Alex DeBrincat is determined to be more than just a goal scorer, aiming to become a well-rounded player.
That means contributing with assists and even, on rare occasions, dropping the gloves.
“I have a long way to go, but I’m working on becoming a more complete player, not just a shooter,” DeBrincat said.
DeBrincat and Patrick Kane recorded a goal and an assist as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Wednesday night, marking their fourth consecutive victory.
DeBrincat assisted on Seth Jones’ goal in the first period, scored early in the second, and even fought with Seattle’s Yanni Gourde in the third after Gourde delivered what DeBrincat felt was an unnecessary hit on Kane.
“He punched me in the head behind the net and then went after (Kane) and cross-checked him,” DeBrincat explained. “You go after our best player; we can’t let that happen. I don’t like to fight, but I will when I need to.”
Jones extended his points streak to seven games with his second goal of the season, and Jake McCabe added an empty-netter to secure the win for Chicago. Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves, including 16 in a busy second period.
While Chicago welcomed the four-game winning streak, the team was frustrated by the number of chances they allowed Seattle after taking a 2-0 lead.
“Too often, we’re just kind of throwing it away, and whether it gets out (of the zone) or not, it puts us in a tough position,” Kane said.
Jared McCann and Yanni Gourde scored in the third period for Seattle, while Philipp Grubauer made 15 saves. The Kraken have lost five straight games and seven of their last eight.
“The second and third periods were excellent efforts on our part,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “That’s likely the kind of push we need through three periods to get ourselves headed in the right direction.”
Kane extended Chicago’s lead to 3-0 in the third period, snapping a wrist shot past Grubauer at 5:36 on an odd-man rush for his sixth goal of the season.
McCann put Seattle on the board with a power-play goal with 5:45 remaining, and Gourde pulled the Kraken within one with a slap shot just 1:49 from the end after Grubauer was pulled. However, the Kraken couldn’t find the equalizer.
“There’s no other way to put it—it’s frustrating, and we need to clean it up,” McCann said.
Jones opened the scoring on a 3-on-2 rush, finishing off a play that started with a cross-ice pass from Kane to DeBrincat, leaving Jones unmarked at the back post. The goal marked Jones’ 67th career regular-season tally and his 300th career point. He has two goals and five assists during his current points streak.
Seattle has conceded the first goal in 10 of its 16 games this season and five of its last seven losses.
DeBrincat doubled Chicago’s lead at 2:01 of the second period, taking an outlet pass from Kirby Dach, using his speed to fend off Seattle defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, and flipping the puck over Grubauer’s shoulder for his ninth goal of the season.
Despite dominating the chances in the second period, Seattle struggled to get past Fleury. He made a diving stop on Gourde’s open-net attempt shortly after DeBrincat’s goal and denied McCann and Calle Jarnkrok on other key opportunities. At the same time, Jeremy Lauzon hit the post late in the period.
“It’s much more fun to play hockey right now, but we dug ourselves a big hole. It’s still a long way to go,” Fleury said.
Game Notes
The Blackhawks activated Caleb Jones from the long-term injury reserve, and he logged 9:53 of ice time. Adam Gaudette was scratched, and Chicago placed Tyler Johnson (neck soreness) on long-term injury reserve. Johnson cannot return until after Sunday’s game in Calgary. Chicago added Rob Cookson as an assistant coach and named Marc Crawford as associate coach on interim head coach Derek King’s staff. Grubauer made his 200th career start. McCann has seven points in his last seven games.
UP NEXT
- Blackhawks: At Edmonton on Saturday.
- Kraken: Hosts Colorado on Friday.
