hurting the Blackhawks nearly as much as expected.
On Monday, however, it did.
The Hawks’ defense was gradually worn down by the Kraken to the point of exhaustion, and Marc-Andre Fleury’s constant heroics in goal eventually proved unable to save them. The 3-2 shootout loss ended their four-game winning streak, as well as the Kraken’s nine-game losing streak.
“We were sloppy,” interim coach Derek King said. “We had moments where we looked good, but then there were moments where we were tired. The travel was a little bit crazy for us. We’ll have to get these guys plenty of rest.”
The Hawks’ January schedule has been relatively forgiving so far in terms of quality of competition. Monday marked their fourth consecutive game — and fifth in their last six — against opponents either currently in, or who finished last season in, the bottom four of the NHL.
But in terms of travel, with nine games (across all four time zones) over the past 17 days, it has been intense.
It’s plausible the Hawks might’ve started looking ahead late Monday, in between huffed breaths, to their three-day break that begins Tuesday. During the third period and overtime combined, the Kraken dominated shots on goal (19-6), scoring chances (23-7) and high-danger scoring chances (12-0).
“We’ve got guys coming off of COVID, or you’re playing a lot, you travel, you’re back and forth [on a] four-hour flight,” King added. “It catches up to you.”
Seth Jones did, at least, finally test out of protocol Monday back in Chicago, King said. He should presumably be ready Friday against the Wild.
Jake McCabe, who initially tested positive for COVID the same day as Jones but never developed symptoms and tested out quicker, was able to return Monday. However, he looked somewhat “off” — in King’s words — during his 19:09 of ice time.
He produced some good shifts, such as one where he broke up a developing chance and then delivered a big hit to help exit the zone. He also endured some bad shifts, such as one where Ryan Donato blew past him in the neutral zone and scored on the rush to tie the game, 2-2.
“They took over the game in the third,” McCabe said. “That second [Kraken] goal was a tough one for me personally to swallow — I got stuck in no man’s land. … [I was] just a little rusty here and there on some plays, but overall not too bad.”
King oddly elected to remove upward-trending rookie Jakub Galvas from the lineup to fit McCabe, keeping in Caleb Jones.
That decision backfired. Caleb Jones struggled mightily, finishing with a 12.5% even-strength scoring chance ratio (one for, seven against) in addition to numerous turnovers and a third-period penalty.
King first excused Caleb Jones’ poor performance as a result of his frequent bouncing in and out of the lineup this season. That didn’t exactly check out, because Jones played four straight games during his brother’s absence. King later acknowledged that fact.
“He’s got to take advantage…when we have some ‘D’ that are not healthy and he gets a chance to play,” he said.
That is one benefit from Hawks’ four games without Seth Jones: they were able to see which defensemen could handle bigger roles when needed.
Galvas, who produced a 52.0% scoring chance ratio (and saved a goal Saturday) while averaging over 20 minutes in his three games, showed he could. So did Riley Stillman, who has diversified and improved his game noticeably since last spring.
Caleb Jones, conversely, fell completely flat. Ian Mitchell did very little against the Blue Jackets in the first game of the four and never received another opportunity. Nicolas Beaudin was tellingly never used at all.